George And Audrey DeLange
Nenana, Alaska, Ice Classic Page Twenty Four
August 1998
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We are now really getting into the spirit of Alaska! Driving on the Parks Highway, our trip takes us to the village of Nenana located at the head of one of Alaska's most scenic valleys with Mt. McKinley visible on the horizon. Situated at the confluence of the Nenana and Tanana Rivers, Nenana is located about halfway between Fairbanks and Denali National Park.
The name Nenana is an Athabascan word which means "a good place to camp between the rivers." With its close proximity to the Alaska Railroad and Tanana River (which flows into the Yukon River), Nenana has played an important part in the development of the interior of Alaska. Nenana is world famous for its Ice Classic, which started in 1917. In late February, a black and white, 26-foot-tall, five-legged "tripod" is set in the ice of the Tanana River. Tickets are sold throughout Alaska for $2 each. In April, a cable is attached to the tripod from a clock on the shore. When the tripod moves approximately 100 feet, the cable trips a mechanism which stops the clock. Guess the day, hour and minute the clock stops and you'll split a pot, which in recent years has been over $300,000 dollars. This fun event announces spring's arrival in interior Alaska. There is even a watchman who watches from the watchman's house and tower to see that no monkey business takes place with this event. Nenana has traditionally been an important site for fishing and hunting camps by several different groups of Athabascan Indians. Around 1905 a telegraph station was built by the Army Signal Corps as part of the network across Alaska, a trading post was established, and the Episcopal church founded St. Mark's Mission. A boarding school was added two years later. Today, the restored log church is a favorite photo subject for visitors. Nenana's population grew dramatically with the building of the Alaska Railroad. The first railroad survey party arrived in 1916 and began building a waterfront dock. President Warren J. Harding drove the golden spike at the north end of the Nenana rail bridge on July 15, 1923. The 700-foot steel bridge, the second longest single-span railroad bridge in the US, is still in use today. The old Nenana Train Depot has been converted to a railroad museum and is well worth a visit. In the 1967 Nenana's final link to the interior was completed with the highway bridge over the Tanana River. This replaced the ferry and ice bridge system used until then. Today, Nenana remains the largest and most important port in interior Alaska. |
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| Ah Heck, Audrey, Do We Stay Here Tonight? | No Grumpy, We Stay First Class! This Is What The Pioneers Stayed In! |
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| Watchman's House, Tower & Tripod Train Tracks Of The Alaska Railroad | Watchman's House, Tower & Tripod Tortilla Mountain Background |
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| Watchman's House, Tower & Tripod | Raising The Tripod For Another Ice Classic |
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| May 7, 2001 Before Breakup Photo By Coghill | May 7, 2001 Ten Seconds Before Breakup Photo By Coghill |
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| Nenana Train Depot Converted To Railroad Museum | Nenana Waterfront |
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| Double Span Highway Bridge | Tug At Waterfront |
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