What the record shows
The federal survey describes the site: Located on the west bank of the Koyukuk River, 1.6 km (1 mi) downstream (SW) of its junction with the John River, 5.6 km (3.5 mi) east-northeast of Lookout Mountain, Kanuti Flats.
Named for Gordon C. Bettles, printer, prospector, and trader who established the trading post and community in 1898 (Kitchener, 1954, p. 156). A post office was established in 1901 and continued intermittently until 1956 (Ricks, 1965, p.7). Following World War II, the residents gradually relocated five miles further east, near the site of a newly-constructed airstrip; this area was incorporated as the City of Bettles in 1985. The last inhabitants of Old Bettles moved out in 1997.
Old Bettles appears in the U.S. Geological Survey's place-name archive as a historical populated place — a settlement that once carried a name and no longer does. Our editors are verifying its full story against census records, newspaper archives, and county histories; this record will grow as sources are confirmed.
Before you visit
Unverified sites may sit on private land, and coordinates from historical records can be imprecise. Verify land status and access before traveling. Take photographs, leave nails — removing artifacts from federal land is a crime.
See it in context on the national atlas map.
From the field
The most valuable part of this record is the part only visitors can write.
Stamp your passport
Check in at Old Bettles — GPS-verified visits earn an inked stamp.
File a field report
Road conditions, what's still standing, what's gone — your report joins the record.
Add photographs
Credited, dated, and preserved as part of Old Bettles's permanent record.
No field reports yet — sign in to file the first.
Society Pro
What the federal record holds within five miles of Old Bettles
Within five miles the record maps 1 mine shafts, adits and prospect pits, 3 named mineral sites, 1 lost places and 0 cemeteries. Pro puts them on the map with the 1879–1919 survey underneath and a swipe to today.