Santa Clause lives here!
Location / Coordinates: North Pole, Alaska is just southeast of Fairbanks about 15 miles and north of Anchorage about 390 miles on the Richardson Highway in the Tanana Valley, 140 miles south of the Arctic Circle. North Pole is part of the North Star Borough.
Coordinates: Latitude N64.45 & Longitude W147.21
Population / Elevation: Just under 1,700 “elves” call North Pole home. North Pole, Alaska is situated at almost 500 feet above sea level.
Description: North Pole, Alaska, “Where the spirit of Christmas lives year round” is a great place for Christmas souvenir shopping and to meet Santa Clause. North Pole is also a bedroom community for Fairbanks. Many people live on streets named Santa Clause Lane, Holiday Road, or Kris Kringle Drive.
North Pole, Alaska is a good place to stock up on supplies before you head south towards Delta Junction.
What to do there: North Pole, Alaska is Christmas Central. Visit the World Famous Santa Claus House and shop for unique gifts and Christmas collectables year round. See the world’s largest Santa. During the winter season, North Pole has an annual Winter Carnival with sled dog races, food, arts and crafts, and carnival games.
You may order a letter sent to your child signed by Santa, send post cards to the post office and have them postmarked “North Pole.”
History: Originally the North Pole area was homesteaded by Bon and Bernice Davis in 1944. They had traveled to Alaska hoping to homestead a small part of it. Once they found their patch of forest, they were required to build a cabin, live on the land, and farm at lest 24 acres. This was done over the next five years and the Davis’ were awarded their patent to the land in April 1949. They named the area Davis.
Eventually, Davis sold most of his homestead to Dahl and Gaske Development Company. They subdivided the Davis homestead into one-acre lots. Some of the lots came with a little house which could be purchased for as little as $100 down and monthly installments there after.
Dahl and Gaske had big plans for this little community. They thought if they could rename Davis to “North Pole” perhaps a toy manufacturer would move there and could stamp their toys “Made in North Pole.” Who knows? Maybe Disneyland could build a Santa Land here!
The name was legally changed from Davis to North Pole. A Santa Clause House was built and maintained by the Miller family, and in 1953 North Pole became an official first class city.
How to get there: Driving to North Pole, take the Richardson Highway north from Delta Junction or south fromFairbanks. There is an airfield with a gravel 4,000 foot runway if you are flying. Flying in to Fairbanks and renting a car to drive to North Pole is also an option.
Facilities: North Pole, Alaska has a full complement of services to accommodate the tourist and the resident. Shopping, dining, banks, post office, parks, churches, motels, bed & breakfasts, and campgrounds.
RV info: North Pole has several RV parks with showers, laundry facilities, an RV wash, full and partial hookups, and other amenities.
