SS ''Nenana'' is a five-deck (main or cargo, saloon, boat or hurricane, Texas, and pilothouse), western river, sternwheel paddleship. Two-hundred and thirty-seven feet in overall length, with a 42-foot beam, she was rated at 1,000 gross tons register. ''Nenana'' was built at

Nenana, Alaska Nenana ( taa, Toghotili; is a home rule city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of the Unorganized Borough in the Interior of the U.S. state of Alaska. Nenana developed as a Lower Tanana community at the confluence where the tributary Nenana Rive ...

, and launched in May 1933. Marine architect W.C. Nickum of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

designed the

sternwheeler A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...

, which was prefabricated in Seattle and put together at Nenana, Alaska, by Berg Shipbuilding Company. ''Nenana'' was built to serve as a packet. She could carry both passengers and freight. ''Nenana'' had accommodations for 48 passengers on her saloon deck. Up to 300 tons of freight, including two tons in cold storage, could be carried on her main deck. A Texas, topped by a pilothouse mounted forward in poolboat style, provided staterooms for a portion of the crew of 32. ''Nenana'' could push five or six barges on the Yukon River; but, because of sharp bends, only one on the Tanana River. Fully laden, she drew three feet, six inches of water.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

brought a military buildup in Alaska and kept ''Nenana'' busy. She supplied Galena Air Base from which fighter aircraft were supplied to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

as well as transporting supplies to a number of military establishments in the advance defense system in Alaska. After the war ended, the decline in passenger revenues that had been arrested by the war continued. Alaska Railroad suspended all river passenger services after the 1949 season. At the close of the 1952 navigation season, ''Nenana'' was reconditioned at Whitehorse at a cost of $164,409.20. She only made one more trip north for the Alaska Railroad before being laid up until a newly formed company, Yutana Barge Lines, leased the entire

Alaska Railroad 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., ...

fleet in 1954. Yutana Barge Lines operated ''Nenana'' to haul freight on rivers for one season but discontinued her lease at that time as unprofitable. The

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

called for bids on ''Nenana'' on December 10, 1955. All bids were rejected as too low until a group with associations to the Chamber of Commerce formed to bring ''Nenana'' to Fairbanks. This group, Greater Fairbanks Opportunities, Inc., purchased the steamboat, steamed her up the Tanana and Chena rivers to Fairbanks and opened her as a museum ship in 1957. For a time during a severe shortage of rooms, ''Nenana'' also operated as a hotel. Weather, neglect, and souvenir hunters damaged ''Nenana'' at her berth on the river, and to protect, preserve, and interpret her the vessel was moved to a permanent protected dry berth in 1965. ''Nenana'' became the centerpiece of "

Alaskaland Pioneer Park is a 44-acre (109-ha) city park in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States run by the Fairbanks North Star Borough Department of Parks and Recreation. The park commemorates early Alaskan history with multiple museums and historic displays ...

", a historical park in Fairbanks. It 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 1972. An extensive restoration program was begun to return her to her former glory. The latest phase of this work has rebuilt the bow and renewed her decks. She is the only surviving wooden ship of this type, and was for this reason declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1989. Approximately 70 to 90 percent of her original materials remained at that time. From the exterior, the boat appears much as she did during her operating life. Although the interior, particularly the forward main deckhouse, saloon deckhouse, and Texas deckhouse, has been substantially altered, important features such as the engineroom remain intact. and
The ship was originally commissioned by the

and provided freight transfer from the railroad yards at Nenana to villages along the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

and

Tanana River The Tanana River (Lower Tanana: Tth'eetoo', Upper Tanana: ''Tth’iitu’ Niign'') is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright, the name is from the Koyukon (Athabaskan) ...

s. This history is reflected within the park's current interpretative programs. She is currently preserved and displayed at Pioneer Park in

Fairbanks, Alaska 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 ...

References

{{National Register of Historic Places 1933 ships Museums in Fairbanks, Alaska National Historic Landmarks in Alaska Paddle steamers of the United States Relocated buildings and structures in Alaska Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Steamboats of the Yukon River National Register of Historic Places in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska Museum ships in Alaska

See also

References