Chugiak, Anchorage


Chugiak is an unincorporated community in the Municipality of Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska, situated approximately northeast of downtown Anchorage.

Geography

Chugiak is located between Eagle River to the south and Eklutna to the north, and between Knik Arm to the west and Chugach State Park to the east, where the Chugach Mountains lie.

History

The settlement along the Palmer Highway in an area that had been home to Denai’ina Athabascans for thousands of years was named "Chugiak" on February 17, 1947, by pioneering white residents. "Chugiak" is said to have come from a Dena'ina Athabascan word meaning "place of many places". Chugiak was first heavily settled in the 1950s, primarily by the homesteading by former military personnel who had served in Alaska during World War II. It is currently one of the main sites of suburban expansion near Anchorage.

Demographics

Chugiak first appeared on the 1960 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It reported again in 1970. In 1975, it merged with the city of Anchorage.

Present day

There are about 8,300 residents, most of whom work in Anchorage or the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, and are spread out mainly along the Glenn Highway. The urban cluster of Anchorage Northeast has an estimated population of 31,000, covering an area of 39 km².
Chugiak is also the home of the "Birchwood Shooting & Recreational Park",, the largest rifle, pistol, and shotgun range facility in the State of Alaska. The annual Alaska State Trap and Skeet competitions are held there.
Chugiak has its own post office, with United States postal zip code 99567, which also serves the neighboring small unincorporated communities of Birchwood and Peters Creek.