 In 1901, trader Ebenezer Barnette sailed up Alaska's Tanana River in hopes of establishing a trading post on the trail connecting the coastal town of Valdez with the gold-mining community of Eagle. Due to low water, however, the steamboat Barnette chartered was unable to continue up the river. Discouraged, Barnette deposited his cache of goods on a riverbank of the Chena River and sailed downstream with the intent of making another attempt to sail up the river during the following year. In 1902, miner Felix Pedro struck gold at a spot about 15 miles north of the spot where Barnette left his supplies. Seeing an opportunity, Barnette decided to establish a trading post at the spot. Other miners and suppliers arrived, attracted by the gold, and Barnette named the settlement Fairbanks, after Indiana Senator and later Vice President of the United States Charles W. Fairbanks.
