page_title: Ester, Alaska
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Ester, Alaska / Economy
caption_attribution_description: English: The USPS in Ester, Alaska, zip code 99775
context_page_description: Ester is a census-designated place in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Fairbanks, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population in the CDP was 2,422 at the 2010 census, although there are only about a dozen homes in the village itself. The Ester Camp Historic District is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ester was founded as a gold mining camp in the early 1900s, and the economy has focused on mining and services for miners. The Ester Community Association was founded in 1941, and continues to work for the welfare of the community, e.g. establishing and maintaining the Ester Community Park and sponsoring an annual Fourth of July parade. There are several small businesses in Ester, including two saloons, a publishing house, a jewelry maker, hand crafted soap maker, and local artisans. The Ester Volunteer Fire Department, John Trigg Ester Library, Ester Historic Society, and Ester Post Office serve residents in Ester and surrounding areas. There is also a convenience store and secular chapel on the outskirts of the village.
context_section_description: The local saw has it that "Ester is still around because there is a McDonald's in Fairbanks." This is true both culturally and economically. Many Ester residents are employed in Fairbanks or at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, although there are many small Ester-area businesses and self-employed people. The largest Ester employers are seasonal, with Judie Gumm Designs, and the local mines as the businesses with the most employees. Fairbanks provides a market for Ester products and services and thus helps to keep the small Ester economy alive. Because Fairbanks acts as a draw (due to its larger market and resources) for such things as big-box stores and fast food chains, Ester has been able to retain its mining village feel. This is important to Ester's tourist economy, which capitalizes on the status of the gold camp buildings as a historic landmark. In fall 2007, the owners of the Ester Gold Camp (Malemute, Inc.) announced that they would not reopen the resort in 2008, but do open the camp bar (the Malemute Saloon) for a 30-day period each summer to retain the liquor license. This has had an effect on Ester's summer economy, and resulted in the closure of at least two shops, in anticipation of the dearth of tourists.
  In response to the closure of the Gold Camp, a group of local business owners have formed the EMCE (or Ester Ministry of Community Enterprise), which has been accepted as an ad-hoc committee of the Ester Community Association, to support Ester-area businesses and craftspeople. The EMCE occasionally sponsors a local open-air farmers' market, and a Planting Day to beautify the village.
caption: The Ester Post Office, on Village Road, is constructed of locally sourced spruce logs.
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPad Pro", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "11.4.1", "Image DateTime": "2018:08:04 12:00:10", "Image ExifOffset": "194", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[64, 50, 4297/100]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[148, 1, 477/50]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "30897/157", "GPS GPSSpeedRef": "K", "GPS GPSSpeed": "0", "GPS GPSImgDirectionRef": "T", "GPS GPSImgDirection": "34634/155", "GPS GPSDestBearingRef": "T", "GPS GPSDestBearing": "34634/155", "GPS Tag 0x001F": "10", "Image GPSInfo": "1730", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/120", "EXIF FNumber": "11/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "40", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:08:04 12:00:10", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:08:04 12:00:10", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "27681/4007", "EXIF ApertureValue": "7801/3429", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "8653/1215", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "83/20", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[76, 2386, 1007, 1011]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "105", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "105", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4032", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3024", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "3", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "504/377", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "39", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[83/20, 83/20, 11/5, 11/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPad Pro back camera 4.15mm f/2.2", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "12"}