Fact Sheets

The information for these fact sheets were compiled by the Valdez Museum and is based on materials from the Valdez Museum’s historical collections.

Copper Center

Copper Center is located at the confluence of the Klutina and Copper Rivers, 100 miles north of Valdez. Valdez and Copper Center were both founded in 1898 during the gold rush. The promise of gold drew prospectors north from the Lower 48 States to Alaska that year and about 4,000 prospectors traveled through Valdez on…

Chitina

Chitina, a tiny settlement on the Edgerton Highway, has a history rooted in the copper mining boom years of the early 1900s. Chitina’s story begins with the first big copper discoveries in the summer of 1900. Two men, Clarence Warner & Jack Smith, were directed to the Kennecott Glacier area (quite a ways from where…

Kennecott

The mining town of Kennecott is a major attraction within the Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park. It is so popular because many of the original buildings are still standing. Today’s visitors can walk along Kennecott’s main street; peer into the windows of the officer’s quarters, mechanical building, and school house; view the hospital; and take a…

America in 1901

The year 2001 marked Valdez’s centennial. On July 1, 1901, Valdez residents voted to incorporate and form an official City government. What was America like during the year that the City of Valdez formed? Here’s a sampling of what the nation was wearing, doing, and experiencing during 1901: Baseball was popular, but basketball and football…

A Year of Firsts

The year 2001 marked Valdez’s centennial. On July 1, 1901, Valdez residents voted to incorporate and form an official City government. 1901 was a busy year for the budding community. It was a year of “Firsts”. Here are a few of them: The first wedding took place between an Army Captain stationed at Fort Liscum…