Chena Hot Springs Resort Celebrates Centennial By Brenda Hewitt with liberal quotes from Claus-M. Naske�s book �Curing Crippled Prospectors: The Wonderful Waters of Chena Hot Springs.�

Chena Hot Springs, Alaska � Gold prospector Robert Swan suffered like most miners in 1905, from rheumatism brought on most likely by gruelingly hard work and a poor diet. Vitamin and mineral supplements were certainly not as prevalent a century ago as they are today in the American culture. His brother, Thomas, learned that a U.S. Geological Survey crew had seen steam rising from a valley somewhere on the upper Chena River east of Fairbanks. The surveyors suspected it was a hot springs but did not have conclusive evidence to prove it.

That was enough information for the Swan brothers though. They headed out on a month long journey up the river, poling their boat loaded with supplies. On August 5, 1905, the brothers ascended Monument Creek and found a group of about a dozen mineral hot springs sixty miles east of Fairbanks.

They built a crude bathhouse on the left bank of Spring Creek by first blocking a part of the creek to straighten its course, dug a drain ditch and then a pool. The bottom was lined with stones and the sides with logs. They constructed a small little log cabin on top and put up a sign calling their discovery, �Gunnison Hot Springs.�

After a month of soaking in and drinking the mineral water, Robert Swan, who had complained of being �almost dead� with �rheumatism all through� him, was able to move his right arm and shoulder. The Swan brothers would have stayed longer probably, but in early September the notorious �Blue Parka Man� stole all their grub. They had to return to Fairbanks for supplies.

While back in town, the brothers told of the medicinal qualities of the hot springs. A party returned to the springs in July of 1906. The bathhouse was enlarged and they added a mud bath during their six-week stay. Among the bathers were Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Van Curler, a fellow prospector and miner whose wife suffered from rheumatism and a stomach disorder. She returned to Fairbanks recovered. The healing properties of the hot springs was becoming pretty well known by the summer of 1907, when two more prospectors, Charley Mack and George Wilson went looking for the waters.

George Wilson filed for agricultural homestead rights to the hot springs on May 28, 1908. He homesteaded 320 acres and started a twelve-year legal battle over whether he should be entitled to exclusive ownership of the mineral springs.

President Taft had issued an executive order in the spring of 1911 withdrawing all hot springs and other springs in Alaska from the public domain in an effort to ensure the conservation of such natural resources. About three months later, with grandfather rights securing his ownership of the springs, Wilson leased the stable, bathhouse and twelve small cabins for visitors to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Beam for five years. Tourism was begun. The Beams made Chena Hot Springs one of the premier resorts of Interior Alaska. So many visitors praised the healing qualities of the mineral springs that the praise built up to a point of almost being extravagant.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner ran a story on February 26, 1912 with the headline, �Hot Springs People Dance, All of the Cripples at the Big Chena Have Recovered.� Testimonies began to flow like glacial water in July and the reputation of the resort brought customers from all over Alaska. Cabins rented for $20 a month and meals started at $1.50. A ticket to the pool was an additional fifty cents.

The Beams built a two story hotel, operated a grocery and men�s furnishing store on the premises. E.E. Dilley ran the �Hot Springs Stage� with �comfortable, four horse drawn double rigs making round trips every ten days,� costing $50 per passenger. The trip shortened to two and a half days as the trail improved in 1911. There were four roadhouses along the trail that made their living just servicing visitors to the hot springs.

Over the course of 100 years, the hot springs have seen a number of owners, including a stint by the State of Alaska. Bernie and Connie Karl purchased the springs in 1998.

Today the road to Chena Hot Springs Resort is a paved fifty-six mile smooth road and it takes a little over an hour to get to the springs from Fairbanks. The original lodge built in 1914 is still standing and used as the restaurant, gift shop and lounge. Three of the original guest cabins built in 1908 still stand with one being used for massages and another, recently restored, is used for the Renewable Energy Center.

To celebrate the centennial, Chena Hot Springs Resort has planned three events: a centennial passenger dog sled race, a drawing for a gold nugget, and a birthday party.

� The Centennial Passenger Race will be judged according to the historical accuracy of the teams, sled, food, etc. �It will be a different kind of race,� says organizer Gwen Holdmann, �it should be really fun.� It will run from Fairbanks to the hot springs on April 1 and 2, 2005.

� A three-ounce Alaskan gold nugget will be given away on December 31, 2005 to a guest that has purchased an overnight at the resort some time during the year as a way to highlight the �golden anniversary� and the historical significance of gold mining to the origins of Chena Hot Springs Resort.

� The birthday bash on August 5, 2005 will bring dignitaries and guests together for food, fun and frolic.

Bernie and Connie Karl have expanded the resort substantially since their purchase, adding a new 40 unit lodge, an outdoor natural mineral Rock Lake, America�s only ice hotel/museum, a working green house, and an activity center. This year will also see the production of electricity for the resort by geothermal power. The Karl�s also hope to expand the locker rooms in 2005.

For more information about the resort and its history, click on to www.chenahotsprings.com.

*Claus-M. Naske is a emeritus professor of history from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and an alumnus of the University of Alaska currently living in Fairbanks with his wife, Dinah.

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Media Contact: Brenda Hewitt (907) 488-1505 bhewitt@chenahotsprings.com