Chena, Alaska facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chena, Alaska
Ghost Town
View of Chena on the Tanana River, 1907
Chena, Alaska Location in Alaska
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Borough	Fairbanks North Star
Elevation	430 ft (131 m)
Time zone	UTC-9 (Alaska (AKST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-8 (AKDT)
ZIP code	99709
Area code	907
GNIS feature ID	1893892

Chena was a town in Alaska that doesn't exist anymore. It's known as a ghost town. It was located near where the Chena River and Tanana River meet. Chena was officially a city from 1903 to 1973. Today, the area is part of Fairbanks, specifically the Chena Ridge area.

Chena was most active in the early 1900s. In 1907, about 400 people lived there. The town had its own newspaper, the Tanana Miner. It also had hotels, stores, a bakery, and restaurants. By 1910, Chena even had a police and fire department, plus a school and churches. But by 1915, only 50 people remained. After 1920, the town slowly disappeared.

The Tanana Valley Railroad used to start in Chena. This railroad helped move goods. Today, the old Chena Pump House is a restaurant and a place for tourists to visit.

Chena's Start: The Alaska Gold Rush

Chena became a town in 1903. This was shortly after Felix Pedro discovered gold near Fairbanks in 1902. Chena quickly became an important shipping and mining town. It was right on the Tanana River.

Large ships would bring supplies to Chena. Then, smaller boats would take these supplies to Fairbanks. This was because the Fairbanks Gold Rush was booming.

In 1905, the Tanana Mines Railway (TMR) opened. This railway carried supplies to gold mines about 20 miles away. The railway grew and became the Tanana Valley Railroad (TVRR) in 1907. This railroad moved supplies to Fairbanks and other mining towns. It made Chena a very busy and successful railroad town.

Chena vs. Fairbanks: A Town Rivalry

Chena and Fairbanks both wanted to be the main supply center for the gold mines. Each town hoped to make a lot of money by providing goods to the miners.

The Tanana Valley Railroad gave Chena a big advantage. It could supply mines far to the north, like those in the Chatanika River Valley. Fairbanks couldn't easily reach these mines. Chena grew with the railroad. It built a sawmill, a power plant, and large docks. There were also warehouses, repair shops, and many businesses. A telegraph station was built too, connecting Alaska to the rest of the United States. At its busiest, Chena had a hospital, a school, and even three newspapers.

Chena depended heavily on the gold mines and miners. But the amount of gold in the Tanana Valley started to decrease. Miners began to leave to find gold elsewhere. Also, World War I began in 1914. Many miners went to fight in the war. This caused Chena's population to shrink even more.

The Tanana Valley Railroad went out of business in 1917. The Alaska Railroad later bought it. The railroad's failure marked the end for Chena. Although the town was mostly empty, it wasn't officially closed until 1921.

Fairbanks, however, managed to survive this tough time. In 1903, a judge named James Wickersham moved important government offices to Fairbanks. He also made sure Fairbanks was connected to the new telegraph line. Judge Wickersham also encouraged E. T. Barnette to name the town after the Vice President, Charles W. Fairbanks. He thought this would help the town in the future. Fairbanks kept growing into a city. Chena, on the other hand, was only a mining town. These actions gave Fairbanks an edge. Chena collapsed, but Fairbanks continued to thrive.

Chena was officially removed as a city in 1973. But it had been a ghost town for many years before that.

Chena: A Ghost Town Today

Chena is now a true ghost town. For a long time, people didn't even know exactly where it was. There are old maps from when the town was active. But these maps don't show exact sizes or locations. None of the original railroad tracks are left.

The buildings from Chena were either washed away by the Tanana River or moved to Fairbanks. If you look at where the town should be, there's almost no sign it ever existed.

A surveyor named Martin Gutoski was disappointed by this. He found that Chena was never properly mapped. This was because it grew and disappeared so quickly. He did some research and found what he believes is the town's original site. The town is now buried under a lot of dirt and silt. But there is good evidence that much of it still remains hidden.

Population Changes in Chena

Chena first appeared in the U.S. Census in 1910 as a city. It was listed again in 1920. After that, it was no longer counted separately. Today, the area is part of the Chena Ridge census area.

At its busiest, around 1907-1908, Chena may have had about 2,400 people. The census data from 1910 didn't show this peak population.