Anchorage Daily News

FLAT

POPULATION: 0

LOCATION: On Otter Creek, seven miles east of its junction with the Iditarod River, eight miles east of Iditarod and 59 miles northeast of Holy Cross in the Kilbuck-Kuskokwim Mountains.

DESCRIPTION: An unpopulated community. There is no road access, but there is a 4,045-foot turf-and-gravel airstrip.

HISTORY: Gold was discovered in Flat on Christmas Day in 1908 by John Beaton and an associate. It became the widest pay streak ever found in Alaska. Peter Miscovich (Croatia), Lars Ostnes (Norway) and David Strandberg (Sweden) were also founding fathers and all inductees in the Alaska Mining Hall of Fame. Flat became a mining and supply camp first reported in 1910 by A.G. Maddren of the USGS. A tramway was built between Iditarod and Flat. A post office opened around 1912. Between 1910 and 1914, nearly 6,000 people had moved to the community. Flat had an elementary school, a telephone system, two stores, a hotel, restaurant, pool hall, laundry and jail. By World War I, the population had dramatically declined. The population was 158 in 1920 and 124 in 1930. By the end of World War II, only about 15 people lived there year-round. In 1937, Peter Miscovich purchased a large excavator, increasing production. Neighboring Iditarod is now a checkpoint every other year for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

ADVERTISEMENT