Pete and Richie and their Teams had GREAT times from Cripple into Ruby! We are very excited to see times under 9 hours and some of the fastest times over the stretch by these two Teams. Way to GO!
Pete and Team Kaiser – 15 Dogs – Arrived 9:57am – Travel Time 8h 51m – 7.91MPH – 70 Miles.
Richie and Team Diehl – 13 Dogs – Arrived 9:58am – Travel Time 8h 55m – 7.85MPH – 70 Miles.
Here are some fun facts about Ruby, one of the Gold Rush towns from the Early Days:
The town of Ruby was established in 1911 as the result of a gold rush. Gold was first discovered at the current townsite in 1906 on Ruby Creek. That discovery brought more prospectors to the area. In 1910 word leaked out about a gold strike on Long Creek, 30 miles south of Ruby, and a stampede was on. Discoveries on other nearby creeks followed and Ruby became the supply point for the mines.
At its peak the population was near 3000. By 1918 The town was in decline. Many of the men had left to fight in World War I and several of the towns business people and their families were lost in the sinking of the ship Sophia.
A fire in 1929 destroyed much of the business district and a flood in 1931 took out what was left of buildings on the river front.
After World War II the population of the community had left. Natives from the village of Kokrines moved in to take advantage of the abandoned homes. There are currently less than 200 people living in Ruby.
Local residents nicknamed the town “The Gem of the Yukon”, because it is located along the Yukon River and also the name resembles that of a ruby gemstone.
The largest gold nugget ever found in Alaska (294.10 Troy Ounces) was found near Ruby in 1998.
Notable people
Barry Clay – Discovered Alaska’s largest gold nugget, 294 oz (9.15 kg), in 1998 in the Ruby mining district.
Donald Honea, Sr. – Traditional chief of the Athabascan people
Emmitt Peters – Last rookie to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
