History Spotlight: Nabesna Mine
Clouds drape White Mountain above the long-abandoned Nabesna Mine mill building
For a state bigger than Texas, California, and Montana COMBINED, it’s surprising to learn Alaska has only four highways! Having a mere 14,336 miles of public roads for its 425.8 million acres (665,400 square miles), it makes you wonder, “How did the Nabesna Road get built in the middle of nowhere almost a hundred years ago?”
There wasn’t a national park then.
Photo safaris weren’t a thing.
Cars weren’t even that widely available.
So why then would they carve over 40 miles of narrow road into the wilderness surrounded by the Wrangell, Nutzotin, and Mentasta mountains?
Nabesna Gold
“Backdropped by towering white cliffs, Nabesna Gold Mine and the old ghost town sit snugly in one of Alaska's most enchanting mountain valleys. Spreading outward and below the camp is the lush, lake-dotted drainage of Jacksina Creek and the Nabesna River. On the far side, alpine greenery climbs upward to the snow-capped peaks of the
Alaska Range, north of the towering Wrangells….Unlike other famous Alaskan lode mines corporately developed and lavishly capitalized—Nabesna epitomizes the indomitable persistence of one Alaskan sourdough. It has a
unique significance in the annals of Alaskan gold discovery and recovery. Nabesna Gold Mine thus had little in common with mines financed on Wall Street, or shepherded by the great financial houses personified by absentee ownership. Nabesna was different. As if from a fabled, single page in the romance of mining, Nabesna was discovered and almost single-handedly built by one man, Carl F. Whitham.” —Kirk Stanley, 1979, NRHP Nomination
It begins with shiny rocks…
Located on White Mountain, the Nabesna gold deposits were discovered sometime in the early 20th century. Some versions of the story say a hungry bear upturned the gold while digging for a marmot—a possible source for the main vein’s name: Bear Vein. Other stories tell of Nabesna John, a local Athabascan, finding and mining the gold years earlier for trade.
Around 1925, Nabesna John and the hardy prospector Carl Whitham struck a deal: Nabesna John would show Whitham the gold, high up on the mountain’s ridge, in exchange for jobs and security for his family. Unfortunately the deal wasn’t legally recognized since Alaska Natives didn’t have the right to make contracts at that time. However, Whitham kept his end of the bargain. Miners even provided the lumber and labor to bury one of the family’s elders, Sarah Sanford (mother of subsistence rights leader Katie John) when she died at her Lost Creek cabin in 1938. She is pictured below with her family around 1919, standing next to her husband Charley.
From Along the Alts’e’tnaey-Nal’cine Trail (Mount Sanford Tribal Consortium ,2014)
No easy way in
With no direct access to the deposits, Whitham had to first ship all his mining and milling equipment via the Alaska Steamship Company to the port at Cordova, then freight it via the Copper River and Northwest Railway to Chitina. From there, he and several men would haul loads up the Richardson Highway to the Gakona Roadhouse, and then use horse teams and and 30-horsepower tractors to pull sleds up the Eagle Trail to Slana, and finally down the Nabesna Trail—this part of the journey alone over a hundred miles. During the winter of 1930-1931, enough money was secured to buy and install a 35-ton mill.
Notes from Philip Ross Holdsworth’s The Nabesna Gold Mine and Mill (1937, Seattle, University of Washington, p. 3-7) tell us that: development of the mine included four men drifting 157 feet along the vein and sinking 30 feet vertically from the outcrop of the deposit in the summer of 1930. Some of the surface ore was concentrated by hand with the aid of a rocker.
Two of the mine adits visible on White Mountain appear as square- shaped openings and timbers near the photo’s center and upper third
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
“The Invincible Prospector” using a rocker box
A portable sawmill was set up early in the spring of 1931 to cut local spruce lumber for the construction of the mill that operated from July 1st to September 15th, employing 22 men.
In May 1932, operation continued for four months with addition to the mill built to make room for more equipment. A crew of 25 men was employed during this season with gross production for the two seasons of 1931 and 1932 approximately $175,000.
More permanent quarters for the men were constructed in 1933 and the four months operation produced approximately $130,000. The short operating periods each year were due to climatic conditions and the lack of a year-round water supply.
For the winters of 1931-1932 and 1932-1933 a record was kept of the flow from a spring of water in the valley below the mill. It was decided that year-round operation would be feasible, by reclamation of sufficient water from the mill tailings and installation of a small pumping plant at the spring, and a central steam heating plant, and proper insulation of all buildings. During the summer of 1934, a 2,600-foot long pipeline was laid from the spring and pumps installed, increasing the mill capacity to 60 tons in 24 hours. Winter operation began in the winter of 1934-1935 and was successful except for a short shut-down from December 9th to January 21st while a broken crankshaft in the diesel was replaced. An average of 40 men were employed. Operations since then have been continuous except for minor shut-downs for repairs and installation of new machinery. The gross production for 1934 was approximately $220,000, while that of 1935 was approximately $250,000.
In 1937, the Nabesna property consisted of 36 continuous quartz claims amounting to approximately 720 acres. Several placer claims in the valley adjoining were also owned by the Nabesna mining corporation. The high-grade concentrates produced during the first two seasons were taken by pack-horse to the Nabesna landing field six miles away, flown 120 miles west to Copper Center, trucked 50 miles to Chitina, then shipped by rail to Cordova and by steamship to Tacoma Smelter.
The Nabesna Mine was a very lucrative prospect for Whitham—although it only operated roughly ten years in total, it produced about $1.8 million in gold. It may have produced much more but Whitham’s death in 1947 led to the mine’s closure. For a geology history geek-out, here’s E. R. Pilgrim’s 1930 report to the Alaska Territorial Department of Mines with a snapshot of the Nabesna mining area.
Fast forward to today
While working on their Alaska studies class last week, the kids and I stumbled upon some vintage film clips in Alaska’s Digital Archives of the Nabesna mine in operation.
Scattered across the craggy, forested hills are the silent remains of the massive mining operation, slowly being absorbed by the moss and alders—your imagination must fill in the sounds and sights of days long past. What a treat then, to see the people and operation in action if only for a few flickering seconds.
This clip shows a mostly-log system for moving ore via mine carts down to a road via a chute and hopper; the operation appears to be under construction: Click here to see it in color!
Here is a clip of the aerial tramway and mill operations showing ore being loaded into a mining cart from a hopper, then into the machinery that crushes and separates the rock.
This clip shows some of the miners and equipment in action, including using dynamite! A few more miners come in the frame of this clip showing the massive power generator running and how the molten gold was poured into molds.
High on a hillside thick with alders and sunshine sits a timber and stone tramway footer with its huge rusted cables still arcing above the Nabesna River valley. Even after almost a hundred brutal mountain winters the miners’ work still stands.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
This excellent photo essay by national parks photographer QT Luong is a look at the ruins today.
Better yet- climb the mountains yourself…
because in the end, you won’t remember the times you spent in the office or mowing your lawn.
Disclaimer: The Nabesna Mine is located on private property; please respect it as you would your own. The National Park Service recommends practicing good judgement and hygiene since it is an old mine, with a full complement of heavy metals and contaminants.