Fairbanks Gold Rush
Encyclopedia
The Fairbanks Gold Rush was a gold rush
that took place in Fairbanks, Alaska
in the early 1900s. Fairbanks was a city largely built on Gold Rush fervor at the beginning of the 20th century. Discovery and exploration continue to thrive in and around modern-day Fairbanks.
Felix Pedro
spent years searching for gold. He tried to find gold in the creeks
and valley
s of the Tanana Valley
where Fairbanks would begin before he found the "American Klondike
". A trader named E.T. Barnette
and his wife, Isabelle, were aboard the riverboat Lavelle Young in August 1901, trying to establish a trading post in the Tanana River
. Low water conditions stopped the journey before Barnette could reach his destination. Co-owner of the Lavelle Young, Captain Charles Adams, turned into the Chena River
, a tributary
of the Tanana
, instead. Shallow water stopped the Lavelle Young, and Adams refused to go further, so the Barnettes set up shop there.
Barnette opened a trading post on the Chena River after Pedro had told him he had made some good "prospects." On July 22, 1902, Pedro discovered gold north of Fairbanks in Interior Alaska which triggered the beginning of the Fairbanks Gold Rush, which set off a stampede that transformed the town. Barnette dispatched Jujyra Wada, a Japan
ese immigrant from Ehime on Shikoku Island, to Dawson City to spread the word that gold had been found in order for Barnette to create a market for his goods. After Wade spread the word about the gold being discovered, many miners who had not already left for Nome traveled to Fairbanks. The prospectors soon found jobs working for Barnette—prospecting for him by panning and sluicing
for gold in Fairbanks.
On July 22, 1910, approximately eight years after he had discovered gold north of Fairbanks, Felix Pedro died at St. Joseph's Hospital
in Fairbanks of an apparent heart attack.
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
that took place in Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
in the early 1900s. Fairbanks was a city largely built on Gold Rush fervor at the beginning of the 20th century. Discovery and exploration continue to thrive in and around modern-day Fairbanks.
History
Felix Pedro
Felice Pedroni , known best to Americans by his Hispanicized alias Felix Pedro, was an Italian immigrant whose discovery of gold in Interior Alaska marked the beginning of the 1902 Fairbanks Gold Rush.-Early life:...
spent years searching for gold. He tried to find gold in the creeks
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
and valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
s of the Tanana Valley
Tanana Valley
The Tanana Valley is a lowland region in central Alaska in the United States, on the north side of the Alaska Range where the Tanana River emerges from the mountains.-Climate:...
where Fairbanks would begin before he found the "American Klondike
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
". A trader named E.T. Barnette
E.T. Barnette
Elbridge Truman Barnette , Yukon riverboat captain, banker, and swindler, founded the city of Fairbanks, Alaska and served as its first mayor.-Biography:...
and his wife, Isabelle, were aboard the riverboat Lavelle Young in August 1901, trying to establish a trading post in the Tanana River
Tanana River
The Tanana River is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright, the name is from the Koyukon tene no, tenene, literally "trail river"....
. Low water conditions stopped the journey before Barnette could reach his destination. Co-owner of the Lavelle Young, Captain Charles Adams, turned into the Chena River
Chena River
The Chena River is a 100-mile-long river in the Interior region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It flows generally west from the White Mountains to the Tanana River near the city of Fairbanks, which is built on both sides of the river...
, a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Tanana
Tanana River
The Tanana River is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright, the name is from the Koyukon tene no, tenene, literally "trail river"....
, instead. Shallow water stopped the Lavelle Young, and Adams refused to go further, so the Barnettes set up shop there.
Barnette opened a trading post on the Chena River after Pedro had told him he had made some good "prospects." On July 22, 1902, Pedro discovered gold north of Fairbanks in Interior Alaska which triggered the beginning of the Fairbanks Gold Rush, which set off a stampede that transformed the town. Barnette dispatched Jujyra Wada, a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese immigrant from Ehime on Shikoku Island, to Dawson City to spread the word that gold had been found in order for Barnette to create a market for his goods. After Wade spread the word about the gold being discovered, many miners who had not already left for Nome traveled to Fairbanks. The prospectors soon found jobs working for Barnette—prospecting for him by panning and sluicing
Sluicing
In syntax, a sluicing construction is one in which the sentential part of an interrogative clause is elided; this typically occurs only in constituent questions...
for gold in Fairbanks.
On July 22, 1910, approximately eight years after he had discovered gold north of Fairbanks, Felix Pedro died at St. Joseph's Hospital
St. Joseph's Hospital (Fairbanks, Alaska)
St. Joseph's Hospital, the very first hospital in Fairbanks, Alaska was built in 1906.-History:Fairbanks was a frontier town when a Jesuit priest named Rev. Francis M. Monroe decided to build a church and hospital. The church stood in the heart of town, while the hospital, also named St...
in Fairbanks of an apparent heart attack.