Hyder, Alaska
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Hyder is a census-designated place located in Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area, Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population of the CDP is 97.
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Geography
AKMap-doton-Hyder.PNG
Location of Hyder, Alaska
Hyder is located at 55°56'29" North, 130°3'16" West (55.941442, -130.054504)Template:GR.
Hyder is located at the head of the Portland Canal, a 115 km (70 mile) long fjord which forms a portion of the border between the United States and Canada at the southeastern edge of the Alaska Panhandle. Hyder is 3 km (2 miles) from Stewart, British Columbia and 120 km (75 miles) from Ketchikan by air.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 38.4 km² (14.8 mi²). 38.4 km² (14.8 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 97 people, 47 households, and 25 families residing in the CDP. The population density is 2.5/km² (6.5/mi²). There are 72 housing units at an average density of 1.9/km² (4.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP is 95.88% White, 0.00% Black or African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 4.12% from two or more races. 1.03% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 47 households out of which 19.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.1% are married couples living together, 2.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% are non-families. 40.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.06 and the average family size is 2.81.
In the CDP the population is spread out with 18.6% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 16.5% from 25 to 44, 46.4% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 46 years. For every 100 females there are 125.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 132.4 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP is $11,719, and the median income for a family is $30,500. Males have a median income of $56,250 versus $13,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $11,491. 54.1% of the population and 44.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 81.0% of those under the age of 18 and 50.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
The Nisga'a, who lived around the Nass River, called the head of Portland Canal "Skam-A-Kounst," meaning safe place, probably because it served them as a retreat from the harassment of the Haidas on the coast. They travelled in the area seasonally to pick berries and hunt birds.
The area around the Portland Canal was explored in 1896 by Captain D.D. Gaillard of the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
In 1898, gold and silver lodes were discovered in the region, mainly on the Canadian side in the upper Salmon River basin. The Stewart brothers, for whom the British Columbia town was named, arrived in 1902.
Hyder was originally called Portland City, after the canal. In 1914, when the United States Postal Service told residents that there were too many cities named Portland in the United States (see Portland for a list), it was renamed after Frederick Hyder, a Canadian mining engineer who envisioned a bright future for the area. Hyder was the only practical point of access to the silver mines in Canada, and the community became the port, supply point, and post office for miners by 1917. Hyder's boom years occurred between 1920 and 1930, when the Riverside Mine on United States side extracted gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and tungsten. The mine operated from 1924 until 1950.
In 1948, the town of Hyder, which was built on pilings, was destroyed by fire. By 1956, all major mining had closed except for the Granduc Copper Mine on the Canadian side, which operated until 1984. Westmin Resources Ltd. currently operates the only remaining mine in the area, a gold and silver mine on the Canadian side.
Hyder is accessible by highway from Stewart, British Columbia, which connects with the British Columbia highway system.