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Alaska is a land brimming with natural resources, including gold, silver, copper, coal, oil, salmon, and crab. Still, too often, outsiders have plundered these resources, enriching themselves and leaving Alaska and Alaskans with little to show for it. Alaska has had a “boom and bust” economy since the early 1900s, and no place exemplifies this economy better than Valdez.
The aggressive Alaska Syndicate was formed in 1906 with backing from J.P. Morgan and the Guggenheim family, and its initial goal was to mine copper. However, soon the syndicate wanted all Alaska had to offer, including gold, coal, and salmon. It also fought to control rail and sea transportation in Alaska, and with powerful government connections and unlimited funds, it mostly got what it wanted. It needed a railroad to transport copper from its remote Kennecott mines to the ocean, then steamships to ferry it to southern ports. The syndicate chose to construct rail tracks from Kennecott to Cordova, and when rival builders began constructing a railroad from Valdez to Alaska’s interior, a violent confrontation erupted, culminating in a shootout in Keystone Canyon.
Sources
Bill, Laurel Downing. “Crime syndicate and the Keystone Canyon affair.” September 1, 2021. Senior Voice.
“Copper River and Northwestern.” National Park Service.
“History of Kennicott.” Silk Stocking Row.
“History of Valdez.” Valdez Museum.
“Kennicott Mine & ghost tour walking points.” Alaska.org.
“Keystone Canyon Railroad Tunnel.” Valdezalaska.org.
Roan, A.J. “Alaskan copper mine, once giant of America.” January 20, 2022. Mining News.
Tower, Elizabeth A. Icebound Empire. 2015. Louisville, Kentucky. Old Stone Press.
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Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing.
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