The man who founded Fairbanks.

He was a riverboat captain, a banker, and a swindler.

Gold Fever

When the steamship Portland arrived at the West Coast with its one ton of gold from the Alaska gold strike, like many others, he came down with a bad case of gold fever.

He decided to take the “Rich Man’s Route” to avoid Skagway and the passes. He boarded the ocean steamer, Cleveland in Seattle to travel to St. Michael, where he had booked a river steamer to Dawson City.

But the Cleveland ran into fog, bad weather, and had a fire in the hold compartment. A disease also broke out among the passengers. Eventually, the steamer made it to St. Michael, where Barnette discovered that his river steamer to Dawson had already left.

Discover the Whole Story

“Meet the Shrewd, Ruthless Man who Founded Fairbanks, Alaska”, is a great episode from the Alaska Stories podcast.

This is a free mp4 video download

After you listen to this edition, you can join the Alaska Stories Podcast for free

Enjoy