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PHOTOS: Postcard from Red Devil

Alaska Public Media | By Katie Basile

Published October 1, 2019 at 4:35 PM AKDT

Rebecca Wilmarth’s daughter in Red Devil, Alaska. (Photo by Katie Basile/KYUK)

The population of Red Devil, Alaska may be dwindling below 20 residents, but those who remain are fiercely connected through family history and a reliance on the abundant subsistence foods. Carefully manicured lawns, lush vegetable gardens and tidy homes line the dirt paths of the small community. Summer break allows for school-aged children to return home to Red Devil, bringing energy and welcome noise to what is nearly otherwise a ghost town.

The home of Rebecca Wilmarth on August 15, 2019 in Red Devil, Alaska. (Photo by Katie Basile/KYUK)

Related: This old Alaska mining town is almost a ghost town. It has everything to gain from Donlin Mine.

Tamara Stern-Morgan and Desirae Morgan play outside their grandparent’s home in Red Devil, Alaska on August 16, 2019. The girls spend summers in Red Devil and Desirae Morgan would like to stay year-round with her grandparents and legal guardians but the school is closed, forcing her to relocate to Sleetmute every August. (Photo by Katie Basile/KYUK)

The back door of the school in Red Devil, Alaska stays boarded since the school closed after enrollment fell below the requirement. August, 16, 2019. (Photo by Katie Basile/KYUK)

Glen Morgan and Theresa Morgan bring their granddaughters, Tamara Stern-Morgan and Desirae Morgan upriver to Sleetmute August 17, 2019. Tamara Stern-Morgan will stay in Sleetmute for the school-year and Desirae Morgan will follow two days later. (Photo by Katie Basile/KYUK)

A shed in Red Devil, Alaska on August 17, 2019. (Photo by Katie Basile/KYUK)

Related: For people who live in remote Red Devil, an old mine’s toxic legacy is not enough to doubt Donlin’s promise

Edward Leppala reminisces about growing up in a thriving mining town outside of his home in Red Devil, Alaska on August 15, 2019. (Photo by Katie Basile/KYUK)

Joe Morgan stands at the now defunct Red Devil Mine near the very spot where his dad ran a hoist which lowered men in and out of the mine. August 17, 2019. (Photo by Katie Basile/KYUK)

Joe and Glen Morgan’s parents are buried across the river from Red Devil, Alaska on land still owned by the family. August 17, 2019. (Photo by Katie Basile/KYUK)

Related: How do you revive an almost ghost town in remote Alaska? Ask the 20 residents of Red Devil who are betting on Donlin mine

Katie Basile

See stories by Katie Basile