Anchorage Daily News

RUBY

POPULATION: 183 (2006 estimate)

LOCATION: On the south bank of the Yukon River, in the Kilbuck-Kuskokwim Mountains, about 50 air miles east of Galena and 230 air miles west of Fairbanks.

DESCRIPTION: A traditional Athabascan community where about seven of every eight residents are wholly or partly Alaska Native and subsistence activities provide some food sources. The city, school (attended by about 45 students), Dineega Corp. and clinic are the largest employers. Ruby also has a number of small, family-operated businesses. Bureau of Land Management fire fighting, construction work, Native handicrafts and trapping are part-time cash sources.

HISTORY: Ruby's current residents are Koyukon Athabascans of the Nowitna-Koyukuk band, a nomadic group who followed game with the changing seasons. Ruby developed as a supply point for gold prospectors and was named after the red-colored stones found on the riverbank, thought by prospectors to be rubies. A gold strike at Ruby Creek in 1907 and another at Long Creek in 1911 attracted hundreds of prospectors. A post office was established in 1912, and Ruby incorporated as a city in 1913. After the Gold Rush, the population declined rapidly. By 1939, there were only 139 residents. During World War II, mining operations were shut down and most white residents left. After the war, the remaining residents of nearby Kokrines relocated to Ruby, and the population began to increase. Ruby incorporated as a second-class city in 1973.

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