The first gold rush in Alaska happened here - before the Klondike Stampede or the gold rush on the beaches of Nome - the first gold rush in Alaska happened here in Hope.
THE HOPE GOLD RUSH
Hope enjoyed its heyday long before Anchorage was founded. When the discovery of gold in Six Mile Creek in 1895 reached Seattle, it set off one of Alaska's first gold rushes. Within a year, more than 3,000 stampeders were headed for this slice of the Kenai Peninsula. Miners arrived in the area by boat, many rowing themselves up Cook Inlet's Turnagain Arm in dories.
HOW HOPE GOT ITS NAME
A few of these men decided to name their little town after the next person off the boat. The next person was a 17-year old prospector named Percy Hope. The community was soon a thriving commercial center with stores, hotels, social halls, community councils, post offices and saloons. Hope's heyday was short-lived. By 1898, news of the famous Klondike Gold Rush in Canada's Yukon had spread, and most miners in Hope packed up for the Klondike. Many of the original buildings are still in use in Hope, including the Social Hall which was built in 1902, and the original schoolhouse which is now the library.
HOPE TODAY
Hope, Alaska hasn't changed much since the gold rush ended. Today, Hope is a quiet, historic trip back through time. Hope is what visitors to Alaska envision about Alaska - wooded surroundings, log cabins, an old general store and friendly people. The population is anywhere between 150 and 250, depending on who you ask. The school district is a K-12, and it has about 15 children.
