| Summary: | Shows signs advertising Hubbard and Beeman, Attorneys; J.K. Sewell, Dentist; W.T. Hume, Attorney; H.G. Wilkinson; Albert Fink, Lawyer; J.S. Kimball Co.; The Hunter; and The Pioneer. PH Coll 1154.24 Inupiaq Eskimos camped for centuries in the area around Nome before Russia claimed Alaska as its own. In the 18th century, Russians established a settlement at St. Michael, 125 miles to the southeast. Fur traders and whales from many countries also worked the area coastline. A few church missions were established beginning in the 1880s, and trainers from Lapland (Norway) introduced reindeer herding to the Eskimos through the U.S. Government and missionaries. Gold was discovered in the Nome area in 1898 by three Swedes, prompting formation of the Cape Nome Mining District. When gold was found on the beaches of Nome the following summer, word spread rapidly, and by August 1900 there were 20,000 people in Nome. There are still 44 gold dredges in the Nome area and gold mining continues today. The oldest first-class city in Alaska, Nome was incorporated in 1901. By the 1920s, the boom town had shrunk to about 820 people. A fire in September 1934 destroyed most of the business district. Nome boomed again during World War II, when the federal government built an air base and support facilities. Thousands of aircraft and supplies moved through Nome under the Lend Lease program, supplying the Soviet Union for the Eastern Front. During the war, a number of Eskimos and other civilians came to Nome to work. [Source: http://www.inalaska.com/d/nome/history.html] Orville A. Hubbard was born ca. 1857 in Indiana. He was married to Alice, and in 1920 they were living in Juneau and he was working as an attorney. E.R. Beeman was born November 1870 in Connecticut. He was living in Minneapolis before moving to Alaska in 1898. By 1900 he was living in Nome and working as an attorney. John Kirtland Sewell was born October 24, 1875, in Iowa, and he was living in Iowa before he moved to Alaska in 1899. By 1900 he was living in Nome and working as a dentist. By 1920 he was living in Los Angeles with his wife Mabel, still working as a dentist. He died April 7, 1956, in Los Angeles. Albert Fink was born November 1874 in Kentucky. He was living in Louisville before moving to Alaska in 1899. In 1900 he was living in Nome and working as an attorney. By 1920 he had relocated to Chicago.
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