Archives West Finding Aid

Settlement increased dramatically near present-day Valdez, Alaska, in 1897, with the onset of the Klondike Gold Rush. Thousands of people came to Alaska in search of mining fortunes, and the area became a major support and supply center for prospectors traveling to the Klondike and Copper River Basin. Located 11 miles inland from Prince William Sound, the small settlement became known as Valdez.

Valdez prospered in the early twentieth century as mining, fishing, and shipping industries continued to expand. In 1900, the U.S. Army built Fort Liscum near Valdez to serve as a communications and operations center, and within a few years the town's population totaled 7,000 people. However, completion of the Alaska Railroad in 1924 reduced the importance of Valdez as a shipping and transportation center. The Alaska Railroad connected Seward with Fairbanks, thus diminishing use of the inland Keystone Canyon Trail that began near Valdez. The Army closed Fort Liscum in 1923, and by the onset of World War II the town's population totaled fewer than 1,000 people. Natural disaster followed Valdez' mid-century economic decline when a 9.2 magnitude earthquake struck in 1964. Located 45 miles east of the epicenter, Valdez sustained massive damage and the earthquake forced the town to relocate. Present-day Valdez is now four miles east of the settlement of 1897.