Ekwok means "end of the bluff," and is the oldest continuously occupied Yup'ik Eskimo village on the river. During the 1800s, the settlement was used in the spring and summer as a fish camp, and in the fall as a base for berry-picking. By 1923, it was the largest settlement along the river. In 1930, a BIA school was constructed. Mail was delivered by dog sled from Dillingham until a post office opened in 1941. Many of the earliest homes in Ekwok were located in a low, flat area near the riverbank. After a severe flood in the early 1960s, villagers relocated on higher ground, to the current location.
To Community Histories Index Alaska DCCED Community Database Online
History and map graphic used with permission from the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development