Category: Central Interior Alaska

Fairbanks coal bunkers were the last of their kind in Alaska

Coal bunkers as they looked in 1994 Fairbanks was never a coal-mining town, but coal did help Fairbanks recover from the lean times of the late 1910s and early 1920s. In 1910 about 11,000...

Meandering mining camp? Where is Meehan, Alaska?

The Eagan cabin at Meehan, Alaska—all that’s left of the mining camp Where, oh, where, oh, where is Meehan? That’s what you might wonder looking at different U.S. Geological Survey maps of Fairbanks Creek. ...

Fairbanks Creek–mining camps, churn drills and gold dredges

Churn drill on Fairbanks Creek When I visited Fairbanks Creek in the 1990s there were several old churn drills sitting on the dredge tailings, obscured by trees.  They had probably been sitting there for...

No Trespassing–Really? Tumbled-down building on Fairbanks creek

      This photo amuses me, but maybe I just have a weird sense of humor. The building’s front door was locked (or maybe it was just jammed) and there was a “No...

West Coast Grocery warehouse and a ghost of Christmas past

  West Coast Grocery warehouse as it looked in early winter, 2011 The unpretentious metal-sided building at 318 Driveway Street (across from the News-Miner building) looks similar to the NC Company warehouse at the...

Desjardin-Stroecker Farm–a remnant of early Fairbanks agriculture

Desjardin-Stroecker farm as it looked in 1995 The Desjardin-Stroecker Farm, located at 2.5 mile on Farmer’s Loop Road, is one of the few remaining signs of Fairbanks, Alaska’s agricultural past (besides Creamer’s Dairy, which...

Find memories, welcome and soothing waters at Chena Hot Springs, Alaska

Historic cabins at Chena Hot Springs in 2009 Most Westerners exploring the Chena River drainage in the early 1900s had gold fever and were looking to get rich. Robert Swan had rheumatism and was...

Mining Camp Blacksmith Shop–Fairbanks Creek, Alaska

  Side of blacksmith shop at Fairbanks Creek. I was out at an old mining camp north of Fairbanks when there was just a little snow on the ground (way before the current cold...

The Trail to Eldorado, Chatanika Valley, Alaska

Last post I published a drawing of an old building at Little Eldorado Creek and talked about the area’s history. This time I’m putting up some photos from my hike out there a few...

All that’s left of Eldorado – Chatanika Valley, Alaska

Eldorado Creek building as it looked in 1994 The Tanana Valley Railroad (which operated from 1905 to 1930 under various names and owners) used to run 35 miles from Fairbanks to Chatanika through country...