Dot Lake is located on the Alaska Highway and south of the Tanana River, 50 miles northwest of Tok and 155 road miles southeast of Fairbanks. The population as of 2011 was 12. Dot Lake Village, a Native community settled in 1946, is located nearby.
Archaeological evidence at nearby Healy Lake revealed more than 10,000 years of human habitation. Dot Lake was used as a seasonal hunting camp for Athabascans from George Lake and Tanacross. A Native freight trail ran north to the Yukon River through Northway, Tetlin, Tanacross, and Dot Lake.
During construction of the Alaska Highway in 1942-43, a work camp called Sears City occupied Dot Lake's present location. Fred and Jackie Vogel were the first non-Native settlers in the area. They received a home site and by 1949 had constructed a lodge, post office, school, and the Dot Lake Community Chapel. Over the years, additional families homesteaded the area. Over 300 acres have been provided. A licensed children's home was built by the Vogels in 1967, and the present-day Dot Lake Lodge was constructed in 1973. The North Star Children's Home closed in the mid-1990s. Employment in the area is limited to the family-owned Dot Lake Lodge.
To Community Histories Index
To the main
Department of Community and Economic Development Alaska Community Database Online
History and map graphic used with permission from the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development
