Felix Pedro
| Felix Pedro | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
April 16, 1858 Fanano, Duchy of Modena |
| Died | July 22, 1910 (aged 52) Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S. |
| Other names | Felice Pedroni |
| Occupation | Prospector |
| Known for | Discovering gold in the Fairbanks area |
Felice Pedroni (April 16, 1858 – July 22, 1910), known best to Americans by his Hispanicized alias Felix Pedro, was an Italian immigrant whose discovery of gold in Interior Alaska marked the beginning of the 1902 Fairbanks Gold Rush.
Pedro was born April 16, 1858 to a family of subsistence farmers in the small village of Trignano administrated by Fanano. This village is in the Apennine Mountains into the Province of Modena. He was the youngest of six brothers. Pedroni fled home in 1881 following the death of his father. He arrived in New York City and quickly assumed the name Felix Pedro.
He traveled to New York City, Ohio, Washington, British Columbia, and the Yukon, working in each place until he earned enough to travel again. Once in Alaska, Pedro panned for gold in the Fortymile, the Piledriver Slough near present-day Salcha, and various other waterways, including the "Lost Creek" in which Pedro and his partner Tom Gilmore claimed to have found a sizable amount of gold in 1898, but were forced to abandon due to food shortage. Despite marking the spot and searching the next three years for it they were unable to find it again.
On August 26, 1901, prospector E. T. Barnette and Captain Charles W. Adams ran the 150-foot (46 m) steamer Lavelle Young aground 8 miles (13 km) up the Chena River which they mistakenly believed to be a distributary which would allow them to detour upstream from the unnavigable Bates Rapids to their intended destination in Tanacross. In accordance with their agreement, Barnette, his wife Isabelle, five hired hands, and 130 tons of supplies were unloaded onto the riverbank. The crew quickly built two log cabins and a series of tents, establishing a trading post named Chena City.
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