BARROW
The Community
Barrow is the economic, transportation and administrative center for the North Slope Borough. Located on the Chukchi Sea coast, Barrow is the northernmost community in the US. Traditionally, the community is known as Ukpeagvik, "place where snowy owls are hunted." Barrow was incorporated as a first-class city in 1959.
Barrow takes its modern name from Point Barrow, named in 1825 by Captain Beechey of the Royal Navy for Sir John Barrow of the British Admiralty. Beechey was plotting the Arctic coastline of North America at the time.
An important historical site in the area is the Birnick archaeological site which contains 16 dwelling mounds of a culture believed to have existed between 500-900 AD. The archaeological findings are considered a key link between the prehistoric cultures of Alaska and Canada.
Another interesting site is the Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station in nearby Browerville. Cape Smythe was built as a whaling station in 1893 and is the oldest frame building in the Arctic.
During the 1940's and 1950's the military played an influential role in the area. Construction of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line and exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve brought new people to the region. During the same time, the Naval Arctic Research Lab (NARL) was built near Barrow.
Visitors to Barrow will arrive at the Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport. This airport was named to commemorate the famous pilot and American humorist who died in an airplane crash just 15 miles south of Barrow in 1935. Across from the airport sits the Will Rogers and Wiley Post Monument.
Education and Training
There are 1,777 students officially (according to the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development) enrolled in Barrow schools in October 2003. Slightly over 50 percent attend the Fred Ipalook Elementary School. Less than a quarter (23.2 percent) are in the middle school (Eben Hopson) and 26 percent were at the Barrow High School.
The number of elementary students have dropped from 55 percent (685 students) of all students while the number of middle school studen ts has remained virtually the same (272) of all students in 1998. The number of high school students has gone up 8.5 percent.
Population and Economy
The largest city in the North Slope Borough, Barrow contains more than 4,429 residents, of which approximately 59.3 percent are Inupiat Eskimo. Although Barrow is a modern community, subsistence hunting, fishing and whaling are very still important to the local economy. Many residents who work full or part-time continue to hunt and fish for much of their food.
Approximately one-third of the working population of 1,955 is employed by the private sector. Some work for oil companies at Prudhoe Bay. The borough employs 46.2 percent of the work force and the School District employs another 19.3 percent.
Quality of Life
Most Barrow homes are heated by natural gas from nearby gas fields, and have modern water and sewer systems. Utilities are available through Barrow Utilities and Electric Cooperative, a local member-owned and cooperative, which offers electric power, natural gas, and water and sewer services. One privately owned company also delivers water. The North Slope Borough provides trash and sewer pick-up free of charge.
As the seat of the North Slope Borough, many regional health and social services are located in Barrow. Some of the public facilities include: senior citizen center, city teen center, women's shelter, and family services center. Health care, police station and fire stations.
Seven churches, an elementary, middle and high school and a post secondary education center, Ilisagvik College, serve the community. On evenings and weekends, the high school's swimming pool, weight room and gym are open to the public. Residents also use Barrow's recreation center, which boasts a gym, racquetball courts, weight room and sauna.
Communications in Barrow include phone, mail, a public radio station and cable TV station. The community also contains four hotels, many restaurants, a dry cleaner and a bank. Barrow has a large grocery/merchandise store and several convenience stores. Barrow bans the sale of alcoholic beverages. Major repair services include marine engine, boat, auto and aircraft mechanics. Diesel, propane, marine gas, aviation fuel, unleaded, regular and supreme gas are available for purchase.
During the summer months, tour operators offer package tours of Barrow and the surrounding area. Visitors might be interested in purchasing such arts and crafts as baleen boats, etched baleen, carved ivory, masks, parkas and fur mittens.
Barrow is served by passenger jet service from Anchorage. Freight arrives by barge in the summer and air cargo year-round.
For more information contact:
City of Barrow
PO Box 629
Barrow, Alaska 99723
(907) 852-5211
cityofbarrow.org