Yukon who is who

E. T. Barnette (b. 1863)

E.T. Barnette was born in Ohio and moved to Montana in the 1880s and then on to Oregon where he served time in prison, convicted of theft. He came to the Yukon in 1897 and managed the North American Transportation and Trading Co.’s store in Dawson under the supervision of John J. Healy. He moved to Circle, Alaska after the rush and became known as a profiteering merchant. He took Healy’s advice when he needed a new station and planned to move to Tanacross, or Tanana Crossing, where the Valdez Eagle Trail reached the Tanana River. Healy dreamed that a railway to this location would spur development. Barnette found a backer in San Francisco and with $20k in trade goods travelled up the Tanana River on the steamer Lavelle Young. Low water forced them into the Chena, a small tributary, and Barnette set up shop at what would become Fairbanks.¹⁾