Hope, AK - Percy & Nellie

We arrived in Hope, AK today about 40 miles. Another small quirky town on the Kenai Peninsula. Hope? Sounds like the aspirations of all the gold miners who rushed there. Hope for a strike? Hope for a nugget? Hope for a good mine? Nope. The 3000 gold rushers named their new town after the next person to step off the next boat shuttling newcomers in. Off stepped Percy Hope and an Alaskan town was born. Sunrise, a neighbor of Hope was named for the way the sun appears to rise three times from behind a steep mountain.

Gold rushers rushed in, established stores, hotels, social halls, cemeteries, saloons, billiard halls, restaurants, a post office and transportation then they rush to another site and establish these all again, leaving the first city. This happened to Sunrise in the late 1890’s: at one time it was the largest city in Alaska with 800 people, today all that’s left is a cemetery.

After we had settled in to our site, we walked into the actual town, along this trail at the side of the road. Probably an ATV trail but, hey, it’s multi-use, isn’t it?

In town we headed for the museum which we had heard is pretty good. Here we found 5 buildings that were moved here from Sunrise when the highway was punched through to Hope.

One was a bunkhouse for local workers (below is the room of a surveyor),

one a school, and one a blacksmith’s shop. In each were appropriate furniture, furnishings and an audio recording about the building. In the school, an audio in the words of the teacher about his life teaching here. In the blacksmith’s shop, an audio in the words of the blacksmith about his business.
All very well done and pretty amazing for such a small town.

There were two roofed open buildings with lots of old equipment each with a label about what it was and how it was used and descriptions on another board.

Above and beyond many museums. Here an barrel stove. People used what ever was available to make what they needed.

I liked this horse-drawn grader.

And, note the extra piece added to the top of this stove to keep things warm.

One building had the story of Nellie Frost nailed to the wall. I was intrigued because she was born in Iowa in 1878. Pretty sturdy woman as were all who lived and worked in the mines in this area in this era.

Back at the campground we saw this couple sitting around the campfire - on their cell phones.

The next day we walked to the Sunrise cemetery, in the woods, down a long lane covered by trees and almost hidden by overgrown bushes. But if we thought that the cemetery would be un cared for, we were pleasantly mistaken.

Here are the graves of 5 who died in an avalanche in 1901.

Definitely this cemetery is being well-cared for. Probably by the citizens of Hope, given how well they take care of their museum.

But, gee-whillikers the mosquitos are ferocious here in the woods. Let’s get out of here and head back to the RV.