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Bowers, Peter M., Catherine M. Williams, and Amy F. Steffian (1998) 4.5 River Bank Dump. In Historical Development of the Chena River Waterfront, Fairbanks, Alaska: An Archaeological Perspective, edited and compiled by Peter M. Bowers and Brian L. Gannon, CD-ROM. Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Fairbanks.
The River Bank Dump component of the Barnette Site represented in operational Area B1. Located on City of Fairbanks land it lies ten meters east of Area A, on the southern bank of the Chena River (Figure 1.2). This area is directly opposite the northern end of Barnette Street, and was once used as a garbage dumping locale for city residents. The area was also situated between the two main early 20th century steamboat docks along the Chena, the NC Co. Dock and the Pioneer Dock. Like Area A, B1 deposits were buried below the modern sidewalk and the steeply-sloped, weed-covered river bank (Figure 4.2).
The dump area lies very near to the centerline of the proposed Barnette Street bridge. If constructed, the bridge and associated abutments would effectively wipe out any trace of historically significant materials along the river bank. Area B1 was tested in 1992. Although a large number of historic artifacts were recovered, no mitigation efforts were deemed necessary because an adequate sample was recovered and most of the deposit post-dated the gold rush period.
From an archaeological perspective, Area B1 yielded a large number of artifacts (N=9,005) from the "Railroad era" of Fairbanks' history (1923-41; Section 2.2). Ninety percent of the B1 artifacts were recovered from the Level 2 NC boiler ash stratigraphic unit (1923-50). A stratigraphic profile for Area B1 is presented in Figure 4.55. Samples of these artifacts are shown in Figures 4.56, 4.57, and 4.58. Additional details of the archaeological excavation and features are provided in Appendices 1 and 5.
Figure 4.55. Stratigraphic profile along E643, east wall of Area B1 with NC boiler ash deposits dating between 1923 and 1950.
Figure 4.56. Sample of artifacts recovered from Area B1.144
Figure 4.57. Sample of artifacts recovered from Area B1.145
Figure 4.58. Sample of bottles recovered from Area B1.146
Because this area contains no architectural features, there is little available in the way of pertinent archival documentation. Several historical accounts do, however, mention the practice by early Fairbanks residents of dumping trash over the river bank in the hopes it would be taken away by the rising waters of the Chena River during spring breakup.
As noted by lawyer John Clark in 1906,
[Spring] was the great cleaning up time of the year. The rivers are the great scavengers of the North. They clean and scour the banks and carry away to the sea all of the winter's accumulation of trash or carrion. In those days, with the ice, went the shut-in feeling that the people had when the water ceased to run. It meant that soon the steamboats would be whistling round the bend and the necessities and luxuries for another year would pour in. It meant the end to their winter of discontent.147
Another pioneer of early Fairbanks, Clara Rust, stated, "In those days there were no garbage collectors, so people disposed of their cans and rubbish as best they could."148 It has not been determined when formal garbage collection services were established by the city. Judging from the dates of artifacts collected in Area B1, it probably did not occur until the late 1930s or early 1940s, although trash continues to be thrown over the river bank to this day.
Another important consideration about this riverfront area is its proximity to the NC Co. powerplant, located at the eastern end of what is now the Key Bank parking lot. In the winter of 1903-04, a 75 hp boiler and engine were installed by the NC Co., enough to run 1,000 electric lights. In the summer, this was upgraded to 240 hp, enough for 3,000 lights; and in the following summer it was upgraded again to 400 hp and 4,000 lights. The NC Co. remained in the power business until 1950, when they sold their equipment to the Healy River Coal Co., and the plant moved downriver to the present site of the Municipal Utilities System power plant.149 In the early days, the boilers consumed huge amounts of wood; by one estimate, as much as 40 cords a day in 1908.150
In 1923, when the Alaska Railroad was completed to Fairbanks, a new, more efficient heating source became available as the Healy River Coal fields opened up. At about this time, the NC Co. powerplant switched over to coal. Because a natural by-product of coal combustion is boiler ash and slag, the company needed a convenient place to dispose of these materials. The river bank provided just that: it was convenient, and the ash provided the additional benefit of a compactable, dense fill to help stabilize the river bank from the ever-present threat of erosion. Indeed, thick deposits of NC boiler ash were located archaeologically in several locations along the river bank. An illustration of this practice is provided in the photograph in Figure 4.59, which shows piles of hot, steaming ash being dumped along the river in front of the NC Co. store in the late 1940s.
