The Story of Council and Covenant Life

The Story of Council and Covenant Life

From Tell Your Story Alaska by Billy Tjernlund

December 17, 2025 · 18 min · Season 1 · Episode 105

About this episode

This episode explores the history of Council, Alaska, and its connection to the religious community of Covenant Life.

Council went from wilderness to a booming town of 15,000 people then down to a tiny population in just a few years thanks to the flurry of gold prospectors at the end of the 19th century. Council is considered a "ghost town" today, but is it? Covenant Life seems to be connected to a religious movement called "The Move" or often referred to as "The Farm" which is a religious group with several communities throughout Alaska. This village is centered around a church and the religious values of "The Move." Contact the show at tysalaska@gmail.com TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

People in this episode

Host: Billy Tjernlund

Topics covered

  • ghost towns
  • religious movements
  • Alaska history
  • gold prospecting
  • community values

Keywords

  • Council
  • Covenant Life
  • The Move
  • ghost town
  • Alaska
  • religious community
  • gold prospectors

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Move, The Farm

Places: Council, Covenant Life

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