Alaska Trails and Forgotten Landmarks

by Coleen Mielke

2023

Most of the south central Alaska landmarks mentioned in the early gold miners journals no longer exist.
This web page covers just some of those "old haunts".

The first group comes right off of the 1880 U.S. Census for Alaska (actually completed in 1884). The census taker, Ivan Petroff, reported the following villages (using his spellings):

SETTLEMENT (spelling that was 1880 census)	ACTUAL LOCATION	TOTAL POPULATION	WHITE	CREOLE	ATHABASCAN
KNAKATNUK	INDIAN VILLAGE GOOSE BAY--FISH CREEK AREA	57	1	1	55
ZDLUIAT	INDIAN VILLAGE EAST SIDE OF INLET NEAR PRESENT DAY ANCHORAGE	16	0	0	16
NITAKH	INDIAN VILLAGE NEAR PRESENT DAY EKLUTNA	15	0	0	15
KINIK	INDIAN VILLAGE SHORT DISTANCE UP KNIK RIVER	46	0	0	46
SUSHETNO 1st VILLAGE	INDIAN VILLAGE EAST BANK OF SUSITNA RIVER	44	0	0	44
SUSHETNO 2nd VILLAGE	INDIAN VILLAGE SUSITNA RIVER	46	0	0	46
TOYONOK STATION	INDIAN VILLAGE NORTH WEST SHORE OF COOK INLET	117	2	6	109

* Petroff used the word "creole" to denote people who had Russian
fathers and Alaska Native mothers.

~~~

Petroff's 1880 Census Map for the above chart

TYONEK

There were very few non-Native people in south central Alaska before 1880, however that changed when gold was discovered. By 1898, thousands of get rich hopefuls poured into Cook Inlet. Their northward journey, from Seattle, brought them through the Inside Passage, west across the Gulf of Alaska, around the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula and finally landed them at (old) Tyonek which (in 1895) was at the mouth of Tyonek Creek.

Large ocean vessels anchored at Tyonek to pick up and drop off gold miners, entrepreneurs and U.S. Army exploration teams (it was the last deep water port on Cook Inlet). The voyage from Seattle to Tyonek took about 6 to 8 days (depending on weather) and cost each man $45 plus extra (per ton) for his freight. Tyonek is one of the few villages, in this report, that still exists, although the village moved to its present day location at the mouth of Indian Creek, in about 1930 due to flooding.

From Tyonek, shallow draft boats ferried passengers and freight to the towns of Hope, Sunrise and Knik. Boats ran at high tide so they could get farther up the rivers and dock closer to shore. These smaller boats, traveling from Tyonek to Knik, often had to layover at Fire Island in order to catch the next high tide or wait out a storm. Today, Tyonek has a population of roughly 200.

~~~

In 1898, there were NO detailed maps of Cook Inlet, so an early prospector,
named O.G.Herning, created this "distance" list:

FROM	TO	MILES
TYONEK	KNIK	70 MILES
TYONEK	SUSITNA STATION	75 MILES
TYONEK	SUSITNA RIVER FORKS	107 MILES
TYONEK	SUSITNA RIVER FALLS	153 MILES
TYONEK	INDIAN CREEK	145 MILES
TYONEK	KNIK RIVER	90 MILES
TYONEK	MATANUSKA RIVER	90 MILES
TYONEK	CRESCENT BAY (Eagle Bay)	55 MILES
TYONEK	GOOSE BAY	60 MILES
TYONEK	LADD's STATION	5 MILES
TYONEK	BELUGA RIVER	15 MILES
TYONEK	FIRE ISLAND	30 MILES
TYONEK	SEATTLE	1,425 MILES
MOUTH OF SUSITNA RIVER	SUSITNA RIVER FORKS	82 MILES
MOUTH OF SUSITNA RIVER	INDIAN CREEK	120 MILES
MOUTH OF SUSITNA RIVER	SUSITNA RIVER FALLS	128 MILES
MOUTH OF SUSITNA RIVER	TALKEETNA	65 MILES
MOUTH OF SUSITNA RIVER	WILLOW CREEK	70 MILES
KNIK	BIG SUSITNA RIVER	28 MILES
KNIK	SKWENTNA CROSSING	68 MILES
KNIK	HAPPY RIVER	89 MILES
KNIK	RAINY PASS	119 MILES
KNIK	RHONE RIVER	147 MILES
KNIK	McGRATH	243 MILES
KNIK	IDITAROD	408 MILES

Gold was discovered on Turnagain Arm about 1888, but the first official claims weren't staked on until 1893 by a man named Charles Miller on Resurrection Creek. After that, thousands of prospectors poured into the area and the small towns of Hope and Sunrise quickly sprung up.

