Anchorage Daily News

MANLEY HOT SPRINGS

POPULATION: 78 (2006)

LOCATION: About 5 miles north of the Tanana River on Hot Springs Slough, at the end of the Elliott Highway, 160 road miles west of Fairbanks.

DESCRIPTION: A small community whose hot springs have drawn Fairbanks residents and others year-round for 100 years. The local economy is based on a wide variety of small businesses, with many residents having three or four means of producing income. A barter system thrives. Government work accounts for about one-quarter of the total. Nine residents hold commercial fishing permits. Gardening, hunting and fishing provide food sources. There is one school, attended by about 15 students.

HISTORY: In 1902, mining prospector John Karshner discovered several hot springs and began a homestead and vegetable farm on 278 acres. At the same time, a U.S. Army telegraph station and trading post were built. The area became a service and supply point for miners in the Eureka and Tofty mining districts, known as Baker's Hot Springs after nearby Baker Creek. In 1903, Sam's Rooms and Meals, now called the Manley Roadhouse, opened in the community. Ambitious farming and livestock operations in the area produced fresh meat, poultry and produce for sale. In 1907, miner Frank Manley built the Hot Springs Resort Hotel, a four-story building with 45 guest rooms, steam heat, electric lights, hot baths, bar, restaurant, billiards room, bowling alley, barber shop and an Olympic-size indoor swimming pool that used heated water from the hot springs. The area's population in 1910 was put at more than 500. In 1913, the thriving resort burned to the ground. Mining was also declining, and by 1920 only 29 residents lived in Hot Springs. The name was changed to Manley Hot Springs in 1957. A small school reopened in 1958. Completion of the Elliott Highway in 1959 gave Manley a summer road link with Fairbanks. In 1982, the state began maintaining the highway for year-round use. A new resort with a small swimming pool opened in 1985.

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