Ester, Alaska
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Ester is a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
(CDP) in
Fairbanks North Star Borough The Fairbanks North Star Borough is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,655, down from 97,581 in 2010. The borough seat is Fairbanks. The borough's land area is slightly smaller than tha ...
,
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is part of the
Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population in the CDP was 2,422 at the 2010 census, although there are only around 12 houses located inside of the village, the rest are in the surrounding area. The Ester Camp Historic District is a historic district listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. Ester was founded as a gold mining camp in the early 1900s, and the economy has focused on mining and services for miners. The Ester Volunteer Fire Department,
John Trigg Ester Library The John Trigg Ester Library is a small nonprofit library, located in Ester in the U.S. state of Alaska. The library has approximately 6,000 volumes on its shelves with more than 15,000 in storage, and is constructing a new library building. The ...
, Ester Historic Society and Ester Post Office serve residents in Ester and surrounding areas. There is also a convenience store and secular chapel on the outskirts of the village. Many artists, writers, and musicians reside in Ester.


Ester in geological and prehistoric time

The
hydraulic mining Hydraulic mining is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment.Paul W. Thrush, ''A Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms'', US Bureau of Mines, 1968, p.560. In the placer mining of ...
technique of directing high pressurized streams of water onto the land to uncover gold revealed that Ester had rich deposits of fossils and bones of prehistoric animals. In the 1950s, Walter Wigger, who owned the Ester Creek Gold Mine, discovered a 198-pound mammoth tusk along Ester Creek. Images taken by tourists during the 1940s provide visual evidence of prehistoric animal remains, such as tusks, skulls, and large leg bones that were washed out by the process of stripping.


History


Early history and founding

Ester was originally a
gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...
camp on Ester Creek, with the first
claim Claim may refer to: * Claim (legal) * Claim of Right Act 1689 * Claims-based identity * Claim (philosophy) * Land claim * A ''main contention'', see conclusion of law * Patent claim * The assertion of a proposition; see Douglas N. Walton * A ri ...
staked in February 1903 by Latham A. Jones. Jones worked with the Eagle Mining Company, the biggest claimholder on Glen Gulch in the
Rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...
mining district, but it was an independent miner, John "Jack" Mihalcik, a
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
n immigrant born in 1866, who was the first person to actually discover gold in Ester Creek. Mihalcik staked his claim in November 1903 but the news of the discovery of gold did not become public until the following February. By 1907, Ester City had a population of around 200 people, with a thriving mining industry. A social hall was completed in 1907 and was well-known throughout the mining district for its dance floor. The hall was used for religious services as well as dances, movies, card games, parties, and other entertainment purposes. The town had five saloons and two hotels. In 1908 and 1910, the hall was the site of campaign speeches by candidates for the seat of Territorial Delegate. (Labor won in 1908, but Judge
James Wickersham James Wickersham (August 24, 1857 – October 24, 1939) was a district judge for Alaska, appointed by U.S. President William McKinley to the Third Judicial District in 1900. He resigned his post in 1908 and was subsequently elected as Alaska ...
won the Ester precinct in 1910.) By 1909, Ester City had a baseball field, a doctor, a mine workers' union local, and a teacher, but gold production was beginning to decline. The Berry Post Office moved in 1910 from near the Berry brothers' claim about two miles downstream from Ester City into J.C. Kinney's general store in Ester. The post office retained the name of Berry until 1965, when it was finally changed to that of the town it had been in for 55 years. In the mid-1920s, the Fairbanks Exploration Company began buying claims on Ester Creek, started operations in 1929, and in 1933 built a mess hall for their camp in Ester. The buildings are now a historic landmark used until 2008 as a tourist attraction, restaurant, and hotel. The F.E. Company revitalized the town, reshaping it to do large-scale
open-pit mining Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially ...
using enormous floating
dredge Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing ...
s and
dragline A dragline excavator is a heavy-duty excavator used in civil engineering and surface mining. It was invented in 1904, and presented an immediate challenge to the steam shovel and its diesel and electric powered descendant, the power shovel. ...
s. In the process, much of the original sites of Berry and Ester were removed.


