Unga (

Unangam tunuu Aleut () or ''Unangam Tunuu'' is the language spoken by the Aleut living in the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, Commander Islands, and the Alaska Peninsula (in Aleut , the origin of the state name Alaska). Aleut is the sole language in the A ...

: ''Uĝnaasaqax̂'') is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

Unga Island Unga Island (Uĝnaasaqax̂ in Aleut) is the largest of the Shumagin Islands off the Alaska Peninsula in southwestern Alaska, United States. The island has a land area of 170.73 sq mi (442.188 km2), making it the 36th largest island in the U ...

in the

Aleutians East Borough Aleutians East Borough () is a 2nd class List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska, borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census the borough's population was 3,420. The borough seat is Sand Point, Alas ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, about two miles west of Sand Point. The island's length is 15 miles (24 km). Unga's altitude is 59 feet (18 m).

History

It was settled by

Aleuts The Aleuts ( ; russian: Алеуты, Aleuty) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleut people and the islands are politically divided between the U ...

in 1833 and was named Delarov, referring to

Evstratii Ivanovich Delarov Evstratii Ivanovich Delarov (also spelled Evstrat Delarov and Eustrate Delarof, c. 1740 – 1806, el, Ευστράτιος Ντελάρωφ) was a Greek mariner who served with several Russian maritime fur trade companies in Russian America. H ...

of the

Shelikhov-Golikov Company The Shelikhov-Golikov Company (SGC) was a Russian fur trading venture, founded by Irkutsk entrepreneurs Grigory Shelikhov and Ivan Larionovich Golikov in 1783. Formed in Eastern Siberia during the 1780s along with several competing companies, ...

, with a population of 116. The village was reported as Ougnagok by F. P. Lutke in 1836. The first post office was established in 1888 and in 1890 Apollo Mining Co. was established. In 1894, its name was changed to Unga. The post office was closed in 1958. In 1969, the last family left Unga. Most of the people who left Unga moved to Sand Point.

Demographics

Unga first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as the unincorporated village of "Ounga." Of 185 residents, 101 were Aleut, 69 were Creole (Mixed Russian and Native) and 15 were White. The leader of the town was known as the Unga Wizard. It returned in 1890 under the present spelling of Unga and also included the Oakland fishing station, Apollo mine & Squaw Harbor mine. Of 159 residents, 109 were Creole, 48 were White and two were Asian (oddly, no non-Creole Aleuts or Natives appeared). It continued to return on every successive census until 1960. It did not return in 1970. It was designated an Alaskan Native Village Statistical Area (ANVSA) in 1980, but was uninhabited. It has not reported again since.

References

External links

* http://www.placenames.com/us/p1419430 * http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/commdb/CF_BLOCK.cfm?comm_boro_name=Unga&datatype=overview 1833 establishments in the Russian Empire 1958 disestablishments in Alaska Ghost towns in Alaska Populated places in Aleutians East Borough, Alaska Ghost towns in the United States Ghost towns in North America {{AleutiansEastAK-geo-stub