HOPE

Hope was at the mouth of Resurrection Creek. Rumor has it that it was named after Percy Lee Hope, a turn of the century placer miner. Hope had 2 stores, 2 saloons, a brewery, pool hall, restaurant, hotel, assay office, recorders office, post office, school and sawmill. It basically served the Bear Creek Mines, the Palmer Creek Mines and the Resurrection River Mines in 1897. By 1905, the population of Hope shifted to the new town of Seward. Today, Hope has a residential population of about 200 people.

SUNRISE

Sunrise was at the mouth of Six Mile Creek and 8 miles east of Hope. Established by prospectors in about 1895, it had 3 stores, 3 saloons, a pool hall, restaurant, hotel, post office and ferry service. It catered to mining outfits such as the U.S. Mining Company; Williamson Hydraulic Mine at Crow Creek; Smith Hydraulic Mine at Lynx Creek; Hoover Hydraulic Mine at Mills Creek; Six Mile Quartz Mine; Consolidated Gold Mining at Crow Creek; Herron's Dredger, and O.H. Sleeper Company (a copper mine) at Lynx Creek. In its prime (1898), Sunrise boasted a population between 200 full time residents and 3,000 seasonal residents. Today, about 20 people live at Sunrise.

KNIK

The largest settlement on Knik Arm, in the early years, was the town site of Knik. For many years, it was the main supply point on Upper Cook Inlet. The Alaska Commercial Company had a trading post there before 1885 and a post office there by 1904.

Knik boomed much later than Hope and Sunrise, but by 1910, it had an assay office, tin shop, a church, pool hall, a jail, as well as the following:

Andrews Barber Shop Brown and McDonalds Movie House Bush Cigar and Candy Store
Brown & Hawkins Store Farrington & Jenks Saw Mill Knik Turkish Baths
Hershey & Fulton Pool Room Knik Trading Company Mary Morrison's Bake Shop
George Palmer Store McClarty & Frasier Soft Drinks Stewart and Larson
Brown's Eating House Pilger & Hertel General Merchandise The Chop House
Duffy's Hotel Davis & Brown Kitchen Knik House
Miller's Saloon Hick's Roadhouse & Restaurant Morrison Road House
Names Brothers Saloon Palmer's Saloon Watson's Saloon
Yentna Restaurant McNeil & Whitney Hash House Anna Simmons Lunch Room
Pioneer Roadhouse

The business owners of Knik had long been under the impression that the proposed railroad tracks would come through (or at least very near) town. However, in 1916, when railroad right-of-way crews began clearing land 15 miles from Knik, all hopes of that were dashed.

In 1917, the new railroad tracks intersected the Carle Wagon Road at mile 15. A railroad construction camp was built at that intersection and it was named Wasilla.

People deserted Knik (nearly) overnight. Businesses shut down and the buildings were dismantled and shipped by boat, to the new town of Anchorage, or by wagon to the new railroad town of Wasilla. Only one large trading post, owned by George W. Palmer stayed in Knik, however, it burned to the ground a year later.

COTTONWOOD

Close to Knik, was a landmark called Cottonwood which was on the east bank of Cottonwood Creek, one mile inland from Knik Arm. Several old walking trails (originating in Knik) came through Cottonwood. It was also where Captain Edwin F. Glenn of the 1898 U.S. Army exploration team, built his winter cabin. Only a hand full of people (Indian and white) lived at Cottonwood. One was a man named "Lee" who operated a horse pack train business and a small dance hall.

Cottonwood was deserted by about 1902 and the vacant buildings were slowly dismantled and the materials re-used at Knik.

1910 SLEEM MAP

GOOSE BAY

In 1898, a town site called Goose Bay was staked at the mouth of Goose Creek on the west side of Knik Arm, but no one really lived there full time. In spite of that, it was an important early freight and passenger drop off site for ships that couldn't get to Knik due to bad weather or tide issues. Freight was simply unloaded onto the muddy Goose Bay beach and later picked up by the owners.

PALMER SLOUGH

Palmer Slough was named after George W. Palmer before 1898. It was Palmer's staging area for transporting merchandise to his tiny un-manned trading post in Palmer Canyon (see map). The trading post was on the east side of the Matanuska River near the present day town of Palmer. It operated on the honor system, serving mostly Copper River Ahtna people who accessed it by coming down the Matanuska River. Palmer left his merchandise (packed into tins so animals couldn't get to it) and customers took what they needed and left payment (or an IOU) in a cash box.

