Cantwell was a railway flag stop at the junction with the Denali Highway. The original town is off the Parks Highway. It is a census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 (CDP) in Denali Borough

Denali Borough, Alaska

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,893 people, 785 households, and 452 families residing in the borough. The population density was 0 people per square mile . There were 1,351 housing units at an average density of 0 per square mile...

, Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. As of the 2000 census, the population of the CDP is 222.

Cantwell is the western terminus of the Denali Highway

Denali Highway

Denali Highway is a lightly traveled, mostly gravel highway in the U.S. state of Alaska. It leads from Paxson on the Richardson Highway to Cantwell on the Parks Highway. Opened in 1957, it was the first road access to Denali National Park...

.

History

Cantwell is named after Jim Cantwell, a worker on The Alaska Railroad. Prior to the settlement, the only inhabitants of the Cantwell area were nomadic Athabascan Native Alaskans who hunted and fished. In their language they named Cantwell Yede'teni'na. The town began as a flag stop on the Alaska Railroad

Alaska Railroad

The Alaska Railroad is a Class II railroad which extends from Seward and Whittier, in the south of the state of Alaska, in the United States, to Fairbanks , and beyond to Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright in the interior of that state...

. Oley Nicklie, a Native Alaskan, sought work with the railroad after fur prices dropped. He and his two brothers then founded the settlement. Cantwell is 20 miles away from a giant abandoned igloo hotel.

Cantwell served as a filming location for the 2007 movie Into the Wild

Into the Wild (film)

Into the Wild is a 2007 American biographical drama film directed by Sean Penn. It is an adaptation of 1996 non-fiction book of the same name by Jon Krakauer based on the travels of Christopher McCandless across North America in the early 1990s. The film stars Emile Hirsch as McCandless with...

.

Geography

Cantwell is located at 63°23′17"N 148°54′1"W (63.388000, -148.900204).

According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the CDP has a total area of 118.7 square miles (307.4 km²), of which, 118.3 square miles (306.4 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) of it (0.40%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there are 222 people, 102 households, and 59 families residing in the CDP. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 is 1.9 people per square mile (0.7/km²). There are 178 housing units at an average density of 1.5/sq mi (0.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP is 65.32% White

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.45% Black

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or African American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 22.52% Native American

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 1.80% Asian

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, 0.90% from other races

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 9.01% from two or more races. 1.35% of the population are Hispanic

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 or Latino

Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

 of any race.

There are 102 households out of which 25.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% are married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 8.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% are non-families. 33.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 2.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.18 and the average family size is 2.80.

In the CDP the population is spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 37.4% from 25 to 44, 30.2% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 40 years. For every 100 females there are 111.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 114.6 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP is $43,750, and the median income for a family is $39,792. Males have a median income of $55,625 versus $17,500 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the CDP is $22,615. None of the families and 2.0% of the population were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, none of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.