Tok, Alaska
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Tok is a census-designated place located in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population of the CDP is 1,393.
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Geography
Tok is located at 63°19'27" North, 143°1'5" West (63.324161, -143.018028)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 342.6 km² (132.3 mi²). 342.6 km² (132.3 mi²) of it is land and none of it is covered by water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 1,393 people, 534 households, and 372 families residing in the CDP. The population density is 4.1/km² (10.5/mi²). There are 748 housing units at an average density of 2.2/km² (5.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP is 78.03% White, 0.14% Black or African American, 12.85% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.93% from other races, and 7.61% from two or more races. 2.08% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 534 households out of which 39.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% are married couples living together, 11.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 30.3% are non-families. 24.7% of all households are made up of individuals and 5.4% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.61 and the average family size is 3.12.
In the CDP the population is spread out with 32.5% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 36 years. For every 100 females there are 102.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 102.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP is $37,941, and the median income for a family is $49,219. Males have a median income of $45,375 versus $30,268 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $18,521. 10.5% of the population and 9.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.4% of those under the age of 18 and 7.7% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
There have been Athabascan settlements in the region of what is now Tok for many centuries.
The town at the present location of Tok, Alaska began in 1942 as an Alaska Road Commission camp used for construction and maintenance of the Alaska Highway. So much money was spent in the camp's construction and maintenance that it earned the name "Million Dollar Camp" by those working on the highway. In 1947 the first school was opened, and in 1958 a larger school was built to accommodate the many newcomers. The U. S. Customs Office was located in Tok between 1947 and 1971, when it was moved to the border with Canada.
In one version, the name Tok is derived from the Athabascan word for "peaceful crossing." In another version, the name is derived from the English words "Tokyo camp."
In the 1940s and 1950s, another highway, the Tok Cut-Off was constructed connecting Tok with the Richardson Highway at Glennallen. It was a "cut-off" because it allowed motor travelers from the lower United States to travel to Valdez and Anchorage in southern Alaska without going further north to Delta Junction and then traveling south on the Richardson Highway.
Between 1954 and 1979, an 8-inch U. S. Army fuel pipeline operated from the port of Haines, Alaska to Fairbanks, with a pump station in Tok.
In July 1990, Tok faced extinction when a lightning-caused forest fire jumped two rivers and the Alaska Highway, putting both residents and buildings in peril. The town was evacuated and even the efforts of over a thousand firefighters could not stop the fire. At the last minute a "miracle wind" (so labeled by Tok's residents) came up, diverting the fire just short of the first building. The fire continued to burn the remainder of the summer, eventually burning more than 100,000 acres (400 km²).