Since 1940

The Ester Community Association was founded in 1941. In 1958, The F.E. Company sold their Ester camp, and it reopened under new management as a historic resort. The Cripple Creek Resort, which later became the Ester Gold Camp, featured a musical variety show including
Robert W. Service Robert William Service (16 January 1874 – 11 September 1958) was an English-born Canadian poet and writer, often called “The Poet of the Yukon" and "The Canadian Kipling". Born in Lancashire of Scottish descent, he was a bank clerk by trade ...
's poetry, held the Malemute Saloon, a local bar, featuring Service's poem, " The Shooting of Dan McGrew", until the resort closed in 2007. The Malemute Saloon continues to operate on selected weekends during the summer, and often features live music by local bands. In 1974, the Ester Volunteer Fire Department was officially founded after nearly a century of bucket brigades. Gold mining continued on a small scale. In 1986, the Ester Community Association, working with the Fairbanks North Star Borough, built the Ester Community Park, which became a local center of social activity. In 2017, the Ester Community Association purchased the park from a local resident, holding chili feeds, music festivals, and other fundraising events. In 1987, the eleven surviving buildings of the F.E. Company's camp were listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. with In 1988, ''Mushing'' magazine began publication in Ester and continued to be produced and published there until it was sold in 2005. The town became the site of a
sled dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in Dog harness, harness, most commonly a Dog sled, sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transpor ...
stage race between Ester and Nenana and back again, the Fireplug Sled Dog Race, which was held for ten years, from 1990 to 2001, and in which many famous mushers participated, including Dean Seibold and Jeff King. In January 1999, the town's first newspaper, '' The Ester Republic'', was founded by Deirdre Helferrich; it was published regularly until 2015, and now is published sporadically. In August 1999, the
John Trigg Ester Library The John Trigg Ester Library is a small nonprofit library, located in Ester in the U.S. state of Alaska. The library has approximately 6,000 volumes on its shelves with more than 15,000 in storage, and is constructing a new library building. The ...
(JTEL) opened a membership library named after a local resident who had started a book exchange in a nearby bar. In 2012, the JTEL received a donation of a local log cabin built in the 1940s and relocated many of its holdings to the new space. Today, the village features two saloons, five publishers, a library, a community hall, a secular chapel, a post office with its own zip code (99725), silversmiths and other artisans, numerous art studios, about two dozen homes, most of which were built by their owners, and three active gold mines. There is a fire station, a small store, and a secular chapel on the outskirts of the village. The Ester Historic Society was founded in 2018. Its collection was donated by local residents and contains historical photographs, letters, and other documents. Along with the John Trigg Ester Library, the Ester Historic Society hosts talks and book readings about Ester and the surrounding area.


Geography

Ester is located at (64.855700, -147.978434). According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.08%, is water.


Ester Community Park

Ester has a well-used park, maintained and improved by the Ester Community Association's Park Committee and other volunteers from the community. The park has an
ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water or an artificial sheet of ice where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The growth and increasing popularity of ...
that doubles as a
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
court in the summer, a children's playground, a picnic pavilion, a stage, and a soccer field. The park, situated next to the Ester Volunteer Fire Department, is the site of numerous
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
games, Ester
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
League games,
broomball Broomball is a both a recreational and organized competitive winter sport, winter and ball sport played on ice or snow. It is played either indoors or outdoors, depending on the climate and location. It is most popularly played in Canada and the ...
, the Fourth of July picnic, musical gatherings, and other events throughout the year. In the summer, there is a farmers' market on Thursday evenings where local farmers and gardeners sell their goods. In 2017, the Ester Community Association purchased the park from a local landowner.


