Editing Utqiagvik, Alaska (section)

===Prehistory to the 20th century===

[[Archaeological]] sites in the area indicate the Iñupiat lived around Utqiagvik as far back as 500 AD. Remains of 16 sod dwelling [[mound builder (people)|mounds]], from the [[Birnirk culture]] of about 800 AD, can be seen on the shore of the [[Arctic Ocean]]. Located on a slight rise above the high-water mark, they risk being lost to erosion.

Bill Streever, who chairs the [[Alaska North Slope|North Slope]] Science Initiative's Science Technical Advisory Panel, wrote in his 2009 book ''Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places'':

{{blockquote|Barrow, like most communities in Alaska, looks temporary, like a pioneer settlement. It is not. Barrow is among the oldest permanent settlements in the United States. Hundreds of years before the European Arctic explorers showed up... Barrow was more or less where it is now, a natural hunting place at the base of a peninsula that pokes out into the [[Beaufort Sea]]... Yankee whalers sailed here, learning about the [[bowhead whale]] from Iñupiat hunters... Later, the military came, setting up a radar station, and in 1947 [[Iḷisaġvik College|a science center]] was founded at Barrow.<ref>{{cite book |last= Streever |first= Bill |title= Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places |url= https://archive.org/details/coldadventuresin00stre |url-access= registration |location= New York |publisher= Little, Brown and Company |year= 2009 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/coldadventuresin00stre/page/154 154–155]|isbn= 9780316042918 }}</ref>}}

[[File:Whalebone_arch_in_Utqiagvik_Alaska.png|thumb|Whalebone arch in Utquiagvik. Whales were a [[subsistence]] resource in the region,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encountersalaska.com/bowhead-whaling |title=Bowhead whaling in northwest alaska |date=2017 |access-date=July 9, 2024}}</ref> and whalers would return to this arch near the waterfront when returning from hunts.]]
British [[Royal Navy]] officers came to the area to explore and map the [[Arctic]] coastline of North America. The US acquired Alaska in 1867 by purchasing it from Russia. The [[United States Army]] established a meteorological and magnetic research station at Utqiagvik in 1881.<ref>{{cite web |title=Barrow Arctic Research Center/ Environmental Observatory: History and Facilities |url=https://eu-interact.org/field-sites/barrow-arctic-research-centerenvironmental-observatory/ |website=Barrow Arctic Research Center/ Environmental Observatory |access-date=February 20, 2019}}</ref>

In 1888, a [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] church was built by United States missionaries at Utqiagvik. The church is still in use today. In 1889, a [[Point Barrow Refuge Station|whaling supply and rescue station]] was built. It is the oldest wood-frame building in Utqiagvik and is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. The rescue station was converted in 1896 for use as the retail Cape Smythe Whaling and Trading Station. In the late 20th century, the building was used as Brower's Cafe.