Golovin, Alaska

Golovin Siŋik, Cingik
City
Golovin Location in Alaska
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Census Area	Nome
Incorporated	March 26, 1971
Government
• Mayor	Kathy Fagerstrom
• State senator	Donald Olson (D)
• State rep.	Neal Foster (D)
Area
• Total	3.7 sq mi (9.7 km2)
• Land	3.7 sq mi (9.7 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	43 ft (13 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	156
Time zone	Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9)
• Summer (DST)	AKDT (UTC-8)
Area code	907
FIPS code	02-29180

Golovin (formerly Chinik Siŋik in Iñupiaq, Cingik in Central Alaskan Yup'ik) is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 156.

Geography

Golovin is located at (64.544612, -163.027459).

Golovin is on a point of land between Golovnin Bay and Golovnin Lagoon on the Seward Peninsula in western Alaska. It is about 105 km (65 mi) east of Nome. The area receives its name from Russian Vice-Admiral Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin, (1776–1831). The town name is misspelled while the bay and lagoon retain the correct spelling.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	135		—
1980	87		—
1990	127		46.0%
2000	144		13.4%
2010	156		8.3%
Est. 2014	160		2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 144 people, 45 households, and 30 families residing in the city. The population density was 38.5 people per square mile (14.9/km²). There were 54 housing units at an average density of 14.5 per square mile (5.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 7.64% White, 84.03% Native American, and 8.33% from two or more races. 2.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 45 households out of which 44.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 4.17.

In the city the age distribution of the population shows 42.4% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 118.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,875, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $25,625 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,281. There were none of the families and 4.3% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64.

History

Golovin was originally an Inupiat village called Chinik.

Golovin was named for Captain Vasily Golovnin of the Russian Navy, who visited Alaska to inspect the workings of the Russian-American Company in 1807-1809, in the Diana, and in 1817-1819, in the Kamchatka, while circumnavigating the world. Lt. Lavrenty Zagoskin, from the Imperial Russian Navy sent to Alaska to scout locations for trading posts, reported the village as "Ikalikguigmyut" in 1842. In 1867, the Mission Covenant of Sweden established a church and school south of the current site of Golovin. Around 1890, John Dexter established a trading post that became the center for swapping prospecting information for the entire Seward Peninsula. Gold was discovered in 1898 at Council and Golovin became a supply point for the gold fields. Supplies were unloaded from ships at Golovin and shipped across Golovnin Lagoon and up the Fish and Niukluk Rivers to Council.

When gold was discovered in what is now Nome, much of the mining and shipping activity moved there and Golovin declined in population.

Reindeer herding was introduced in the area about 1900.

Golovin is used as a checkpoint on the Iditarod in Nome, Alaska.

External links

• Subsistence wildlife harvests in five northwest Alaska communities, 2001-2003 : results of a household survey / by Kawerak, Inc., Maniilaq Association, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game ; by Susan Georgette ... [et al.]. Hosted by Alaska State Publications Program.