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Charles Goodyear Hubbard II papers

Guide to the Charles Goodyear Hubbard II papers
1897-1990

Archives Image

Collection number: HMC-0141.
Creator: Hubbard, Charles Goodyear, II.
Title: Charles Goodyear Hubbard II papers.
Dates: 1897-1990.
Volume of collection: 0.25 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Materials in this collection are in English.
Collection summary: Papers of an Alaskan miner.

Biographical note:
Charles Goodyear Hubbard was born in 1869 in Shermantown, Nevada. He taught school for two years in eastern Nevada after graduating from high school. He also studied mining on his own and prospected. In 1888, he moved to San Diego where he continued his study of mining and prospected in California and Arizona. He married Bertha Huntley in 1891. In 1895, Hubbard moved to San Francisco and prospected in Central California before going to work for the newspaper, San Francisco Call. In 1897, Hubbard left California to prospect in Alaska. He made his way up the Copper River to Bremner where he met his future partner, Harry Elliot. Together, Hubbard and Elliot located and staked out 120 copper claims along the Kotsina River, thirty-two of which they later patented, and formed the Hubbard-Elliot Copper Mining Development Company of Alaska. The Company began to decline after the death of Elliot in 1909 and was eventually dissolved. In 1910, Hubbard acquired eight placer gold claims on the Upper Kenai River near the town of Seward. That same year he also dredged for gold on Cooper Creek as head of the Kenai Dredging Company. He established the Primrose Mining Company, which took over the Primrose and Bluebell claims on the Kenai Peninsula in 1912. Hubbard remained the principle operator of the Primrose Mine until his death in Seward in 1969.

Collection description:
The collection consists of papers and photographs relating to Charles Hubbard’s work as a miner and prospector in Alaska. Included in the collection are letters from Hubbard to his wife Bertha, a journal he wrote while traveling up the Copper River, an oral history interview he gave in 1966, stock certificates from the Crown Copper Company and the Kenai-Alaska Gold Company, biographies of Hubbard written by his wife and daughter, and photographs.

Arrangement: The collection has been arranged into the following series:

Series 1. Correspondence and journal; 1897-1906
Series 2. Papers and oral history; 1905-1990
Series 3. Photographs; undated, 1904-1987

Digitized copies: Select images have been digitized and are available on Alaska’s Digital Archives by searching “Charles Goodyear Hubbard II.” For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.

Rights note: Archives and Special Collections holds copyright to materials created by Charles Goodyear Hubbard II. The collection contains material not created by Hubbard, which may be subject to copyright restrictions.

Preferred citation: Charles Goodyear Hubbard II papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.

Works used in preparation of inventory: Biographical information was provided by Hubbard’s daughter, Helen H. Nicholson.

Separated materials: Copies of the article “Prospecting the Great Unknown: A Miner’s Tale of Life on the Copper River in 1898” by Charles Hubbard, printed in the 1986 publication of The Alaska Journal, were removed from the collection. Please contact an archivist for further information.

Acquisition note: The collection was donated to Archives and Special Collections in 1989 and 1990 by Helen H. Nicholson, Hubbard’s daughter. A deed of gift was signed by Nicholson.

Processing information: This collection was arranged and described by Dennis Walle in 2000. The guide was converted to current standard by Veronica Denison in 2016.

Location of originals: The collection contains transcripts of some original letters and copies of select documents, which are noted in the container list below. The originals were retained by the donor.

Container list:

Series 1: Correspondence and journal; 1898-1906. 0.1 cubic feet.
This series contains letters Charles Hubbard sent to his wife, Bertha, and a journal Hubbard wrote on his journey up the Copper River in the winter of 1897-1898

