AREA HISTORY Alaska’s Woodchopper Creek on the Upper Yukon River got its name because the area served as a refueling stop for paddlewheel steamboats as they moved up and down the river. Early residents cut and stacked wood at the confluence of the creek and river to earn much-needed cash. Woodchopper Creek has a rich history steeped in the lure of the riches of gold. During the Klondike-Alaska Gold Rush of 1898, miners that arrived too late to stake claims on the Canadian side of the border moved over to the Woodchopper Creek area of Alaska. The Alaska gold rush then shifted to the creek’s mineral deposits as prospectors began searching for placer gold. In the early days, using picks, shovels, and primitive sluice boxes, miners washed as much gravel as they could manage during short summers. During the winter, they sunk mining shafts along the creeks to reach bedrock and found the thin layer of gold dust and nuggets called a paystreak. By 1906 eighteen men were mining on seven claims on the creek and its tributaries.
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Woodchopper Gold Claim | Circle, Alaska
