Kasilof ( ; Dena'ina: ''Ggasilat'', ) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Kenai Peninsula Borough Kenai Peninsula Borough is a borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,799, up from 55,400 in 2010. The borough seat is Soldotna, the largest city is Kenai, and the most populated community is the censu ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 525, down from 549 in 2010.

Geography

Kasilof is located at (60.335274, -151.233594). It is on the east side of the

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet (; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding ...

on the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

, on the

Sterling Highway The Sterling Highway is a state highway in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Alaska, leading from the Seward Highway at Tern Lake Junction, south of Anchorage, to Homer. To assist in agricultural transport and also open area ...

, south

Kenai Kenai (, ; Dena'ina: ; , ''Kenay'') is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. By road, it is 158 miles southwest of Anchorage. The population was 7,424 as of the 2020 census, up from 7,100 in 2010, the fiftee ...

and north of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

. It is bordered to the southwest by the

Kasilof River The Kasilof River ( ) or ''Ggasilatnu'' in the Dena'ina language is a river on the western Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska. The name is an anglicization of ''Reka Kasilova'', the name given to the river by early Russian settlers in the area. I ...

, across which is the community of Cohoe. To the north, across Coal Creek, is the community of Kalifornsky. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the Kasilof CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.89%, are water.

Demographics

Kasilof first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village named "Kassilof." It appeared again in 1890, and in 1900 its name was shortened to the current spelling, Kasilof. It did not appear again on the census until 1930. In 1980, it was made a census-designated place (CDP). As of the census of 2000, there were 471 people, 180 households, and 124 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 208 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.36%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.18% Native American, 0.64%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.21% Asian, 0.21% from other races, and 3.40% from two or more races. 0.21% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 180 households, out of which 33.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 2.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.06. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 31.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 107.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,929, and the median income for a family was $58,036. Males had a median income of $45,469 versus $12,143 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $21,211. About 21.4% of families and 26.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 35.8% of those under age 18 and 39.1% of those age 65 or over.

History

In 1786 a detachment of Russians employed by the Lebedev-Lastochkin Company built an

artel An artel () was any of several types of cooperative associations of workers in pre-revolutionary Russia. In the Soviet Union, the term was applied to enterprises in the Soviet Union, production cooperatives. They began centuries ago but were espe ...

at the location of modern Kasilof for fishing operations. While it likely received expansions, it "never played a significant role in the history of the Russian colonies."Solojova, Katerina and Aleksandra Vovnyanko. "The Rise and Decline of the Lebedev-Lastochkin Company: Russian Colonization of South Central Alaska, 1787-1798." ''The Pacific Northwest Quarterly'' 90, No. 4 (1999), pp. 191-205. An agricultural settlement of Dena'ina people grew up around the stockade. During the establishment of the

Russian-American Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the Shelikhov-Golikov Company, United American Company. Emperor Paul I of Russia chartered the c ...

, a

fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, the assets of the LLC were liquidated. The area became known as Kasilof after the

in the 1800s. A partial excavation of the area in 1937 found 31 well-preserved houses from the settlement. most residents are non-Native.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Census-designated places in Alaska Populated places established in 1786