McCarthy (Alaska)
| McCarthy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Location in Alaska
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| Basic data | |||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | Alaska | ||
| Borough : | Unorganized Borough | ||
| Coordinates : | 61 ° 26 ′ N , 142 ° 55 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Alaska ( UTC − 9 / −8 ) | ||
| Residents : | 28 (as of 2010) | ||
| Population density : | 0.1 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 384 km 2 (approx. 148 mi 2 ) | ||
| Height : | 427 m | ||
| Area code : | +1 907 | ||
| FIPS : | 02-45790 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 1406098 | ||
McCarthy is a location in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area of Alaska at the foot of the Wrangell Mountains in Wrangell-St.-Elias National Park , 193 km northeast of Cordova . The McCarthy Road connects the village with Chitina on the Copper River .
history
Athapaskan Indians had used the area around what would later become McCarthy for fishing for centuries, but never established a settlement.
When McCarthy discovered copper near McCarthy's in 1900 and the Kennecott Mining Company founded the mining town of Kennicott , which banned alcohol and prostitution, McCarthy quickly grew into a town with a hospital, school, bars and brothels. The population rose to 800. In 1911, the Copper River and Northwestern Railway reached McCarthy, with which the ore was transported from Kennicott.
In 1938, when the copper mines were exhausted and production and train service ceased, McCarthy slowly became a ghost town . Only in the 1970s, when the region around Kennicott was opened up for tourism, did people settle in the city again.