The village square

Ester village wraps around a square at the foot of Ester Lump, the name of a bump on the side of Ester Dome. This "
town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...
" is actually the parking lot of the Golden Eagle Saloon, divided in two sections by Main Street, but functions as a focal point and central gathering place during celebrations such as the
Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...
and
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...
. Private residences, the
John Trigg Ester Library The John Trigg Ester Library is a small nonprofit library, located in Ester in the U.S. state of Alaska. The library has approximately 6,000 volumes on its shelves with more than 15,000 in storage, and is constructing a new library building. The ...
, and the Golden Eagle Saloon surround the square.


Tailings

Due to the mining in the area, Ester is currently surrounded by piles of gravel and dirt
tailings In mining, tailings or tails are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction (gangue) of an ore. Tailings are different from overburden, which is the waste rock or other material ...
.


Climate

Ester has a
subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Dfc'').


Economy

The local saw has it that "Ester is still around because there is a
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
in Fairbanks." This is true both culturally and economically. Many Ester residents are employed in Fairbanks or at the
University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...
, although there are many small Ester-area businesses and self-employed people. The largest Ester employers are seasonal, with Judie Gumm Designs, and the local mines as the businesses with the most employees. Fairbanks provides a market for Ester products and services and thus helps to keep the small Ester economy alive. Because Fairbanks acts as a draw (due to its larger market and resources) for such things as
big-box store A big-box store, a hyperstore, a supercenter, a superstore, or a megastore is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The ...
s and
fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...
chains, Ester has been able to retain its mining village feel. This is important to Ester's tourist economy, which capitalizes on the status of the gold camp buildings as a
historic landmark A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...
. In fall 2007, the owners of the Ester Gold Camp (Malemute, Inc.) announced that they would not reopen the resort in 2008, but do open the camp bar (the Malemute Saloon) for a 30-day period each summer to retain the liquor license. This has had an effect on Ester's summer economy, and resulted in the closure of at least two shops, in anticipation of the dearth of tourists. In response to the closure of the Gold Camp, a group of local business owners have formed the EMCE (or Ester Ministry of Community Enterprise), which has been accepted as an ad hoc committee of the Ester Community Association, to support Ester-area businesses and craftspeople. The EMCE occasionally sponsors a local open-air
farmers' market A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or ...
, and a Planting Day to beautify the village.


Demographics

Ester first appeared on the 1910 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village (erroneously as "Esther"). It did not appear again until 1940 and has reported on each successive census. In 1980, it was made a census-designated place (CDP).


2000 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 1,680 people, 727 households, and 386 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 814 housing units at an average density of . The racial/ethnic makeup of the CDP was 87.4%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.9%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 4.6%
Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...
or Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.3%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 1.0% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 2.5% of the population. There were 727 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 1.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.91. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 40.8% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 2.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 119.6 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 116.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $50,461, and the median income for a family was $73,750. Males had a median income of $41,713 versus $24,850 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the CDP was $29,155. About 4.9% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 9.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.


2010 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 2,422 people, 727 households, and 534 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,229 housing units at an average density of . The racial/ethnic makeup of the CDP was 84.6%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 2.1%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 6.7%
Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...
or Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.2%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.6% from other races, and 4.6% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 3.3% of the population. There were 1,069 households, out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.0% were non-families. 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.90. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 18.8% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 6.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 119.8 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 122.2 males.


Notable people

Clarence Berry was a successful miner who lived in the immediate vicinity of Ester, at No. 8 Below Discovery Claim. Richard A. Fineberg is an investigative journalist living in Ester who specializes in petroleum development and environment-related issues. He has lived in Alaska since 1969 and works as a freelance writer and consultant. Painter Magnus Colcord "Rusty" Heurlin, 1895–1986. Rusty was born in Christanstad, Sweden, to American parents and raised in
Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston, greater Boston metropolitan area, municipal corporation, incorporated in 1812 in the United States, 1812 and located about north-nor ...
. He attended art classes at the Fenway School of Illustration in Boston. He first came to Alaska in 1916, to Valdez, but left the state during World War I. He returned to Alaska in 1924, and moved to Ester, where he remained until his death. Heurlin was known for his pastel palette and luminous skies and influenced many later Alaska artists.


