What the record shows
The federal survey describes the site: along right bank of Kuzitrin River, 45 mi. E of Teller and 53 mi. NE of Nome, Seward Peninsula High.
"The settlement of Lanes Landing was established about 1901 at the ford where the trail from Nome to the Kougarok gold mining region crossed the Kuzitrin River. The settlement was probably named for Charles D. Lane, who started building the Seward Peninsula Railroad at Nome in 1900 and completed it to here in 1906 (Cole, 1953, p. 13). In 1907 the Shelton Post Office was established here and the village picked up the name. Balcom (1965, p. 30) states that Shelton ""was active from 1907 to 1918,"" the same year the post office was discontinued."
Sheltonappears 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 Shelton — 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 Shelton's permanent record.
No field reports yet — sign in to file the first.