Nenana ( ) is a Home Rule
City in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
of the Unorganized Borough of the
U.S. state of Alaska
. It
lies along the
Tanana River. The
population was 402 at the
2000
census. "Nenana" means 'a good place to camp between two
rivers.'
History and culture
Nenana is in the western-most portion of Tanana Athabascan Indian
territory. It was first known as Tortella, an interpretation of the
Indian word "Toghotthele" (TOG-uh-TEE-lee), which means "mountain
that parallels the river."
Early explorers such as Allen, Harper and
Bates first entered the Tanana Valley
in 1875 and 1885. However, the Tanana people
were accustomed to contact with Europeans, due to trading journeys
to the Village of Tanana, where Russians bartered Western goods for
furs.
The
discovery of gold in Fairbanks
in 1902 brought intense activity to the
region. A trading post/roadhouse was constructed by Jim Duke
in 1903 to supply river travelers and trade with Indians. St.
Mark's Episcopal mission and school was built a short distance
upriver in 1905.
Native children from other communities, such
as Minto
, attended
school in Nenana. A post office opened in 1908. In 1915,
construction of the Alaska Railroad doubled Nenana's population.
The community incorporated as a city in 1921.
The Railroad Depot was completed in 1923, when President
Warren Harding drove the golden spike at the
north end of the 700-foot long
Mears Memorial Bridge over the Tanana
River. Nenana now had a transportation link to Fairbanks and
Seward. According to local records, 5,000 residents lived in Nenana
during this time, however, completion of the railroad was followed
by an economic slump. The population in 1930 was recorded at
291.
In 1961,
Clear Air Force
Station
was constructed 21 miles southwest, and many
civilian contractors commuted from Nenana. A road was
constructed south to Clear, but northbound vehicles were ferried
across the Tanana River. In 1967 the community was devastated by
one of the largest floods ever recorded in the valley. In 1968 a $6
million bridge was completed across the Tanana River, which gave
the town a road link to Fairbanks and replaced the river ferry.
The
George Parks Highway was
completed in 1971, which provided a shorter, direct route to
Anchorage
.
Residents of Nenana sponsor the
Nenana Ice Classic, where entrants buy a
ticket and pick the date and time to the closest minute in April or
May when the winter ice on the
Tanana
River breaks. This lottery began in 1917 when a group of
surveyors working for the
Alaska
Railroad whiled the time they spent waiting for the river to
open and boats with supplies to reach them by forming a betting
pool.
Interest in the pool continued and spread
through Alaska. This
lottery has paid out nearly $10 million in prize money with the
winning pool in recent years being near $300,000.
A federally-recognized tribe is located in the community—the Nenana
Native Association.
Nenana was the starting point for the
1925 serum run to Nome, where
diphtheria antitoxin was transported by rail from Anchorage, and
continued by dog sled to Nome.
In the
summer of 2008, Nenana suffered heavy damage due to flooding
. The Tanana reached its second highest level
since record keeping began.
Geography and climate
Nenana is located at , (Sec. 14, T004S, R008W, Fairbanks Meridian)
in the Nenana
Recording
District.
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
6.1 square miles (15.8 km²), of which, 6.0 square
miles (15.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles
(0.2 km²) of it (0.99%) is water.
Nenana is
located in Interior
Alaska
, 55 road miles southwest of Fairbanks
on the George Parks
Highway and 304 road miles northeast of Anchorage. It is at mile 412 of the Alaska Railroad, on the south bank of the
Tanana River where it meets the
Nenana
River
. Nenana has a continental climate with an
extreme temperature range. The average daily maximum during summer
months is 65 to 70; the daily minimum during winter is well below
zero. The highest temperature ever recorded is 98; the lowest is
-69. Average precipitation is 11.4 inches, with
48.9 inches of snowfall annually. The river is ice-free from
early May to late October.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 402
people, 171 households, and 87 families residing in the city. The
population density was 66.6
people per square mile (25.7/km²). There were 210 housing units at
an average density of 34.8/sq mi (13.4/km²). The racial makeup
of the city was 50.75%
White, 0.25%
Black or
African American, 41.04%
Native American, 0.50%
Asian, and 7.46% from
two or more races. 2.49% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 171 households out of which 24.0% had children under the
age of 18 living with them, 31.0% were
married
couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 49.1% were non-families. 42.1% of all
households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living
alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.30.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age
of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to
64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
40 years. For every 100 females there were 112.7 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,333, and the
median income for a family was $40,938. Males had a median income
of $46,125 versus $26,094 for females. The
per capita income for the city was
$17,334. About 13.4% of families and 17.8% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 13.9%
of those under age 18 and 19.4% of those age 65 or over.