Wildlife

Because the village is surrounded by
boreal forests Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North Ame ...
,
moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
, ermine,
snowshoe hare The snowshoe hare (''Lepus americanus''), also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sink ...
,
fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
es, least shrew,
lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...
,
American red squirrel The American red squirrel (''Tamiasciurus hudsonicus'') is one of three species of tree squirrels currently classified in the genus ''Tamiasciurus'', known as the pine squirrels (the others are the Douglas squirrel, ''T. douglasii'', and the sou ...
,
porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...
, red-backed vole, and other northern mammals are commonly seen in Ester.
Coyotes The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely relat ...
and American black bear, black bears are seasonal visitors. Wolves are occasionally spotted. Many bird species thrive in the area such as black-capped chickadee, boreal chickadee, Northern hawk-owl, hawk owl, cliff swallow, hairy woodpecker, spruce grouse, ruffed grouse, ruby-crowned kinglet, trumpeter swan, Canada jay, Common raven, raven, and pine grosbeak. Owls include great horned owl, boreal owl, and great grey owl. Insects common in Ester include numerous species of bumblebees, hornets, Yellowjacket, yellow jackets, and wasps. Butterflies include Canadian Swallowtail butterfly, swallowtail, Nymphalis antiopa, mourning cloak, painted lady, Boloria chariclea, arctic fritillary, Speyeria mormonia, Mormon fritillary, and Colias philodice, clouded sulphur. Damselfly, Damselflies and Dragonfly, dragonflies are also commonly spotted in Ester, as are several types of moths. There are over 35 different species of mosquitoes, some of which emerge while there is still snow on the ground in April.


Ester culture


Agriculture and subsistence

Fishing, hunting, and food gathering are important aspects of Alaskan living in general, both for recreation and for subsistence, and Ester is no exception. The community is zoned as rural, despite its proximity to the state's second-largest city. Many Ester residents fish and/or hunt, and berry- and mushroom-picking are regular seasonal activities. Gardening has long been a part of Ester's culture, and farming has been growing in popularity since 2000, which saw the establishment of Calypso Farm & Ecology Center in the hills near the village. Calypso provides community-supported agriculture shares for over 80 families, with other CSAs starting up in the area. The Ester library has a seed library program. The John Trigg Ester Library has long had a small community garden at its grounds on Main Street, and expanded them in 2023 to include new beds at the future Passiv Haus community center/library grounds on Village Road.


Art

Ester has a strong art community, including painters, photographers, collagists, sculptors, metalsmiths, and woodworkers. It has hosted an annual intercontinental simultaneous art exhibit since 2000, the BiPolar Art Show, with the MAAG (the Mechanical Equipment Center Alternative Art Gallery) in McMurdo Station, McMurdo, Antarctica. Three commercial galleries and several private studios provide sales venues for local and other artists. An informal mixed media 'school of Assemblage (art), assemblage' may be said to exist in Ester: several local artists rely on dumpster finds, printed materials, and historically significant items in their artwork, with themes relating to religious iconography, local history, and political satire.


Mining

Mines, having been the central reason for the village's existence for most of its history, are still important in Ester culture. Old dredge parts and mining equipment can be found in the forest that has grown up around the village since major dredging ended in the 1960s, some of which have been incorporated into artistic works. The Malemute Saloon's variety show capitalizes on the town's mining history, particularly the influence of Clarence Berry, whose mine at 8 Below Discovery Claim was the largest and most successful in the Ester area during its early history. Ester Dome continues to attract large mining concerns, and several small-scale gold mines provide residents with income.