Folder Item Description Dates
1 1 Original: Charles Hubbard to his wife, Bertha, from  Eyak, Alaska 1898 January 17
1 2-3 Original and transcript: Charles Hubbard to wife, form Big House, 40 miles from Eyak 1898 April 6
1 4-5 Original and transcript: Charles to Bertha, from Bremner River, Alaska [Note: the date given is 1889, however the letter was written in 1898 according to the Hubbard family] 1898 July 4
1 6 Original: Charles to Bertha, from Elliott Creek 1902 May 17
1 7 Original: Charles to Bertha [incomplete] 1906 May 1
1 8 Transcript: Charles to Bertha, from “Rapids of Copper River” 1898 August 2
1 9 Transcript: Charles to Bertha, from Eyak, Alaska 1898 September 5
1 10 Transcript: Charles to Bertha, from Eyak, Alaska 1898 September 10
1 11 Transcript: Charles to Bertha, from Eyak, Alaska 1898 October 10
1 12 Transcript: Charles to Bertha, from Eyak, Alaska 1898 February 25
1 13 Transcript: Charles to Bertha, from Alagnik, Frozen Blizzard St., Hurricane Hollow 1899 March 10
1 14 Transcript: Charles to Bertha, from Kotsina River, Base of Mt. Wrangle, “10000 Miles from Nowhere” 1899 June 11
1 15 Transcript: Charles to Bertha, from Chicago, Illinois 1908 June 19
1 16 Transcript: Charles to Bertha, from Chicago, Illinois 1908 June 21
1 17 Transcript: Charles Hubbard to Bertha, from Valdez [Note in margin of transcript reads “Mailed this to John Lyons; Jan. 31, 1914.”] undated
2 1-2 Journal: Original and transcript (transcribed by Helen H. Nicholson, Hubbard’s daughter) 1897-1898

Series 2: Papers and oral history; 1905-1990. 0.05 cubic feet.
The majority of this series contains papers and an oral history containing information on Hubbard’s life as a prospector and miner.

Folder Description Dates
3 Oral history interview: Audiocassette and transcript 1966
4 “The Story of Copper Discovery in Alaska by Two Alaska Pioneers” by Bertha H. Hubbard, article draft undated
5 Stock certificates: Crown Copper Company, 100 shares (copy); Kenai-Alaska Golf Company, 1200 shares (original); List of officers, Executive Committee Members, and Trustees of the Hubbard-Elliot Copper Mines Development Company of Alaska (copy) undated, 1905, 1911
6 “Biography of Charles Goodyear Hubbard II” by Helen Hubbard Nicholson 1990
7 National Register of Historic Places nomination report for the Primrose Mine Cabin, includes map with location of Primrose Cabin 1987
8 News clippings (copies): “Charles G. Hubbard’s 100th birthday” from Cheechako News; “Chicagoans Wrest $7,500,000 From Alaskan Ice” undated, 1969

Series 3: Photographs; undated, 1904-1987. 0.1 cubic feet.
Subjects of the photographs in this series include Hubbard, his mining claims, his cabin on the Primrose mining claim, and the Charlie Hubbard Museum near Cooper Landing.

Folder Item Description Dates
9 1  W.S. Phelps, schooner, which brought Hubbard to Alaska (photograph of a newspaper engraving) undated
9 2 Hubbard’s copper claims in the Elliot Creed area (copied from publication) undated
9 3 “Albert Johnson Tunnel” (copied from publication) undated
9 4 “Lower Cabin and Elliot Creek. 20,000 H.P. can be developed Here” (copied from publication) undated
9 5 “Ore Body on Elliott Creek. 50 Per Cent of this Ore Assays over 50 Per Cent in Copper Values. Vein 27 Feet Wide” (copied from publication) undated
9 6 “Copper River Crossing at Chitina” (postcard) undated
9 7 “Off Eyak on Prince William Sound” [ship at anchor] circa 1897
9 8 Charles G. Hubbard: Portrait 1904
9 9 Charles G. Hubbard: Portrait circa 1907
9 10 Bertha Huntley Hubbard: Portrait 1907
9 11 Charles G. Hubbard in front of his cabin at Primrose Mine circa 1912
9 12 Hubbard on horse “Whitie” fording the Copper River circa 1908-1909
9 13 Dredge on Kenai Dredging Company’s Ground, Kenai River 1911 September
9 14 Hubbard’s house in San Diego circa 1916
9 15 Signpost of the Charlie Hubbard Museum near Cooper Landing 1987
9 16 Front of the Museum 1987
9 17 Signpost of the Charlie Hubbard Museum near Cooper Landing 1982
9 18 View of the Museum from the Highway 1982
9 19 Charles Hubbard cabin on Primrose Trail to Lost Lake 1985 July 21
9 20 Panning for gold at the Charlie Hubbard Museum 1985 June 24
9 21 “Gold Nugget” in front of the Museum 1985 June 24
9 22 Harold Culver examining a mining dredge near the Charlie Hubbard museum 1985 June 25
9 23 Charles Hubbard with A.J. Elliot at the entrance to one of the Hubbard-Elliot Mine tunnels undated
9 24 Hubbard’s financial partners and a miner at the entrance to one of their mines in the Copper Valley. Harry Elliot is on the right and A.J. Elliot is on the left undated
9 25-51 Copy negatives of select images in the collection undated

 

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