Teller is a city located in Nome Census Area, Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 268.

Geography

Teller is located at 65°15'26" North, 166°21'14" West (65.257294, -166.353807).

Teller is located on a spit 116 km (72 miles) northwest of Nome on the Seward Peninsula.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.5 km² (2.1 mi²). 5.0 km² (1.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 9.00% water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there are 268 people, 76 households, and 61 families residing in the city. The population density is 53.9/km² (139.9/mi²). There are 87 housing units at an average density of 17.5/km² (45.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 7.46% White, 0.00% Black or African American, 92.54% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 0.00% from two or more races. 0.37% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 76 households out of which 53.9% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.8% are married couples living together, 15.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 19.7% are non-families. 18.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 5.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.53 and the average family size is 3.80.

In the city the population is spread out with 41.4% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 15.7% from 45 to 64, and 6.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 24 years. For every 100 females there are 135.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 134.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $23,000, and the median income for a family is $20,000. Males have a median income of $25,625 versus $31,250 for females. The per capita income for the city is $8,617. 37.7% of the population and 33.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 45.0% of those under the age of 18 and 27.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

History

The Inupiat had a fishing camp called Nook 32 km (20 miles) south of Teller in the early 1800s.

An expedition from the Western Union telegraph spent the winter the present site of Teller in 1866 and 1867; the called it "Libbyville" or "Libby Station." When the United States Government introduced reindeer herding in Alaska, a reindeer station operated from 1892 to 1900 at a site near Teller. The station was named for United States Senator and Secretary of the Interior Henry Moore Teller in 1892 by Sheldon Jackson.

Teller was established in 1900 after the Bluestone Placer Mine discovery 25 km (15 miles) to the south. It took its name from the reindeer herding station. During the boom year in the early 1900s, Teller had a population of about 5,000 and was a major regional trading center. Natives from Diomede, Wales, Mary's Igloo and King Island came to trade there.

The Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Church built Teller Mission across the harbor from Teller in 1900. The mission was renamed Brevig Mission in 1903, after the Reverend T. L. Brevig.

The dirigible "Norge" detoured to Teller on its first flight over the North Pole from Norway to Nome in 1926. Many present residents of Teller came from Mary's Igloo. Mary's Igloo is now a summer fishing camp and has no permanent residents.

Today, Teller is an Inupiat village that depends on subsistence hunting and fishing.

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