Cooper Landing Information

History

Cooper Landing was named for Joseph Cooper, a miner who discovered gold there in 1884. However, Peter Doroshin, a Russian engineer, had identified gold prospects as far back as 1848 when the territory was still part of Russian America.

Cooper Creek was first recorded in 1898 by the U.S. Geological Survey. In 1900, the Census found 21 miners and 1 wife living at Cooper Creek. The Riddiford Post Office began operations in 1924, and the Riddiford School opened in 1928.

In 1938, a road was constructed to Seward. In 1948, a road to Kenai was opened, and by 1951, residents could drive to Anchorage. The Cooper Landing Community Club was first formed in 1949. The Cooper Lake Hydroelectric Facility was constructed in 1959-60.

There were 162 households out of which 21.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.74.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 18.2% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 117.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.4 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $34,844, and the median income for a family was $51,250. Males had a median income of $46,319 versus $34,276 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $24,795. None of the families and 2.2% of the population were living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and none of those over 64