The Discovery Claim on Pedro Creek is a historic

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold resources by mining. Historically, mining gold from alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. However, with the expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface ...

site in central

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. It is located at mile 16.5 of the

Steese Highway The Steese Highway (known as the Steese Expressway within Fairbanks) is a highway in the Interior region of the U.S. state of Alaska that extends from Fairbanks to Circle, a town on the Yukon River about 50 miles (80 km) south of the Arc ...

, northeast of

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

. It is a site on what is now called Pedro Creek, that was where

Felix Pedro Felice Pedroni (April 16, 1858 – July 22, 1910), known best to Americans by his Hispanicized alias Felix Pedro, was an Italian immigrant whose discovery of gold in Interior Alaska marked the beginning of the 1902 Fairbanks Gold Rush. Early life ...

made the first major discovery of gold in the area on July 22, 1902. His discovery drew large numbers of gold prospectors to the area, and led to the establishment of Fairbanks as a major community in Alaska. Most of the claim site is located south of the highway, which crosses one corner. There is a commemorative marker placed at the side of the highway in 1952. The claim is now owned by the

Pioneers of Alaska The Pioneers of Alaska is a fraternal organization that was founded in 1907 to preserve the early history of Alaska. Originally restricted to white males who entered Alaska before 1900, the organization today has about 5000 members, who must be r ...

Igloo #4; there is no substantial evidence of the mining activities that took place there. The site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1992.

References

Alaskan gold rushes Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Gold mining in Alaska National Register of Historic Places in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska 1902 establishments in Alaska {{FairbanksNorthStarAK-geo-stub

See also

References