Tools Left Behind By Early Gold Miners Are On Display In Local Alaska Museums: A Report By Bearfoot Travel Guides

Treasure Trove Of Miner's Gear Was Dug Up In Delta Junction, Alaska

The Hollembaek Miner's Cache at Sullivan Roadhouse Museum in Delta Junction, Alaska

Around 1905, would-be gold miners were roaming the area near the Tanana Valley at what is now Delta Junction, Alaska. There were gold miners everywhere at that time. Rumors about lucky gold strikes -- many of them far afield, across mountains and rivers dozens and even hundreds of miles away -- caused a peculiar type of roaming across Alaska. The miners called this phenomenon,  "The Excitement." It was also known as "A Rush" -- as in "Gold Rush." Or, even: "Stampeding." 

Sullivan Roadhouse Museum. 

Miners hauled a lot of equipment and gear along with them on the trail, which they frequently had to relay from one spot to another. During this time of stampeding around the wilderness, one of them decided to put his gear away for safekeeping as he probably hurried on somewhere else. He hid an axe head, some oakum, some Goodyear mitts, some shirts, files, a wired-together coffee pot, a white enamel bowl, and other items.

Fast forward a hundred years. Scott Hollembaek and his son -- farmers in Delta Junction, spotted a piece of old rope, sticking out of a bluff. The rest is history. 

Fortunately, Delta Junction people managed to retain control of the historic find. 

It's available for you to see in the Sullivan Roadhouse Museum, at the corner of the Alcan and Richardson Highways, in Delta Junction, Alaska.