Ester

History

Ester was originally a gold mining camp on Ester Creek, with the first claim staked in February 1903 by Latham A. Jones. Jones worked with the Eagle Mining Company, the biggest claimholder on Glen Gulch in the Rampart mining district, but it was an independent miner, John "Jack" Mihalcik, a Czechoslovak immigrant born in 1866, who was the first person to actually discover gold in Ester Creek. Mihalcik staked his claim in November 1903 but the news of the discovery of gold did not become public until the following February. By 1907, Ester City had a population of around 200 people, with a thriving mining industry. A social hall was completed in 1907 and was well-known throughout the mining district for its dance floor. The hall was used for religious services as well as dances, movies, card games, parties, and other entertainment purposes. The town had five saloons and two hotels. In 1908 and 1910, the hall was the site of campaign speeches by candidates for the seat of Territorial Delegate. (Labor won in 1908, but Judge James Wickersham won the Ester precinct in 1910.) By 1909, Ester City had a baseball field, a doctor, a mine workers' union local, and a teacher, but gold production was beginning to decline. The Berry Post Office moved in 1910 from near the Berry brothers' claim about two miles downstream from Ester City into J.C. Kinney's general store in Ester. The post office retained the name of Berry until 1965, when it was finally changed to that of the town it had been in for 55 years. In the mid-1920s, the Fairbanks Exploration Company began buying claims on Ester Creek, started operations in 1929, and in 1933 built a mess hall for their camp in Ester. The buildings are now a historic landmark used until 2008 as a tourist attraction, restaurant, and hotel. The…

Geography

Ester is located at (64.855700, -147.978434). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.08%, is water. Ester has a well-used park, maintained and improved by the Ester Community Association's Park Committee and other volunteers from the community. The park has an ice rink that doubles as a basketball court in the summer, a children's playground, a picnic pavilion, a stage, and a soccer field. The park, situated next to the Ester Volunteer Fire Department, is the site of numerous soccer games, Ester Football League games, broomball, the Fourth of July picnic, musical gatherings, and other events throughout the year. In the summer, there is a farmers' market on Thursday evenings where local farmers and gardeners sell their goods. In 2017, the Ester Community Association purchased the park from a local landowner. Ester village wraps around a square at the foot of Ester Lump, the name of a bump on the side of Ester Dome. This "town square" is actually the parking lot of the Golden Eagle Saloon, divided in two sections by Main Street, but functions as a focal point and central gathering place during celebrations such as the Fourth of July and New Year's Eve. Private residences, the John Trigg Ester Library, and the Golden Eagle Saloon surround the square. Due to the mining in the area, Ester is currently surrounded by piles of gravel and dirt tailings. Ester has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc).

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  6,750
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,688
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  5,555
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,011
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,453
• Common Redpoll

  Acanthis flammea (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,412
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  3,826
• American Wigeon

  Mareca americana (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  3,781

Largest nearby schools

• Interior Distance Education of Alaska (IDEA)
  Other · Fairbanks · 6,899 students · 127.8:1 ratio
• Raven School
  Other · Fairbanks · 2,771 students · 120.5:1 ratio
• West Valley High School
  High · Fairbanks · 906 students · 20.6:1 ratio
• Lathrop High School
  High · Fairbanks · 886 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• Fairbanks B.E.S.T.
  Other · Fairbanks · 801 students · 801:1 ratio
• Ryan Middle School
  Middle · Fairbanks · 543 students · 18.1:1 ratio
• Barnette Magnet School
  Elementary · Fairbanks · 426 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Pearl Creek Elementary
  Elementary · Fairbanks · 411 students · 18.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2026-09-08
  27 km E of Nenana, Alaska
• M 2.7 — 2026-09-04
  20 km S of South Van Horn, Alaska
• M 2.6 — 2026-08-25
  30 km WNW of Livengood, Alaska
• M 2.7 — 2026-07-27
  25 km N of Four Mile Road, Alaska
• M 3.7 — 2026-07-02
  60 km SW of Salcha, Alaska
• M 3.1 — 2026-06-26
  6 km ENE of Badger, Alaska