Sunrise City: Boom Town to Ghost Town, Alaska
N 60° 55.729 W 149° 20.809
6V E 372805 N 6757136
This sign provides the history of the Ghost Town called Sunrise.
Waymark Code: WM9BEQ
Location: Alaska, United States
Date Posted: 07/26/2010
Views: 13
The sign reads:
"Sunrise City: Boom Town to Ghost Town
Established in 1895, the community at the mouth of Sixmile Creek took less than two years to grow into the largest town in the Cook Inlet region. A decade later, the population had dwindled and the gold rush town of Sunrise entered its sunset years.
A Dozen Cabins
Two of the first propectors on Sixmile, A.J. Mills and George Donaldson, set up camp near the mouth of the creek in June 1895. The camp grew to a dozen log cabins that summer. Three mountain peaks tower over the town site. The miners noticed the sun rose above one peak, disappeared, then rose above the rest. This continued until the sun had risen above all tree peaks, one after another. This phenomemon led the miners to name the came Sunrise.
A Bustling Supply Center
A gold rush in 1896 brought 1,500 men and women to Sixmile Creek and it tributaries. Sunrise, overrun with stampeders, became a tent city and the area's supply hub. One visitor said it looked "like an army encampment." By 1898, the town ot 800 boasted three general stores, three saloons, a billiard hall, a restaurant, a post office, a hotel and a community hall.
From Boom to Bust
Gold strikes elsewhere lured away miners and by 1906 the population of Sunrise had declined to 75. Merchants followed the miners, fires destroyed several businesses and other buildings were torn down and used for firewood. The post office closed in 1918. Michael Connolly, the recorder for the town and the mining district in the early years, was the last resident of Sunrise. When he drowned in 1939, the town died with him. Today, several collasped buildings and a few foundations are all that remain of this gold rush town site."
Group that erected the marker: State of Alaska
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
Turnagain Arm car pull-out
Seward Highway
Girdwood, AK USA
99587
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Visit Instructions:
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