Population: 134
Location: Central, Alaska, is a mining town northeast 125 miles northeast of Fairbanks on the Steese Highway. It's 28 miles southwest of the end of the highway, at Circle, and not far from Circle Hot Springs.
The cash economy in Central, population about 130, comes from Central's seasonal support for
mining operations. Summer tourists en route to Circle Hot
Springs use local services and visit the Circle District Museum.
Subsistence and recreational activities provide food sources for year-round residents. The one school is attended by 20 students.
History
After the discovery of gold in the Circle Mining District in the 1890s,
a centrally located roadhouse was needed between Circle, a supply point on
the Yukon, and the mining operations at Mammoth, Mastodon, Preacher and
Birch creeks.
Central House, originally built around 1894, was located at
the supply trail's crossing of Crooked Creek. It became the center of a
small community of miners and provided food and shelter to
travelers and support services to miners.
In 1906, the Alaska Road
Commission began construction of a wagon road to replace the primitive pack
trail from Circle to Birch Creek mining operations. By 1908, construction
had reached Central. The original roadhouse burned to the ground and was
rebuilt in the mid-1920s. A post office was established in 1925. In 1927,
the road link to Fairbanks was completed.
Mining continued until the
beginning of World War II. After the war, a few miners returned to Central,
but mining declined through the 1950s and '60s. Activity increased again in
the mid-1970s with the rise in gold prices. In 1978, the Circle Mining
District was the most active in Alaska, with 65 gold mining operations
employing more than 200 people.
Source: Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development
