Portlock: The Village Everyone Fled From

Deep on the Gulf of Alaska coast, on the rugged southern tip of the Kenai Peninsula, lies a ghost town that didn't die because the fish ran out or the economy collapsed. It died because of fear.

In this episode of Drive-Thru Towns, host Andrew Wilcox takes us to Portlock (also known as Port Chatham), a place so unsettling that an entire community abandoned it simultaneously in 1950. Settled in the 1920s as a thriving salmon cannery town, Portlock’s story took a dark turn in the 1940s when mutilated animal carcasses, missing hunters, and bodies with inexplicable wounds began to appear.

We explore the legend of the Nantiinaq—a large, hairy, human-like creature rooted in Alutiiq tradition—and the chilling reality of a town that simply walked away, leaving buildings standing and artifacts scattered, never to return.

• The Cannery Boom: How Portlock briefly thrived as a commercial hub for the Gulf of Alaska’s fishing fleet.

• The "Nantiinaq" Reports: The chilling accounts from the late 1940s that led local elders to believe a traditional Indigenous cryptid had claimed the area.

• The Great Exodus: Why the entire population fled by 1950, leaving a working fishing village to rot in the salt air without an official explanation.

• Modern Echoes: The unsettling experience of modern visitors who find the "Unga-type" isolation of Portlock still carries the weight of its abandoned history.

If you have a taste for the strange and the unexplained corners of the American map, follow the show on Spotify to catch every stop on our journey.

• Instagram: @50statefamily

• LinkedIn: Andrew Wilcox

• Email: wilcoxlegal@gmail.com

• Host: Andrew Wilcox

• Theme Music: Special thanks to Chloe Jones for the music. Discover more of her work at chloejonesmusic.co.uk.

Eagle: The Last American Town Before Everything Became Canada

Situated on the banks of the Yukon River, just 12 miles from the Canadian border, sits a town that was once the "Gateway to the Interior." Today, it is a quiet sentinel of history at the end of the Taylor Highway.

In this episode of Drive-Thru Towns, host Andrew Wilcox explores Eagle, Alaska—the first incorporated city in the Interior and the last American stop for fortune-seekers heading to the Klondike. We trace Eagle’s journey from a bustling hub of 1,700 residents to a peaceful community of 87, where the median age is 70 and the log cabins settle slowly into the permafrost.

We also recount the incredible 1905 detour of legendary explorer Roald Amundsen, who mushed 800 miles across the frozen wilderness just to reach Eagle’s telegraph station and tell the world he had finally conquered the Northwest Passage.

• The Border's Edge: Why Eagle became the seat of justice and the primary customs port for the entire Yukon River corridor.

• Fort Egbert: A look at the five surviving buildings of the military post that once maintained order on the edge of the world.

• Amundsen’s Telegram: The story of the Norwegian explorer who left his ship frozen in the ice to find the nearest "send" button—located right here in Eagle.

• The Melancholy Beauty of Aging: How Eagle watched the gold rushes of Nome and Fairbanks pass it by, choosing instead to grow old gracefully along the river.

If you're drawn to the quiet corners of the map and the towns that time forgot, follow the show on Spotify for more stories from the edge of the frontier.

• Instagram: @50statefamily

• LinkedIn: Andrew Wilcox

• Email: wilcoxlegal@gmail.com

• Host: Andrew Wilcox

• Theme Music: Special thanks to Chloe Jones for the music. Explore her work at chloejonesmusic.co.uk.

Chicken: Too Remote to Spell Ptarmigan

Deep in the Interior of Alaska, at the end of the Taylor Highway, sits a town that owes its name to a spelling bee that never happened.

In this episode of Drive-Thru Towns, host Andrew Wilcox takes us to Chicken, Alaska—a community founded by gold miners a full decade before the Klondike became a household name. When it came time to name the post office in 1902, the locals wanted to honor the ptarmigan, the ubiquitous game bird that kept them fed through brutal subarctic winters. There was just one problem: nobody could agree on how to spell it. Rather than risk the embarrassment of a misspelled official document, they settled on "Chicken."

We explore the history of the "Sixteen Liars" (the area's first legendary storytellers), the life of Anne Hobbs Purdy (the famed schoolteacher known as "Tisha"), and the modern-day absurdity of a fast-food giant claiming to "buy" a town for 10,000 sandwiches.

• The "Sixteen Liars": Why the first 16 prospectors on the Fortymile River were more famous for their tall tales than their gold.

• Gold the Size of Cracked Corn: A look at the 1898 USGS report suggesting the name "Chicken" might actually refer to the size of the local gold nuggets.

• Anne Hobbs Purdy: The incredible story of the woman who arrived by pack train in 1927, married a miner, and raised 11 children in a town with no power grid.

• The Jack in the Box "Takeover": How a 2021 ad campaign "bought" the town to end the "Chicken Wars," and the $10,000 donation that actually helped the 12 year-round residents.

If you’re ready to visit a place where outhouses are still the standard and the "Chickenstock" music festival is the highlight of the year, follow us on Spotify.

• Instagram: @50statefamily

• LinkedIn: Andrew Wilcox

• Email: wilcoxlegal@gmail.com

• Host: Andrew Wilcox

• Theme Music: Special thanks to Chloe Jones for the music. Hear more at chloejonesmusic.co.uk.