Alaska's Gold Rush

Thirty-eight years after the first traces of gold was found in 1848, a man named King found four pokes of gold after two seasons of prospecting along Turnagain Arm in Alaska. Aroused by such discovery, other prospectors followed and found gold in Resurrection Creek and nearby streams in 1894. 

As news of the presence of gold spread, other miners came, and in 1895, claims were staked on Mills and Sixmile Creeks and near the town of Girdwood. By 1896, a full fledged gold rush was on.

As a result of the large influx of miners, entire communities were given a fresh start. Cities like Fairbanks and Sunrise became supply outposts. Hope was a bustling community of 3,000 in 1895-1898. Today Hope has around only 200 in population.  Other notable Alaskan gold rushes such as in Nome and Fortymile River caused population to swell to 10,000 before the 1900's.

The depletion of easily mined gold deposits took a toll on these communities. In 1931, there were only about 20 individuals who were mining local creeks in Hope.

Gold produced in the more than a century of mining in the Kenai peninsula amounted to 133,800 oz. 

(The above picture is a cabin in Hope from the turn of the century)

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