The River Is Wide

During the gold rush a century ago, gold miners came down the swift and treacherous Klutina River in boats they hand-made from spruce logs. Copper Center became the hub where the miners dried out.

Today, fishermen clean their catch in the Klutina.

The cabins along the Copper Center road are truly genuine, but are beginning to suffer from their age and poor original roofs.

Jim McKinley's Wrangell Mountain Song

One of John Denver’s songs is “The Wrangell Mountain Song”, which celebrates the spirit of Copper River people.

He sang: “It’s a quiet life out here among the mountains/In a cabin that was built with these two hands.../I can’t wait to see the Wrangell Mountains/I can’t wait to do what I will do...”

Only a year after the Trans-Alaska Pipeline was built, back in the 1970’s, Ahtna elder Jim McKinley, who had seen tremendous change in the region during his long life, wrote a potlatch song, also defining his Copper River homeland.

The brand-new Pipeline had already become a part of the landscape. Jim McKinley sang: “Look for the Wrangell Mountains. Look for the Pipeline. Look for the Ahtna. That’s where you find the Copper River...”

Metal Chinking in 70 Below Cold

An early Copper Center cabin-builder tried to keep out the cold of an intensely arctic winter with pieces of metal – probably cut-up gas cans.

Nowadays, flexible caulking is the order of the day.

Gold rush cabin-builders also used oakum, mud, and sphagnum moss for cabin-chinking.

That Good Old Russian Influence

Early Russian Orthodox priests never entered the Copper River Valley. But Ahtna Natives traveled widely on their trading trips and set up their own log Russian Orthodox church in Copper Center.

Although there is no Russian Orthodox presence in the valley today, the Russian style fenced grave – and Russian names, like “Nicolai”, “Walya” and “Basille” – remained.

A Cache of Memories Spanning Decades of Life in Copper Center

Lisa Yoshimoto, a Copper River Native, dug out all the old mocassins, mittens, and other handmade and beaded objects from her grandmother’s sheds and around the house. She put them on display in her store next to the Copper River Cash Store in Copper Center.

The objects had been made, used, and set aside.

This stunning collection clearly shows the utilitarian and esthetic values of a typical Athabascan Indian family as seen in everyday objects.

Fishing on the Klutina River

Two bridges cross the Klutina River in Copper Center. You can fish for kings and reds here.

The Klutina is a beautiful, milky, turquoise-blue, yet clear enough for fish to see flies and bait. The river has a steep grade and many boulders, making it tricky to navigate.

You’ll have to use heavier line and it’s safer to go with a guide who knows the river.

Copper Center Museum

Located on the banks of the Copper River in “old” Copper Center, part of the museum is an authentic log bunkhouse.

The Copper Center Museum is open from 1 to 5, Monday through Saturday. Admission is free.

Near the museum, check out the Copper Rail Depot, featuring scale models of Kennecott.

While viewing cabins on your trip, please note they are private property. Don’t trespass.

On A Clear Day You Can See...

If you’re in the Copper Valley and it’s a clear day, you’ll be able to see the Wrangell Mountains from almost anywhere on the lower Tok Cutoff, the Glennallen area, and down towards Copper Center & Kenny Lake.

(In that case, snap a photo and send it to us.)

All the highways around here follow the arc of the Copper River, which flows around the mountain range.

Hundreds of local residents have magnificent views of the Wrangells.

National Park Headquarters and Visitor Center

Look for the highway sign 1/4 mile from the turnoff to old Copper Center at Mile 106.8 on the Richardson Highway.

The park headquarters aren’t in the park itself, but they're close. Head to McCarthy and Kennicott to get the real park experience.

There’s plenty of room to park and turn around at the National Park Headquarters and Visitor Center, even with large vehicles.

You can get up-to-date information on the park, the road to McCarthy and the Nabesna Road – or purchase maps, get bear resistant food containers, and watch a movie about the national park.

CRNW Railway - The "Can't Run and Never Will"

The Edgerton Highway leads to Chitina, which was a major supply center, because goods were shipped to it directly on the Copper River & Northwestern Railway from the port of Cordova.

Some speculated Chitina would become the capital of Alaska.

After the CRNW railroad failed, Kenny Lake developed as a farming community. Most of the farmers grow hay and raise farm animals.

Heaven Knows I'm Dipnetting Now... In Chitina

A unique type of salmon fishing – other than fishwheels – is found here in Chitina. But it’s limited to Alaska residents.

You’ll see people down at the Copper River using long-handled nets to scoop up salmon. This is a variant of a method Ahtna Natives used in the old days, when they fashioned similar nets from natural materials.

In Chitina, Use the Public Toilets, And Take Home Your Trash

Chitina is a very remote town, where local people provide visitors with almost all of the basic services. This means emergency care, firefighting and cleanup – all volunteer jobs.

While in Chitina, please use public facilities, like the Chitina wayside. And please take home your trash.

The Copper River and Northwestern Railroad, Part 2

Americans were proud of their achievements a century ago. And the Copper River and Northwestern Railway, which ran from Cordova to Kennecott, was an Alaskan engineering marvel.

It was completed in 1911 at the cost of $23 million, as America basked in the glories of its industry.

The railway was 131 miles long, and faced many of the serious construction problems that later plagued the Trans-Alaska Pipeline: huge river crossings, swamps and ravines. Not to mention 50 below zero working conditions and mosquitoes. A massive crew was required to maintain the railroad, and the biggest rotary snow plows in the world were brought in to clear the tracks.

The railroad followed the Copper River from Chitina to Cordova. A spur went from Chitina to the Kennecott Mines.

When the railroad was running, Chitina served as a central supply depot for both Kennecott and Interior Alaska. Remnants of the railroad, like the abandoned boxcar in the photo, abound.

Then, in 1938, the last train pulled out of Kennecott, abandoning the mines, the buildings, and the tracks. The Copper River & Northwestern was now gone, and tracks and trestles were gradually torn up and replaced by today’s gravel road.

The section to Cordova fell into complete disrepair, and Cordova is now accessible only by air and water.

The 1918 Flu Epidemic

The “Spanish Flu” began in 1918, and came back to America with U.S. soldiers from World War I.

More than 20 million people died of flu worldwide. In Alaska, an estimated 3,000 people died

At that time, there were small newspapers fiercely competing with each other all over Alaska. Some towns even had two or more papers.

This story in the Chitina Leader, on display at the Copper Center museum, shows how the flu was both national and local news.