Public services
Water is drawn from wells, then treated and distributed via
circulating loops. A piped gravity system collects sewage, which is
treated at a secondary treatment plant. Most of the City is
connected to the piped water and sewer system: 215 homes and the
school are served. The remaining homes have individual wells and
septic systems.
Refuse is collected by a private firm and hauled to the new Denali
Borough regional landfill, located south of Anderson. Electricity
is provided by Golden Valley Electric Association. A school
provides education for grades kindergarten through 12 (230
students). The
Nenana
Student Living Center, one of three statewide boarding school
for high school students, has students from around the state
attending the local school. The school attracts students and
families due to its extensive arts (music, artistic and performing
programs), academic quality and vocational studies.
The City has a library with a full time librarian, internet access
and full library services including interlibrary loan services.
Health clinic services are provided by the Nenana Native Clinic.
A
regional hospital is located in nearby Fairbanks. Specialized services include the Railbelt
Mental Health & Addiction Services. Emergency Services have
highway, river and airport access. 911 emergency service is
available in Nenana; auxiliary health care is provided by Nenana
Volunteer Fire/EMS or Fairbanks hospitals. Police service is
provide by the Alaska State Troopers.
Economy and transportation
Over 40% of the year-round jobs are government-funded, including
the City, Tribe, Nenana School District, Yukon-Koyukuk School
District, and highway maintenance by the Alaska Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities. Golden Valley Electric
Association has its regional office in Nenana. Nenana is a strong
choice for locating regional and statewide offices due to a rural
lifestyle yet near to Fairbanks on the major north-south George
Parks Highway.
Nenana has affordable housing and low rents. Nenana has a strong
private sector economy as the center of rail-to-river barge
transportation for the Interior. Crowley Marine is a major private
employer, supplying villages along the Tanana and Yukon Rivers each
summer with cargo and fuel. The City attracts independent travelers
with fuel and supplies, the Alaska Railroad Museum, the Golden
Railroad Spike Historic Park and Interpretive Center, the
historical Episcopal Church, Iditarod dog kennels, and a replica of
the sternwheeler Nenana. A heritage center has local cultural and
history displays, open during the summer tourist season from May to
September.
Nenana is a center of dog mushing; a number of world-class teams
train in the area. Nenana is home to a number of artists who
produce works that reflect the local frontier lifestyle. A number
of large farms produce quality and specialized crops in some of the
best growing conditions in Alaska. The Nenana Ice Classic
administration provides employment for nearly 100 locals during the
counting and tabulation of the tickets providing chances on when
the Tanana River breakup in the spring. Twenty-seven residents hold
commercial fishing permits. A large number of Native and non-Native
households rely on subsistence foods, such as salmon, moose,
caribou, bear, waterfowl and berries.
Taxes: Sales: 4%, Property: 12.0 mills, Special: None
Nenana has air, river, road and railroad access. The George Parks
Highway provides road access to Fairbanks and Anchorage. A boat
landing at the end of 10th street turning west off the George Parks
Highway provides free boat landing on the Nenana River. A short
distance north of the landing, the Nenana River meets the Tanana
River, providing easy access to the river system of the Tanana
River and Minto Flats. The boat landing provides access for
hundreds of hunters and outdoor enthusiasts each year.
The railroad provides daily freight service. The Nenana Municipal
Airport offers two landing areas: a lighted, asphalt runway 5,000
feet long by 100 feet wide, and an airstrip, turf, 2,520 feet long
by 80 feet wide. The airport also has landing areas for float
planes and ski planes. The Nenana Port Authority operates the dry
cargo loading and unloading facilities, dock, bulkhead, and
warehouse. The Tanana River is shallow, with a maximum draft for
loaded river barges of 4.5 feet; by comparison, the Yukon River has
very few shallow areas.
References
Popular Culture
Nenana and the Ice Classic were featured in the 1938 movie
"Call of the Yukon." Richard Arlen and
Beverly Roberts played a mis-matched pair on
a trek to Nenana to escape a village famine.
External links
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