County: Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 62°32′40″N 158°05′43″W / 62.54444°N 158.09528°W / 62.54444
Elevation:
Time Zone: Alaska (AKST) (UTC-9)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments: The town of Iditarod was named after the Iditarod River. Iditarod comes from the Athabascan word Haidilatna. On Christmas Day 1908, prospectors John Beaton and W.A. “Bill” Dikeman found gold on Otter Creek, a tributary to the Iditarod River. News of the find spread, and in the summer of 1909 miners arrived in the gold fields and built a small camp that was later known as Flat. People and supplies traveled to the gold fields by boat from the Yukon River, up the Innoko River, and up the Iditarod River to the current town site, a short walk from Flat. More gold was discovered, and a massive stampede headed for Flat in 1910.
Remains:
Current Status: Iditarod is an abandoned town in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska.
Remarks: By 1930 the gold was gone and most of the miners had moved to Flat, taking many of the buildings with them. Iditarod is now a ghost town. Only one cabin and a handful of ruins remain, including the concrete bank vault from the Miners and Merchants Bank. There is no remnant of the bank structure.