Figure 4.59. First Avenue in the late 1940s, with coal ash from the NC Co. power plant dumped over the bank to help stabilize the river bank. View to the west. Candy Waugaman Collection.
This area of the river bank was apparently used both by citizens for dumping domestic trash, and by commercial establishments. The archaeological evidence supports both these theories (Appendix 1). We found a large number and a wide variety of artifacts, both domestic and commercial in nature, including some debris from the 1906 fire that had been deposed of during cleanup activities following that disaster.151 In terms of overall volume, the NC boiler ash was by far the largest contributor to the deposits we investigated in Area B1. It also served as a wonderful preservation medium for the artifacts below.
A deep trench at the end of Barnette Street excavated perpendicular to the Chena River, revealed a profile of past refuse disposal and stabilization practices. The artifacts themselves offer a somewhat different perspective on the material culture of early Fairbanks, in that higher proportions of domestic artifacts were present relative to the largely commercial materials found in other areas of our research.
Based on the dates of some artifacts and stratigraphic observations about debris layers at the base of the deposit, this area was probably used since the earliest days of the mining camp. A prominent layer of charcoal and linoleum near the base of the culturally-modified sediments probably dates to the May 1906 fire. Following that fire, which came within about one block to the east of this area, the rubble from numerous buildings was cleaned up, and at least a portion of that debris was thrown over the river bank.
Domestic artifacts are found from the lowest levels through the main middle stratum, indicating that the townspeople used this as an expedient dump. Commercial debris, more common in the early levels, indicates use by downtown stores and saloons.
From a stratigraphic perspective, the main deposit of the area (Level 2) relates to the practice of dumping boiler ash by the nearby NC Co. powerplant. This is well-documented archaeologically and corroborated by historical photographs. The Level 2 deposits represent a broad period of both national and local history: the late 1920s to about 1950. This period spans, in its early phase, both the era of Prohibition (1918-33 in Alaska), and the Great Depression. In its final phase, the time period encompassed by the NC boiler ash layer includes World War II. Ninety percent of the artifacts from the entire area came from Level 2 sediments.
Great quantities of NC boiler ash was dumped over the river bank. This practice effectively removed this by-product of the company's powerplant combustion after it converted to coal about 1923. From the perspective of the town's response to floods, it contributed an excellent, highly compactible and dense sediment to the erosion-prone river bank.
The archaeological features documented in Area B1 shed additional light on various episodes of the town's use of the river bank. Several boards were found which predate 1920, and may be just discarded lumber, or have been part of an early sidewalk. Posts and associated post molds, which were observed in our excavations, and also documented in historic photographs, date to the 1940s and 50s, and indicate use of the river's edge for car parking (Figure 4.59). Finally, a large concrete slab probably represents a late 1960s-80s attempt by the City at further stabilizing the bank by pushing over debris from rebuilt sidewalks. This may date to just after the 1967 flood.
In the early years, the Chena River (then known as Chena Slough) was clearly the key to the town. All of the major commercial establishments faced the river, the riverfront was alive with activity as dozens of steamboats came and went out of the port of Fairbanks. People came to the river's edge to dispose of their trash, presumably hoping their efforts would help to save the river bank. However, with the slow steady decline in Fairbanks' economy after 1909 came a continual reduction in riverboat traffic. By the early 1920s, steamboats on the Fairbanks Waterfront were almost a thing of the past. The final nail in the coffin of the Steamboat era in Fairbanks came in 1923, with the opening of the Alaska Railroad.152 The traffic shifted from the river to the railroad depot on Garden Island, ushering in a new era and revitalization for the interior city. With the coming of the railroad meant the coming of cheaper transportation and coal, a lower-priced, more efficient fuel. These factors set the stage for, and largely contributed to, the establishment of the Fairbanks Exploration Company (F.E. Co.) in the late 1920s, which in turn enabled large scale mining to take place. These events, reflected in the archaeological record, are pivotal happenings in the community's history. These changes probably saved the town from the dismal fate common to many other gold rush settlements.
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