Music

Ester has a vibrant local music culture, and is the site of several annual music festivals: Angry Young & Poor (also known as AYP), a free all-day concert oriented toward area youth; the Fairbanks Summer Folk Fest, a 35-year old folk festival; the LiBerry Music Festival & Pie Throwdown, a fundraiser for the John Trigg Ester Library; and Ester Fest, a family-friendly musical fundraiser for the Ester Community Park which held its inaugural festival in 2017. An old time string band gathering, the Ester Jelly Jam, has an open jam occasionally on Sunday afternoons at Hartung Hall. A local group, the Lost Dog Old-Time String Band, hosts a monthly American square dance, square/contra dance there. Impromptu music jams occur nightly on the saloon porches in the summer, and every Sunday in the winter. Sundays at the Golden Eagle are smoke free. Area venues and events regularly feature local, live music.


Parade

The Ester Community Association sponsors an annual Fourth of July parade that travels from the village square on Main Street past the post office, turning left onto Old Nenana Highway and ending about one mile away at the Ester Community Park. The parade features giant puppets, a children's bike brigade, small scale floats frequently with satirical themes, antique cars and trucks, and dancing by the crew of the Ester Volunteer Fire Department or other groups. Summer residents of Calypso Farm throw vegetables to the crowd, and local politicians and community organizations hand out literature and candy. Liberty (goddess), Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam are usually in the parade. Prizes vary from year to year, but usually include Best Bribe, the Golden Banana, or Best Choreography. Th
Red Hackle Pipe Band
a local music group which plays authentic Scottish bagpipes, drums, and flutes, traditionally begins the parade. The parade is followed by a community potluck featuring a pig roast, live music, and games. A local water delivery business, Water Wagon, sprays water on children and others who want to cool off. One local newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Fairbanks News-Miner, wrote this of the 2017 parade: "The people of Ester’s eccentric brand of patriotism was on display once more at the Fourth of July parade and potluck Tuesday afternoon."


Politics

Ester tends to be a liberalism, liberal and left-leaning area within the Fairbanks North Star Borough. In the 2016 United States presidential election, 2016 presidential election, 54% of the votes went to Democrat compared to 32% for Republican Donald Trump. There was a wide range in election results in the precincts surrounding Ester; results ranged from 18% to 62% for Clinton, and from 20% to 70% for Trump. In the 2018 Alaska gubernatorial election, 2018 election for governor, Democrat Mark Begich received 295 votes (65%) compared to 139 votes (31%) for Republican Mike Dunleavy (politician), Mike Dunleavy. The Ester voting precinct typically has relatively high voter turnout (~30% or more) in municipal elections (precinct 130 i
District 08
). Ursa Major distillery serves as the precinct's polling place; in years past polling took place in the fire department, and the community center, Hartung Hall. Party affiliation tends strongly toward the Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, followed by the Republican Party (United States), Republicans, with Green Party of Alaska, Greens and Alaska Independence Party voters in a rough tie for third. The majority of Ester's residents are listed on state records as unaffiliated or undeclared.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska


References

* Matthew Reckard,
Ester Myth "Berried"
", v. 1 n. 1, January 1999, '' The Ester Republic''. * Matthew Reckard,
The Discovery of Gold on Ester Creek
," v. 1 n. 3, March 1999, ''The Ester Republic''. * Matthew Reckard,

", v. 1 n. 7, July 1998, ''The Ester Republic.'' * Matthew Reckard, "A History of the Ester Post Office," 2002, The Ester Republic Telephone Directory and Local Et Cetera, 2nd edition. * Mark Simpson,

," TEOTWAWKI, v. 2 n. 1, January 2000, ''The Ester Republic''.


External links


Ester's newspaper and community association provide more information on the village


The Ester Republic

Ester Community Association

Ester Volunteer Fire Department


Other community organizations


Calypso Farm and Ecology Center

Ester Ministry of Community Enterprise



John Trigg Ester Library


Alaska Digital Archives (photos and documents)

* http://vilda.alaska.edu/cdm/search/searchterm/Ester {{authority control Census-designated places in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska Mining communities in Alaska National Register of Historic Places in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska