For countless
years before Westerners entered Interior Alaska, only Athabascan Indians used
the hot springs located on the northeastern edge of the Tanana-Yukon Uplands,
near where Birch Creek meandered out into the Yukon River lowlands. Then, in
the 1890s, gold was discovered in the region and prospectors scattered into the
hills in search of the motherlode.
Circle City (now
just called Circle) was established on the south bank of the Yukon River in
1893 to supply the mining camps in the Birch Creek area about 50 miles to the
southwest. (Miners erroneously thought the town was on the Arctic Circle, which
is actually about 40 miles to the north.)
A roadhouse was
built along the trail at Central, about 35 miles from Circle. Then, in the fall
of 1893 a prospector named William Greats stumbled on the hot springs while
chasing a moose about eight miles southeast of Central.
Other prospectors
quickly learned of the Arctic Circle hot springs and began spending their winters
there, at first in tents, then building cabins. In 1905 Cassius Monohan
homesteaded 106 acres around the springs, and Franklin and Emma Leach bought
the homestead from Monohan in 1909.
According to the
Alaska Community Database, the Alaska Road Commission began building a wagon
road from Circle to the mining camps in 1906, and by 1908 the road had reached
Central. The ARC completed the road to Fairbanks in 1907, and in 1930 the
Leaches decided to build a hotel at the hot springs.
They hired local
sourdough Billy Bowers to oversee construction, and work on the hotel begun in
March 1930. Some accounts say most construction materials came by river to
Circle and then by wagon to the springs. However, in a 1970’s taped interview,
Emma Leach said the logs used for lumber were felled at Medicine Lake several
miles northeast of the springs, and that additional lumber was trucked from
Fairbanks. The hotel was completed by that fall.
The hotel itself
has changed little over the years and for the most part kept its rustic charm.
The bay windows on the first floor can be seen in photos from the 1930s and
1940s, and appear to be original features. The only significant changes are the
addition of a restaurant at the rear, and a front entry vestibule.
Until the 1950s the
hot springs pool remained in a relatively natural state. A 1947 photograph
shows the grass-fringed pool with a few Adironack-style chairs along the edge,
and a diving board at the pool’s far end. Other early photographs show
expansive gardens and several greenhouses to the right of the hotel (where the
pool and other buildings are now).
Frank Leach died
in 1955, and Emma managed the hotel until her death in 1974. They are both
buried in a small cemetery (which contains about three dozen graves) on the hill
above the hotel. In 1980 Bobby and Laverna Miller purchased the hotel and hot
springs, which remained open until 2002.
In its heyday
Circle Hot Springs attracted visitors from all over Alaska and beyond, and was
well-known for its aurora viewing. The hotel supposedly even has its own ghost.
Some employees are reported to have seen or felt the specter of Emma Leach
roaming the halls or haunting the kitchen.
The hotel and hot
springs are now closed and the property is for sale. Most of the land around
the hot springs is private. You can drive by and see the hotel, but get
permission before wandering around the property.
Sources:
- Alaska Community Database Community Summaries, 2013, Alaska State Department of Community and Regional Affairs
- “It’s Still the Water at Circle,” Dermot Cole, no date, “Fairbanks Daily News-Miner”
- “Roadside Geology of Alaska,” Cathy Connor & Daniel O’Hare, 1988, Mountain Press Publishing
- “The Healing Water of Circle Hot Springs, no author listed, 2006, University of Alaska, Anchorage
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