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Copper Center is located on the Richardson Highway 4 south on the west bank of the Copper River at the confluence with the Klutina River. It is about 16 miles southeast of Glennallen on the Glenn Highway 1 and about 100 miles north of Valdez.
History
Copper Center developed where the Valdez Glacier trail reached the Copper River. Andrew Holman was its first resident, establishing a temporary roadhouse near the site in July 1898 to provide shelter for prospectors on their way to the Klondike. He initially erected two tents: one served as Hotel Holman and the other as a makeshift post office. By winter 1899, Holman had replaced his tents with a substantial cabin. Leaving Dick Worthman to run the roadhouse, Holman pioneered the first mail route from Valdez to Eagle.
During the height of the Klondike stampede prospectors set up tent camps along both the Copper and Klutina rivers, but the first cabins were built on a site one half mile west of the Copper. Another camp sprang up at what was called Copper Ferry, where a ferry crossed the river. The area got a boost as a goldfield service center in June 1898, when B. F. Millard brushed a trail from there to the mouth of the Slana River via the foothills of Mt. Drum.
The east bank site of Old Copper Center apparently was settled in 1901 1902 by prospectors intent on investigating mineral prospects on that side of the river. Its days as a mining center were short lived, but it did draw a Native population and existed for many years as a village.
Copper Center rapidly became the primary supply center for prospectors and travelers in the Copper River basin. A telegraph station and the trail's first official post office opened in 1901, with Ringwald Blix serving as the community's first postmaster. The next year, John McCrary staked a homestead about a mile north of the Klutina River crossing. Before long, McCrary opened a hotel as well, the first frame roadhouse between Valdez and Fairbanks. Much of McCrary's property remains in the family's hands.
By 1910 American settlers had established over fifty homesteads in the vicinity. The community now received tri-weekly mail delivery in the winter and weekly service in the summer. It also contained the only telegraph station between Valdez and Fairbanks where money could be sent or received by wire.
Florence "Ma" Barnes acquired Hotel Holman in 1922, and renamed it the Copper Center Roadhouse and Trading Post. The original building burned in 1932 and was replaced by the southernmost portion of the current one. When Barnes died in 1948, she left her entire estate to a Valdez orphanage. Later that year, it sold George Ashby the property. Although Ashby died in 1979, his family continued to operate the roadhouse. The replacement roadhouse itself burned on May 20, 2012.[3] The family says they intend to rebuild.
Copper Center developed where the Valdez Glacier trail reached the Copper River. Andrew Holman was its first resident, establishing a temporary roadhouse near the site in July 1898 to provide shelter for prospectors on their way to the Klondike. He initially erected two tents: one served as Hotel Holman and the other as a makeshift post office. By winter 1899, Holman had replaced his tents with a substantial cabin. Leaving Dick Worthman to run the roadhouse, Holman pioneered the first mail route from Valdez to Eagle.
During the height of the Klondike stampede prospectors set up tent camps along both the Copper and Klutina rivers, but the first cabins were built on a site one half mile west of the Copper. Another camp sprang up at what was called Copper Ferry, where a ferry crossed the river. The area got a boost as a goldfield service center in June 1898, when B. F. Millard brushed a trail from there to the mouth of the Slana River via the foothills of Mt. Drum.
The east bank site of Old Copper Center apparently was settled in 1901 1902 by prospectors intent on investigating mineral prospects on that side of the river. Its days as a mining center were short lived, but it did draw a Native population and existed for many years as a village.
Copper Center rapidly became the primary supply center for prospectors and travelers in the Copper River basin. A telegraph station and the trail's first official post office opened in 1901, with Ringwald Blix serving as the community's first postmaster. The next year, John McCrary staked a homestead about a mile north of the Klutina River crossing. Before long, McCrary opened a hotel as well, the first frame roadhouse between Valdez and Fairbanks. Much of McCrary's property remains in the family's hands.
By 1910 American settlers had established over fifty homesteads in the vicinity. The community now received tri-weekly mail delivery in the winter and weekly service in the summer. It also contained the only telegraph station between Valdez and Fairbanks where money could be sent or received by wire.
Florence "Ma" Barnes acquired Hotel Holman in 1922, and renamed it the Copper Center Roadhouse and Trading Post. The original building burned in 1932 and was replaced by the southernmost portion of the current one. When Barnes died in 1948, she left her entire estate to a Valdez orphanage. Later that year, it sold George Ashby the property. Although Ashby died in 1979, his family continued to operate the roadhouse. The replacement roadhouse itself burned on May 20, 2012.[3] The family says they intend to rebuild.
Copper Center, Alaska - Population: 452
Location: Copper Center is located between Mile 100 and 106 of the Old Richardson Highway. This "loop" was created when the Richardson Highway was straightened in 1988. You now have to make a special effort to see this small community, but Copper Center is a classic and well worth the few extra miles. It is 105 miles north of Valdez and 200 miles from Anchorage.
History: Like most of the communities in the Copper River Basin, Copper Center began as a native village with a large population. When the discovery of gold drew thousands to Alaska, Copper Center sprang up as one of the first "tent cities" located in the Copper River Region.
Around 1896, Ringwald Blix built a roadhouse where the Copper Center Lodge is presently standing. Blix was well known throughout Southcentral Alaska. One local newspaper reporter commented, "Ringwald Blix is known as the Poo-Bah of Copper Center, in the Copper River Valley. He's the whole thing in that region. Besides being U.S. Commissioner, he is postmaster, notary public, hotel proprietor, farmer and miner..." Travelers on the Valdez-Fairbanks trail often stated that the roadhouse offered outstanding services in comparison to many others.
In 1932, the original roadhouse was destroyed in order to build the Copper Center Lodge. This lodge is on the National Register of Historic Roadhouses and is now considered the jewel of Alaskan roadhouses. Another historic building, the Chapel on the Hill, was the first church in the Copper River Region. Vince Joy built it in 1942 with the assistance of the U.S. Army volunteers stationed in the area. Mr. Joy then built other churches and a bible college in the area. The Chapel on the Hill and the Copper Valley Historical Society Museum, located next to the Copper Center Lodge, both have displays that depict much of the history of the valley.
Things To Do: Copper Center offers visitors campgrounds, fishing charters and guides, and museums. The Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Visitor Center is located just outside Copper Center on the Old Richardson Highway.
Accommodations: Copper Center offers visitors campgrounds, fishing charters and guides, cafe, two lodges, liquor stores, bar, convenience store, post office, bed and breakfast, fast food drive in, gas station, museums and veterinary services.
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