El Dorado Gold Mine facts for kids
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The El Dorado Gold Mine is a famous place in Fox, Alaska, close to Fairbanks, Alaska. It's a real gold mine that has become a fun place for tourists to visit. This mine started way back in the early 1900s. Over time, it changed from just digging for gold to teaching people about gold mining. Today, it's a popular tour spot. The El Dorado Gold Mine is owned by Alaska Riverways, Inc.. You can find it about 10 miles north of Fairbanks on the Elliot Highway.
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History of the El Dorado Gold Mine
The El Dorado Gold Mine started as a place where people looked for gold. In the early 1900s, two brothers from Fairbanks, known as the "Swede Brothers," began digging here. They used a method called placer mining. This means they looked for gold in riverbeds or gravel, not deep underground.
Challenges for Gold Mining
For many years, the mine's ownership changed often. Records from that time were not always clear. The middle of the 1900s was a tough time for the El Dorado mine. During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered that gold mining had to stop. This was to save resources for the war effort.
After the war, the government set a fixed price for gold. This made it harder for small mines to make money. It became less profitable to dig for gold. Because of this, operations at the El Dorado mine almost completely stopped.
New Beginnings for the Mine
Later, a gold miner from Fairbanks named Andrew Wescott bought the mine. He realized that it was no longer easy to make a lot of money from mining gold alone in Alaska. So, he had a new idea. He decided to turn the El Dorado mine into a place where visitors could learn about gold mining.
This new idea was very popular! So many tourists wanted to visit that Andrew Wescott needed help. In 1990, he teamed up with the Binkley family from Fairbanks. Together, they worked to make the mine even better for visitors. A few years later, Andrew Wescott sold his part of the mine to the Binkley family.
Visiting the El Dorado Gold Mine
Today, the El Dorado Gold Mine is a great place to learn about Alaska's gold rush history. It operates from May to September each year. Visitors can take tours of the mine. There are also train tours available several times a day. It's a fun way to see how gold was found and what life was like for miners long ago.
