[1][2] The lake was named in 1951 after Bart Galbraith, a bush pilot who died in a 1950 plane crash while flying from Barter Island to Barrow.

[3][4][5] Galbraith Lake Airport is located in the area, as well as Pump Station 4 of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

A work camp was located at Galbraith Lake during the construction of the pipeline.

[10] The infrastructure of the pipeline construction project in the 1970s also permitted the conduct of archeological investigations in the area, which previously had not been explored, funded by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.

[15] Because the weather station was operated for only a decade, the temperature record is irregular, with December the coldest month of the year, and record highs and lows less extreme than those of nearby locations.