Crooked Past: The History of a Frontier Mining Camp

by Terrence Cole

The crookedest street in Fairbanks, an Alaskan sourdough once said, is rightly named for town founder E. T. Barnette. Crooked Past , Terrence Cole's lively history of Fairbanks examines one of Alaska's most notorious con men. Barnette, a footloose fortune hunter who had served time in an Oregon penitentiary, came north during the Klondike gold rush of 1897-1898. He struck it rich after founding the city of Fairbanks in the early 1900s. Yet less than ten years later he was run out of the territory and allegedly disappeared in Mexico, becoming the most hated man in the town he founded and fled.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

163 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1991

Reviews

[Jason Guilford · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book claims to be a history of Fairbanks, but by-and-large reads more as a biography of the city's founder, E.T. Barnette. It covers his life and interest in Alaska, but also his later years outside the territory and up to his death, though the majority of the detail is in his cache.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also for my gold rush class, but I am enjoying the history. I keep thinking "how did these people stay warm."