POPULATION: 32 (2006)
LOCATION: On the Alaska Highway, 50 miles northwest of Tok, south of the Tanana River, and 155 road miles southeast of Fairbanks.
DESCRIPTION: A non-Native community located along the highway and represented by Dot Lake Services Inc. Employment is limited to the family-owned Dot Lake Lodge. One resident holds a commercial fishing permit. The 2000 U.S. census found only three residents employed and a median household income of $13,750. There is one school, attended by about 15 students. A separate, Native community, Dot Lake Village, is located nearby.
HISTORY: Archaeological evidence at nearby Healy Lake has revealed more than 10,000 years of human habitation. Dot Lake was used as a seasonal hunting camp by Athabascans from George Lake and Tanacross. An Indian freight trail ran north to the Yukon River through Northway, Tetlin, Tanacross and Dot Lake. During construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942-43, a work camp called Sears City occupied Dot Lake's present location. Fred and Jackie Vogle were the first settlers in the area. They received a homesite, and by 1949 had constructed a lodge, post office, school and the Dot Lake Community Chapel. Over the years, additional families homesteaded the area. Over 300 acres have been provided. A licensed children's home was built by the Vogels in 1967, and the present-day Dot Lake Lodge was constructed in 1973. The North Star Children's Home closed in the mid-1990s.
