ALASKA THE GREAT COUNTRY CHAPTER XLVII The Timeless Charm of Alaska’s Hidden Gem

Since the first glimpse of Sitka on a vivid June day, framed by lush green islands and glistening white mountains, this town has held a special place in my heart. Its unique atmosphere, shaped by the striking white Greek church at the heart of the town and the ever-present line of native women selling their wares, makes Sitka unlike any other place. From the silent shadows of the old Russian log storehouse to the lively, colorful blankets of the natives, Sitka is a place where history, culture, and nature converge in breathtaking harmony.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter forty seven. In the autumn of nineteen o two,
Felix Pedro, an experienced miner and prospector, crossed the divide
between Birch and mc manus Creeks and entered the Tananaw Valley.
Previous to that year, many people had traveled through the
valley on their way to the Klondike by the Valdez route,
and a few miners from the Birch Creek and forty

(00:23):
Mile Diggings had wandered into the Tannenau country without being
able to do any important prospecting because of the distance
from supplies. But Pedro was the first man to discover
that gold existed in economic quantities in this region, and
his coming was an event of historical importance. One of
the best tests of the importance and value of geological

(00:45):
survey work lies in the significant report of mister Alfred H.
Brooks for the year of eighteen ninety eight, four years
before the discoveries of mister Pedro. We have seen that
the little prospecting which has been done up to the
present time has been too hurried and too superficial to
be regarded as a fair test of the region. Our

(01:08):
best information leads us to believe that the same horizons
which carry gold in the forty Mile and Birch Creek
districts are represented in the Tannenau and White River basins.
I should advise prospectors to carefully investigate the small tributary
streams of the Lower White and of the Tannina from
Mirror Creek to the mouth. Pedro's discovery was on the

(01:32):
creek which bears his name, and before another your gold
was discovered on several other creeks. In nineteen o one,
a trading post was established by Captain Ee T. Barnett
on the present side of Fairbanks, and the development of
the country progressed rapidly. The Fairbanks Mining District was organized

(01:54):
and named for the present Vice President of the United States.
In the autumn of nineteen o three, eight hundred people
were in the district and about thirty thousand dollars had
been produced, the more important creeks at that time being Pedro,
gold Stream, Twin Creek, Cleary, Wolf, Chatham, and Fairbanks. In

(02:16):
the fall of nineteen o four, nearly four thousand miners
had come in and the year's output was three hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. Fairbanks and China had grown to
thriving camps, and a brilliant prosperity reigned in the entire district.
Roads were built to the creeks, sluffs were bridged, and

(02:37):
Fairbanks Spoon was in full swing. It was the old
story of a camp growing from tents to shaks in
a night, from shacks to three story buildings in a month.
The glory of the Klondike trembled and paled in the
brilliance of that of Fairbanks. Every steamer four Valdez was

(02:58):
crowded with men and women for the new camp by
way of the Valdez Trail, while thousands went by steamer
either to Saint Michael and up the Yukon, or to
Skagway and down the Yukon to the mouth of the Tannino.
Fairbanks is now a camp only in name. It has
all the comforts and luxuries of a city, and is

(03:20):
more prosperous and progressive than any other town in Alaska
or the Yukon. It started with such a rush that
it does not seem to be able to stop. It
is the headquarters of the third Judicial District of Alaska,
which was formerly at Rampart. It has electric light and
water systems, a fire department, excellent and modern hotels, schools, churches, hospitals,

(03:46):
daily newspapers, a telegraph line to the outside world which
is operated by the government, and a telephone system which
serves not only the city but all the creeks as well.
The Tannino Mines Railway, or Tannano Valley Railway as it
is now called, was built in nineteen o five to
connect Fairbanks with China and the richest mining claims of

(04:11):
the district, and two great railroads are in course of
construction from Prince William Sound. In nineteen o sixty output
of gold was more than nine millions of dollars, and
had it not been for the labor troubles in nineteen
o seven, this output would have been doubled. In the
earlier days of the camp, the crudest methods of mining

(04:32):
were employed, but with the improved transportation facilities, modern machinery
was brought in in the difficulties of the development were
greatly lessened. Upon a first trip to Fairbanks, the visitor
is amazed at the size and the metropolitan style and
tone of this six year old camp in the wilderness.

(04:52):
It is situated on the banks of the China River,
about nine miles from its confluence with the Tannino. It
has a level town site which looks as though it
might extend to the Arctic Circle. The main portion of
the town is on the right bank of the river,
the railway terminal yards, sawmills, manufacturing plants, and industries of

(05:15):
a similar nature being located on the opposite shore, on
what is known as Garden Island, the two being connected
by substantial bridges. The city is incorporated, and, like other
incorporated towns of Alaska, is governed by a council of
seven members who elect a presiding officer, who is by

(05:36):
courtesy known as mayor. The executive officers of the municipal
government consist of a clerk, treasurer, police magistrate, chief of police,
chief of the fire department, street commissioner, and physician. The
municipal finances are derived from a share in federal licenses,

(05:56):
from the income derived from the local court, from taxes,
and from local taxation of real and personal property. From
all these sources, the municipal treasury was enriched during the
year of nineteen o six by about ninety five thousand dollars.
Each of the three Banks operates in assay office under

(06:17):
the supervision of an expert. The population of the district
is from fifteen to twenty thousand, of which five thousand
belong permanently to the town. The climate is dry and sparkling.
The summers are delightful, the winter still and not colder
than those of Minnesota, Montana, and the Dakotas, but without

(06:39):
the blizzards of those states. In nineteen o six, the
coldest month was January, the daily mean temperature being thirty
six degrees below zero, but dry and still. Travel over
the trail by dog team is continued throughout the winter,
skating and other outdoor sports being as common as in Canada.

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Five sawmills are in operation, with an aggregate daily capacity
of one hundred and ten thousand feet, the entire product
being used locally. There is in abundance of poplar, spruce,
hemlock and birch, an unlimited water supply, a municipal steam
heating plant, two good hospitals, two daily newspapers, graded schools,

(07:26):
the four year course of the high school admitting the
student to the Washington State University and to high educational
institutions of other states. A Chamber of commerce and a
business men's association. Twelve hotels, five of which are first class,
while every industry is represented several times over. This is Fairbanks,

(07:49):
the six year old mining camp of the Tananau Valley.
Copyright by E. A. Hegg Juno Sunrise on Bering Sea
Copyright by E. A. Hegg June Know Sunrise on Bearing
Sea