Information About

Marys Igloo

Quick Facts

Open in The Map Marys Igloo on The Map

Location

65 ° 8' 56.036" N,
165 ° 4' 3.932" W

Region

Nome (CA)

Nearest City

Nome

Elevation

16 ft (4.88 m)

Marys Igloo in Detail.

About

population 5, in Kuzitrin River basin, 2 mi. NW of Marys Mtn. and 40 Mi. SE of Teller; Seward Peninsula High.

History

Miners' name popularly applied to the Eskimo settlement at the head of steamboat navigation on the Kuzitrin River; reported as "Marys Igloo" by Brooks (1901, p. 11), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in 1900, the first year of gold prospecting in this area. transferred to flat-bottomed river boats that were towed upstream to the gold fields along the Kougarok and Kuzitrin Rivers or to the railway at Lanes Landing (Collier and others, 1908, p. 59). Balcom (1965, p. 16) attributes the name to an "Eskimo woman named Mary who held open house there for visiting miners, trappers and other travelers, who never arrived too late or too early for snacks and coffee at Mary's house, or 'igloo,' the Eskimo word for 'shelter.'" Alaska Native School was closed for lack of students by the teacher, the only white man left in the place." Igloo, which had been in continuous operation since 1901, was discontinued. in 1950, 64.