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Udy wrote:Solomon River Railroad to no where for fetchin up supplies to the miners across the tundra to the turn of the century strike in Nome on the anvil creek.
Iditarod trail shelter remains
Nope, not an Iditarod shelter.
Here is another hint:
The ruins are the remains of a framed wooden building (normal in the area due to lack of trees for cabins), just up the hill from a creek. The lumber would have been shipped in, mostly, though some of the framing timber may have been cut by local sawmills from driftwood logs.
The willows are now grown up around the remains of the building so that no trace of it can be seen from outside the willows. Surrounding the building on three sides, but especially on the uphill side where there was a side door and behind the building are huge mounds that are covered with moss and willows. They look like they could be just part of the hillside. When you walk on these mounds, though, you will hear the crunch of glass under the moss. These mounds are formed from thousands of bottles. Scattered around are old tins, stove parts, shovels with the handles rotted away, steel wash basins and tubs, cigar tins, broken china, etc.
It is the kind of place where you can feel the history . . .
I responded on the other thread. Location of gold miner outfitting station for the push north to Alaska gold rush , or the location where the meds were delivered for the diphtheria outbreak?
Mike Johnson,
"Only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot
rjohns94 wrote:I responded on the other thread. Location of gold miner outfitting station for the push north to Alaska gold rush , or the location where the meds were delivered for the diphtheria outbreak?
the bottles suggest a saloon. the heaters suggest winter habitation. the lumber suggests a railhead. and perhaps a post office. how far from tidewater? perhaps an early cannery but don't see any of that gear. maybe a spring water bottleing plant.
after reading the wiki info I'm guessing a whorehouse.
the tracks were likely salvaged during one war or another for the armament industry. very common at mine sites.
the iron isn't so valuable and it will eventually rejoin the environment at the molecular level to be reconstituted by the glaciers when they blend everything.
the knull arbor, thanks for the memories. gaads i miss alaska
30/30 Winchester: Not accurate enough fer varmints, barely adequate for small deer; BUT In a 10" to 14" barrelled pistol; is good for moose/elk to 200 yards; ground squirrels to 300 metres
250 Savage... its what the 223 wishes it could be...!
Thank God!
That was fun, but good grief I spent way too much time figuring on that one. I did learn a bunch in the process however. Thanks for that 7.62 Percision.
Thank God!
That was fun, but good grief I spent way too much time figuring on that one. I did learn a bunch in the process however. Thanks for that 7.62 Precision.
+1!
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession! AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
Wyatt Earp built his famous saloon, the Dexter, down on front street in Nome. It was the first two-story building in Nome. It later burned down and all that is left are some artifacts that are displayed in the museum in Nome. There is now a sign marking the location of the Dexter.
However, Wyatt spent some time in Alaska, arriving first in Wrangle, where he agreed to delay his journey to serve as marshal. Due to illness, he had Josephine left Alaska soon afterward.
He returned soon afterward, in 1897, and may have planned to settle in Southeast Alaska, though it seems from some evidence that he intended to go to Nome from the beginning, and from other evidence that he was not set on Nome as his destination. At any rate, he arrived by steamer in Juneau, where he was met by a deputy marshal and a posse of citizens. The deputy marshal confiscated Earp's pistol, and according to a document found in the federal jail in Juneau, told "Wyatt Earp the notorious desperado" that he was not welcome in Juneau and was to leave when the steamer sailed. The Steamer left the next morning with the Earps aboard, but the US Marshal's office was not yet open, so Wyatt left without his pistol, which is still in Juneau today (a S&W Model 3 with trigger guard removed).
The Earps went north, got stuck over winter in Rampart, and then settled in St. Mike's where he sold tobacco and alcohol for the Alaska Commercial Company. Letters from friends convinced him to leave Saint Michael for Nome, where he ran a canteen in 1899 and then in partnership with Charles Hoxie also built the Dexter on Front Street. The Earps left Nome in 1901 with $80,000, but during their time in Nome they left in winters and were involved in trying to establish gambling businesses in the Lower 48. They also staked several claims in Nome. Wyatt had also hoped to land a job in law enforcement in Nome, but the job went to someone else. He did have a couple run-ins with the law in Nome. The most famous was when he got a bit loaded and drew his pistol, brandishing it and saying, "This is how we do it down Arizona way."
Nearby was US Marshal Albert Lowe, who grabbed Wyatt's pistol from his hand, slapped his face, and said, "This is how we do it in Alaska."
He let Wyatt go home and sleep it off, and returned his pistol the next morning.
The location seen in the photos is the small saloon near Dexter creek. Dexter Creek was named for the first miner to file a claim in the area, and coincidentally was also the name of the corral across the street from the OK corral in Tombstone.
In the town of Dexter, there is a saloon called the Dexter Roadhouse that is claimed to be Wyatt Earp's first saloon in Nome, but it is not, and on the Dexter road is an old house that tour guides bring tourists to see, claiming it is the Earp's original homestead, but it is not (the Earps lived down in town). While that house is old, it was built many years after the Earps left Nome, but unsuspecting tourists don't know the difference.
Lake many historic places, it would have remained in use after the Earps left, and would have had changes made and newer items brought in over the years after they left, so some artifacts likely postdate the Earp's time in Nome. I would guess that it would take some digging to get down to the first bottles from 1899.
I cannot think of a better way to have spent about 30 minutes of my time this afternoon than looking at these photos and reading the posts ................. thank you so much!
bluesman423 wrote:I cannot think of a better way to have spent about 30 minutes of my time this afternoon than looking at these photos and reading the posts ................. thank you so much!
I could not think of a better way to spend the evening, poking through the ruins in a light rain, and hiking around the area, with my Chaparral 1876 NWMP carbine. I knew you guys would be interested, so I made sure to take a lot of photos.
It was pretty cool to stand there, with all the history. I even stepped out where the side door used to be to take a leak, as I imagined many an inebriated miner did over a 100 years ago.
I also brought away some of the wood from the frame of the saloon. It will be made into revolver grips. I took some oldest tin to cut into badges or plaques for rifle stocks - I figured some of the guys who do CAS might appreciate a badge made from tin from Wyatt Earp's saloon, if that sort of thing is done.
Thanks for the story and the pics. One of my favorite things to do ,is discover old camps or homesteads . You sure can feel the history at places like this. ,,,DT