Portlock, Alaska

Ghost town in Alaska, US

Ghost town in Alaska, United States

Portlock

Ghost town

Portlock

Location within the state of Alaska

Coordinates: 59°12′52″N 151°44′46″W﻿ / ﻿59.2144444°N 151.7461111°W﻿ / 59.2144444; -151.7461111
Country| United States
State| Alaska
Elevation

| 36 ft (11 m)
Time zone| UTC-9 (Alaska (AKST))
• Summer (DST)| UTC-8 (AKDT)

Portlock (Sugpiaq: Arrulaa'ik) is a ghost town in the US state of Alaska, located on the southern edge of the Kenai Peninsula, around 16 miles (26 km) south of Seldovia.[1] It is located in Port Chatham bay, from which an adjacent community takes its name.[2] Named after Nathaniel Portlock, the town was an active cannery community in the early 20th century.

## History

[edit]

### Establishment

[edit]

Portlock was established in the Kenai Peninsula in the early 20th century as a cannery,[1] particularly for salmon.[3] It is thought to have been named after Captain Nathaniel Portlock,[1] a British ship captain who sailed there in 1786.[4] In 1921, a United States Post Office opened in the town.[4] The population largely consisted of Russian-Aleuts.[4]

### Abandonment

[edit]

After the construction of Alaska Route 1, Portlock, along with other towns, was abandoned in favor of communities along the opposite edge of the Kenai Peninsula that were accessible via the highway and, therefore, mainland Alaska. While some stories connected the town's abandonment with a local forest spirit Nantiinaq (sometimes associated with Bigfoot), the accounts emerged decades later, in the 2000s. These were later reported to be fabricated.[5] Official records indicate that the town's post office closed between 1950 and 1951, marking its formal abandonment.[1][6]

### Post abandonment

[edit]

Most of the people who left Portlock in the 1940s moved to the nearby Native Alaskan villages of Nanwalek and Port Graham. The village of Nanwalek still maintains private ownership of Portlock today.[7] In recent years, the community has considered the possibility of re-establishing Portlock as a village.[8]

## Nearby communities

[edit]

Portlock was located adjacent to another community known as Port Chatham (which takes its name from Port Chatham bay).[4] Seldovia is located c. 16 miles (26 km) north of Portlock; a chromite mining camp, known as Chrome,[9] was also located near Portlock, which operated in the early-twentieth century.[10]

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1940| 31| | —
1980| 31| | —
U.S. Decennial Census[11]

Portlock first appeared on the 1940 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village of 31 residents. It would not report again on the census until 1980, when it was made a census-designated place (CDP), again reporting 31 residents. It was dissolved as a CDP by the 1990 census and has not reported again.

## In popular culture

[edit]

In the spring of 2021, Discovery+ filmed a reality television series in Portlock. The series, Alaskan Killer Bigfoot, follows a scout team exploring the ruins of the abandoned village.[12] Alaskan Killer Bigfoot premiered on Discovery+ on December 7, 2021. It made its linear cable television debut on Travel Channel on June 26, 2022.[13]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Orth, Donald J. (1967). Dictionary of Alaska Place Names. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 773 - via Internet Archive. "alaska portlock chatham abandonment."
2. ^ "Something's Afoot in Port Chatham – Century-old Rumors Persist of a Terror in the Mountains". Alaska Magazine. April 8, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
3. ^ Nelson, Charles E. (July 25, 2000). "Erling Nilson, 81, made smoked fish popular delicacy". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
4. ^ a b c d Klouda, Naomi (October 28, 2009). "Haunting memories — 'Nantiinaq' sightings, spirits led to desertion of Native village". Homer, Alaska: Homer Tribune. Archived from the original on December 20, 2011 - via The Mouth of the Kenai.
5. ^ Smith, Darren “HarpDaddy” (April 20, 2021). "Framing Nantiinaq: Alaska's best known cryptid homicide case debunked". The Anchorage Press. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
6. ^ Council, Mary Lee (September 17, 1951). "Capital News Letter". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Fairbanks, Alaska. p. 2 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ Seward, Carey (December 27, 2020). "This Abandoned Ghost Town In Alaska Is Downright Bone Chilling". OnlyInYourState. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
8. ^ "Alaska Magazine | Something's Afoot in Port Chatham – Century-old Rumors Persist of a Terror in the Mountains". Alaska Magazine. April 8, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
9. ^ Anchorage and the Cook Inlet Basin. Alaska Geographic Society. 1983. p. 70\. ISBN 978-0-882-40172-0.
10. ^ U.S. Geological Survey (1920). "Mineral Resources of Alaska, 1918". Bulletin – United States Geological Survey, Volumes 710–712. p. 34 - via Google Books.
11. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". Census.gov. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
12. ^ "New Show Set in Portlock Explores Legend of Bigfoot". KBBI AM 890. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved August 22, 2022.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

## External links

[edit]

* U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Portlock (locale)
* "Skeptoid #772: The Monster of Port Chatham". Skeptoid. March 23, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
* Alaska’s Best Known Cryptid Homicide Case Debunked

* v
* t
* e

Municipalities and communities of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States

Borough seat: Soldotna

Cities|

* Homer
* Kachemak
* Kenai
* Seldovia
* Seward
* Soldotna

Kenai Peninsula Borough map

CDPs|

* Anchor Point
* Bear Creek
* Beluga
* Clam Gulch
* Cohoe
* Cooper Landing
* Crown Point
* Diamond Ridge
* Fox River
* Fritz Creek
* Funny River
* Halibut Cove
* Happy Valley
* Hope
* Kalifornsky
* Kasilof
* Lowell Point
* Moose Pass
* Nanwalek
* Nikiski
* Nikolaevsk
* Ninilchik
* Point Possession
* Port Graham
* Primrose
* Ridgeway
* Salamatof
* Seldovia Village
* Sterling
* Sunrise
* Tyonek

Unincorporated
communities|

* Jakolof Bay
* Kachemak Selo
* Razdolna
* Voznesenka

Ghost town|

* Portlock

* Alaska portal
* United States portal

*[c.]: circa
*[Pop.]: Population
*[%±]: Percent change
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