College Station in the mid-1920s. The four miles between the University of Alaska and downtown Fairbanks offers little impediment to modern travelers. However, when the university’s predecessor, the Alaska College of Agriculture and...
Old Chena townsite building as it was being prepped for the return trip to Chena In early 1901, months before E.T. Barnette’s party landed on the bank of the Chena River, George Belt...
Old Chatanika cabin in 1994 In 1902 Felix Pedro washed gold out of Cleary Creek about 25 miles northeast of Fairbanks. Relatively few miners worked the creeks near Fairbanks in 1902, and it wasn’t...
The Falcon Joslin House, 413 Cowles St., stands as testament to the determination of Falcon Joslin, the builder of the Tanana Valley Railroad and one of the earliest promoters of the Tanana Valley. It...
I enjoy tramping through the hills or along back roads, looking for hidden gems — out-of-the-way or forgotten buildings with lots of character. One of those hidden gems is the old Chatanika schoolhouse...
Olnes is pretty much just a spot on the map these days. It is about 20 miles north of Fairbanks along the Elliott Highway. A sign there (dating back to at least 1990)...
TVRR Engine No. 1 at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks When Falcon Joslin, the mastermind behind the Tanana Valley Railroad, began work on the line in 1904, he envisioned a railroad stretching from Fairbanks to...
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...
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...
