Community Type: 2nd Class City
Current Population: 88
Borough Name: Unorganized
Regional Native Corporation: Doyon, Limited
REAA/School District: Yukon Koyukuk School District
Hughes is located on the east bank of the Koyukuk River about 115 air miles northeast of Galena and 210 air miles northwest of Fairbanks.
Hughes was used as a trade center between Athabaskans and Eskimos. It became a village when a man named John Hughes built a cabin to live in while searching for gold. It served as a riverboat landing and supply port for the Indian River gold fields until 1915 when the local mining industry declined. All of the non-Natives left and an Indian couple remained. Soon there was a small community of about seventy people from year to year. In September 1994, flood waters destroyed and swept away many of the community's buildings, homes, and food supply for the winter. Residents were relocated to other villages and returned before the winter was over.
Several Native groups live in the area, including Koyukon Athabaskans and Kobuk, Selawik and Nunamiut Eskimos. Traditional ways of life persist - potlatches and dog races attract visitors from surrounding river villages.
Subsistence is an important part of the local economy. Most cash opportunities are part-time jobs, self-employment, city or school positions. BLM emergency fire fighting, skin sewing, beadwork, sled building, or fur trapping provide income.
Local winter trails connect nearby villages. River transportation is very important to Hughes, although barge service is not reliable. Most fuel and heavy freight is brought in by air. A lighted, gravel 4,600' runway is maintained and owned by the State.
The area experiences a cold, continental climate with extreme temperature differences. Temperatures range from below zero to the low 70s. the average annual precipitation is 12.7 inches, with 30 inches of snowfall.
Back to YK