Denali Borough, Alaska Genealogy

Guide to Denali Borough, Alaska ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Description
The Borough was named for Denali. The Borough has Healy as its seat and the Borough was created December 7, 1990. The Borough is located in the central area of the state.

Neighboring Boroughs and Census Areas

 * Fairbanks North Star
 * Matanuska-Susitna

Record Loss
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this borough.

History
There was some trapping, prospecting, and market hunting in the area, but the history of Healy really begins with the construction of the Alaska Railroad. Constuction began in the Healy area in 1918. "Camp Healy" or "Canyon City" consisted of tents and shacks. There were other construction camps in the area. The Healy Fork post office was established in 1921. The railroad was completed in 1923. Most of the construction camps closed, but Healy became a permanent railroad station. Freight trains overnighted there and passenger trains stopped there for lunch. Healy had a population of 36 in 1930.

Federal land opened for mining at the same time the railroad was approved (1914). The railroad route was specifically chosen to access the rich coal fields in the area. In 1919, the Healy River Coal Corporation opened a mine at Healy. Their office was in Healy, and they mined nearby. In 1921, they moved their operation four miles up the Healy River. Suntrana was the HRCC camp. Suntrana had a population of 61 in 1930. There were other mines in the area. Usibelli Coal Mine was established in 1943.

There were no roads in the area until the late 1960's. You couldn't drive from Healy to Suntrana, McKinley, or Nenana. The Parks Highway was opened in 1971. In 1978, Usibelli Coal Mine leased land from the railroad to establish the Tri-Valley subdivision near the Parks Highway. The mining camps of Suntrana and Usibelli were closed, and most of the buildings were moved to the subdivision. In 1986, the railroad auctioned off the entire town of Healy, and those buildings were also moved to the subdivision. There is little left at Suntrana, Usibelli, or the original Healy.

In 1959, Clear was selected to become the site of a Ballistic Missle Earling Warning system. Construction began that year, and it went into operation in 1961. The site was run by the Air Force, but much of the work was done by contractors and civilian employees. Arthur Anderson homesteaded in the area in the late 50's. In 1959, he subdivided his homestead into house lots and sold most of them to civilian workers from Clear Air Force Base. Anderson was incorporated as a city in 1962.

Libraries
Tri-Valley Community Library PO Box 400 Healy, AK 99743 (907) 683-2507

Located at Tri-Valley School on Suntrana Road

Vital Records

 * 1816-1959 at FamilySearch — index and images

Populated Places

 * Anderson
 * Clear
 * Cantwell
 * Denali National Park and McKinley Village
 * Healy

Websites

 * Denali Borough Trails to the Past
 * Linkpendium
 * USGenWeb Archives
 * Denali Borough, Alaska GenWeb Project