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Fairbanks history
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Fairbanks is a Home Rule City. It is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state.
According to 2005
Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 31,324.
The population of
Fairbanks, 358 miles north of Anchorage (by way of the Parks Highway),
likes to think that it (instead of Delta Junction) is the end of the Alaska
Highway. Its central location makes it the focal point for the tiny
villages scattered throughout the surrounding wilderness, and
The Interior has
temperatures ranging from 65 degrees below zero in the winter to 90
degrees above in the summer. Gardening
is big in the Interior.
Fairbanks is called "The Golden Heart of Alaska," a reference to the
character of her people as much as to the location in Alaska's interior,
or to the discovery of gold in 1902.
Fairbanks is
just 188 miles south of the Arctic Circle (above which the sun neither
sets during the summer solstice, nor rises during the winter equinox).
They have very long summer days. The shortest winter day of the year has
less than three hours of sunlight, the longest (around June 21) never
really ends, though officially it has over 21 hours.
More History
Fairbanks was founded
in August 1901
by
Captain E.T. Barnette, who was trying to set up a trading post at
Tanacross (where the
Tanana River crossed the
Valdez-Eagle trail), but the
Lavelle Young the steam boat which Barnette was aboard ran aground.
He was deposited seven miles up the
Chena river, the smoke from the steamers engines had attracted some
prospectors and they met Barnette where he disembarked. The prospectors
convinced Barnette to set up his trading post there.
The city is named after
Charles Fairbanks, a Republican senator from
Indiana.
A gold rush in
1902
provided a swarm of new residents to the newly founded town.
Spectacular displays of the
aurora borealis ("northern lights") are visible on an average of 200
days a year in the vicinity of
Economy and transportation
As the regional service
and supply center for the
Alaska Interior, Fairbanks offers a diverse
economy, including city, borough, state, and
federal government services; and
transportation,
communication,
manufacturing,
financial, and regional
medical
services. Tourism and mining also comprise a significant part of the
economy. Including
Eielson Air Force Base and
Fort Wainwright personnel, over one third of the employment is in
government services. The
University of Alaska Fairbanks is also a major employer.
Approximately 325,000
tourists visit
Fairbanks is at the
confluence of the
Richardson Highway,
George Parks Highway,
Steese Highway, and
Elliott Highway, connecting the Interior to
Anchorage,
Canada,
and the
lower 48 states. The
Dalton Highway to
Prudhoe Bay begins about 75 miles north of town.
Goods are transported to