Palmer stocked his little store with goods that he transported, by boat from Knik. Depending on the tide, he often stockpiled the goods at Palmer Slough until he could get them up to Palmer Canyon. Other people also used this slough for the same purpose, but for some reason it was nicknamed after George Palmer.

Palmer Slough, which was at the mouth of Wasilla Creek, led to many Athabascan walking trails. It was important for several other reasons as well. First it was prime fishing territory and it was covered with wild hay which was haravested by both the Native population as well as the gold miners.

LADD's STATION

Ladd's Station is mentioned often in old journals. It was a trading post and salmon saltery built by Charles D. Ladd in 1893, at the mouth of the Chuitna River (6 miles above old Tyonek). It was also an important storm shelter for boats traveling between Tyonek and Knik.

In 1898, the Chuitna River flooded its banks and washed away Ladd's buildings. He rebuilt and then sold the business to the Alaska Salmon Association in 1900. The new company added a full service cannery, but abandoned it in 1902.

1910 Sleem Map

CHURCHILL

The town site of Churchill is shown on old maps as being on the north side of Cook Inlet between the mouth of the Little Susitna River and the Big Susitna River. It was basically a small trading post built about 1907, but it didn't last very long.

SUSITNA STATION

The village of Susitna Station, 25 miles up the Susitna River, was the last supply stop for prospectors heading north into the Broad Pass District. In 1880, the U.S. Census reported 147 people and 27 buildings (including an Alaska Commercial Co. trading post, a sawmill, a roadhouse and post office) at Susitna Station. It was a thriving re-supply stop in the summers because sternwheel river steamers could dock right at the Station (at high tide) and save gold miners weeks of travel by foot.

A thriving Athabascan village was located about a mile south of Susitna Station, however most died due to the whooping cough, small pox, influenza and tuberculosis epidemics near the turn of the century.

ALASKA NATIVE WALKING TRAILS

In 1899, Orville G. Herning drew a map
showing the following Native walking routes

1. A winter trail from the head of Turnagain Arm, over the glacier to Portage Bay on Prince William Sound.

2. A winter trail from Old Knik, up the Knik River, then north east to the Copper River.

3. A summer trail from Old Knik, up the Matanuska River, passing "Palmer's Upper House" (a store) and King's House, to Millich Creek and Hicks Creek, Trail Lake and Nulchuck Tyon Village to Copper River (basic route of today's Glenn Highway).

4. A summer trail from Grubstake Gulch on Willow Creek, over Hatcher Pass and down to Palmer's Upper House with a branch leading to Vacilla's and to Mellish House.

5. From Knik to Vacilla's Place, then north and east, crossing the upper reaches of the Talkeetna River and passing the head of Hanmore Creek to near Old Tyon's Place and Lake Millich.

By 1912, other trails (headed north from Seward) were in use:

1. Seward Trail from the Indian village at Eklutna over Peters Creek through the mountains, down Crow Creek, Glacier Creek, passed Kern Creek, Twenty Mile Creek, Portage Creek and up Placer River to the end of the Alaska Central Railway at Mile 49.

2. Watson Coal Trail along the beach from Knik to Cottonwood, then northeast to Moose Creek coal mines.

3. The Blakely Trail (also known as the Goodwin Trail) which became the first part of the Iditarod Trail from Knik to Susitna Station.

4. Klondike and Boston Gold Mining Co. Trail, along the beach from Knik to Cottonwood, then toward the mountains, passing between Lake Lucille and Wasilla, to Grubstake Gulch.

5. Carle Wagon Road (today it is called Wasilla Fishhook Road) built about 1910 from Knik, between Lake Lucille and Wasilla Lake to Hatcher Pass.

6. Dalton Trail branched off Carle Wagon Road as it entered the Little Susitna Canyon and then ran east to the coal mines.

7. Iditarod Trail was surveyed and cleared in 1908 by the U.S. Army's Alaska Road Commission. It was the official route from Seward into the gold rush town of Iditarod. Two years later, the trail was extended and in 1911 Congress named it the "Seward to Nome Mail Trail". It's original route was as follows: Seward > Moose Pass > Portage > Girdwood > Ship Creek > Eagle River > Knik > Susitna > Skwentna > Rainy Pass > Rohn River Roadhouse > Nikolai > McGrath > Flat > Iditarod > Dikeman > Dishkakat > Kaltag > Unalakleet > Ungalik > Bald Head > Moses Point > Walla Walla > Golovin > Solomon > Nome.

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