Erickson, Arne

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1887-1978 | Prospector, and Owner and Operator, Crow Creek Mine, Girdwood, Alaska

Arne Simon Kristoffer Erickson was born in Bergen, Norway on August 1, 1887.[1] He immigrated to the United States in 1909, and then eventually headed to Fairbanks, and prospected for gold in the area for about a year. Erickson went to the new Iditarod mining district, arriving in 1911, where he prospected for gold on Otter Creek, near Flat, where he met and married Josephine Johanson.

Josephine Johanson was born in Malmo, Sweden on March 7, 1887. She immigrated to the United States in 1912, where she stayed for a year in Tacoma, Washington. She came to Iditarod and Flat in 1913 to be with her sister, Jenny Strandberg. Arne Erickson and Josephine Johanson were married in Flat in 1914 and remained there until 1920. The couple had two children: Hans (born on September 29, 1917) and John Arne (born on January 11, 1920).[2] In 1918, Erickson became a naturalized U.S. citizen.[3]

In November-December 1920, Erickson traveled from Flat Creek to Anchorage on the Iditarod Trail in twenty-one days, leaving on October 29, and arriving on November 18. On November 13, 1920, the sixteenth day out, he reported in his diary:

“Left Happy Roadhouse at 6:40 A.M. Caught up with and passed a dog team that was hauling a big shipment of gold ($150,000) from the dredge at Candle Creek to Anchorage for shipment to Seattle. Had to snowshoe all the way to Mountain Climbers 21 ½ miles. Got in at 8 P.M. Pretty tierd [tired] and nobody at roadhouse and nothing to eat. Hungry as a bear. When dog team drove in I talked the driver out of a small piece of reindeer meat (his dog feed). Cooked this and devided [divided] it up between the six of us. Saved a bit of the broth from morning. Collected $1.00 from the boys except Oscar. Feeling fine.”[4]

Erickson traveled more than 353 miles by snowshoe and dogsled from Flat before finally reaching Anchorage.

In 1921, Erickson moved his family to Anchorage. In 1922, Erickson was hired by the Crow Creek Mining Company, under the ownership of Paul Denkert of Seattle, Washington, to supervise operation at the Crow Creek Mine, a hydraulic placer gold mine, in the Anchorage mining district, near Girdwood, Alaska.[5] Placer gold was discovered at Crow Creek in 1896, although there was no production until 1898.[6]

Erickson entered into a mining partnership with John E. Holmgren, who became the owner in 1925. During the early 1930s, the claims became known as the Holmgren-Erickson property (located above the intersection of Crow and Glacier Creeks), with medium to coarse gold obtained through hydraulic mining from the lode deposits of upper Crow Creek.[7] After purchasing Holmgren’s interests there in 1933, Erickson continued operations at the Crow Creek Mine until 1938 when labor costs almost equaled production costs. There are no exact records of the total production of gold at the mine. The Erickson family later reported that about $40,000 worth of gold was the annual average production during the years in which they were associated with the mine.[8] After the close of gold mining during World War II, large scale mining was not resumed at the property.

Erickson’s association with the Crow Creek Mine continued until the 1970s. In 1967, the mine was opened to the public as part of the activities of the Alaska Purchase Centennial. During its first year as a gold panning attraction, Erickson said: “At least 10,000 people visited. A lot of them were too dressed up to pan, but I estimate they carried at least $3,000 worth of dust home with them.”[9]

Erickson worked as a superintendent for the Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) until his retirement in 1956. In addition, he was a skilled furniture maker who specialized in making grandfather clocks after his retirement.[10]

On October 11, 1955, Josephine Erickson died at Providence Hospital in Anchorage. She was buried in the Pioneer Tract of the Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery.[11]

Arne Erickson married Cleora “Cleo” Bachner in 1961. They spent much of their time in the summer at his Crow Creek Mine property and the winter at his Anchorage home on Seventh Avenue and L Street, built in 1924. Erickson and his second wife, Cleora “Cleo,” continued to run the Crow Creek Mine as a tourist attraction until it was sold to Bernard J. and Cynthia D. Toohey in 1969.[12]

Arne Simon Kristoffer Erickson died in 1978 at the Fairbanks Pioneer Home. He was buried in the Fairbanks Cemetery. They were survived by two sons, Hans[13] and John[14]; and four grandchildren.[15]

Legacy

In 1978, the Crow Creek Mine was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.[16] This site contains historic buildings dating to the early period of mining operations, which were built over a succession of years starting around 1898. In 1987, the spring and summer tourist season attracted as many as 20,000 visitors to the mining property.[17] Today, the historic Crow Creek Mine continues to be a very popular site for visitors and Alaskans who are interested in visiting an old mine or to participate in gold panning, hiking, camping, and other activities.[18]

The Erickson Family Papers, 1903-1971 (HMC-0356), are located at Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK. This small collection consists of papers and family photographs, and is open to the public for research.

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Erickson mine at Crow Creek, Alaska, 1965.

Josephine Erickson with son John, Flat, Alaska, 1920.

Arne and Josephine Erickson with dog team, Flat, Alaska, 1920.

Arne Erickson at Strandberg mine, Flat, Alaska, 1920.

Josephine Erickson and son Hans, Flat, Alaska, 1917.

The Erickson family at home, 7th and L Street, Anchorage, ca. 1930.