Henry “Hank” Summers (1851 – 1913)
Hank Summers was born in California and he came north to Circle, Alaska in 1884. Summers was one of the fortunate ones to make a fortune in the Klondike gold fields. He stampeded to Nome and then invested a large portion of his fortune in San Francisco. When the earthquake occurred in that city in 1906 he lost a great deal of property.1)
Hank Summers discovered the gold on Meander Creek in 1912. The creek is a tributary of the Teslin River below Mason’s Landing. His discovery sparked a stampede.2)
In 1913, Summers came up from Juneau to Whitehorse with the intention of traveling to the Chisana country. He and his partner, Joe Copper, were living in the Shadwell house. He developed pneumonia and died at the Whitehorse hospital. He was a member of the YOOP and they arranged the funeral services. Summers had a generous disposition and was well liked by those who knew him.3)