- Chicken, Alaska
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Chicken, Alaska — CDP — Location of Chicken, Alaska
Coordinates: 64°4′15″N 141°52′30″W / 64.07083°N 141.875°WCoordinates: 64°4′15″N 141°52′30″W / 64.07083°N 141.875°W Country United States State Alaska Census Area Southeast Fairbanks Government - mayor Edan Strekal Area - Total 115.4 sq mi (298.9 km2) - Land 115.4 sq mi (298.9 km2) - Water 0 sq mi (0 km2) Elevation 1,677 ft (511 m) Population (2010) - Total 7 Time zone Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9) - Summer (DST) AKDT (UTC-8) ZIP code 99732 Area code(s) 907 FIPS code 02-13450 GNIS feature ID 1400245 
Downtown Chicken, Alaska, July 23, 2006
Chicken is a census-designated place (CDP) in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. Chicken is a community founded on gold mining and is one of the few surviving gold rush towns in Alaska. The population was seven at the 2010 Census.
Contents
History
Chicken was settled by gold miners in the late 1800s and in 1902 the local post office was established requiring a community name. Due to the prevalence of ptarmigan in the area that name was suggested as the official name for the new community. However, the spelling could not be agreed on and Chicken was used to avoid embarrassment. A portion of Chicken, with buildings from the early 1900s and the F.E. Company Dredge No. 4 (Pedro Dredge) are listed on the National Register of Historical Places. Chicken is the outpost for the 40 Mile mining district. There are still active gold mines in this area. Enough gold was mined here to make it worthwhile to haul huge gold dredges to this remote location. There are still several inactive gold dredges in the Chicken area.
Chicken has one important former inhabitant: The teacher Anne Hobbs Purdy, co-author of the book "Tisha" (together with Robert Specht, Bantam Books), lived here for 1 year in the late 1920s teaching the local children. Her book tells her story in the Alaskan wilderness and how she faces the difficulties of a close-set community, prejudices against natives, and the hard winter.
Geography
Chicken is located at 64°4′15″N 141°52′30″W / 64.07083°N 141.875°W (64.070738, -141.874894)[1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 115.4 square miles (299 km2), all of it land.
The only transportation to Chicken is a small local airstrip, as well as Alaska Route 5, the Taylor Highway. The highway is not maintained from mid-October through mid-March.
There is a United States Post Office for Chicken.
There is no local telephone exchange service in Chicken.
The zip code for Chicken is 99732.
Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 17 people, 6 households, and 4 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 0.1 people per square mile (0.1/km²). There were 21 housing units at an average density of 0.2 per square mile (0.1/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 100.00% White.
There were 6 households out of which 50.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.7% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.7% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 35.3% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 5.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 50.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $66,250, and the per capita income for the town was $65,400. None of the population was below the poverty line.
References
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
Municipalities and communities of Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska Cities 
CDPs Alcan Border | Big Delta | Chicken | Deltana | Dot Lake | Dot Lake Village | Dry Creek | Eagle Village | Fort Greely | Healy Lake | Northway | Northway Junction | Northway Village | Tanacross | Tetlin | Tok
Unincorporated
communitiesCategories:- Census-designated places in Alaska
- Populated places in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska
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