In 1898, 31 years after Russia sold Alaska to the U.S., gold was discovered at what is now Nabesna Gold Mine. Plagued with hard luck those early prospectors drifted on. Then in 1907, Carl F. Whitham, who in 1900 at age 18 came to Alaska, rode into the Nabesna country of eastern Alaska to find a gold mine. It took him years but in 1926 he discovered one of the richest gold veins ever reported in Alaska. He built the mine into what was during territorial years the largest underground gold mine in eastern Alaska. Roads built by and for the mine opened up that part of Alaska. WW II closed the mine in 1942 and it opened again only briefly in 1946. Soon after, Whitham died, ending an era...... Nabesna is a place back of beyond, rich in history and where mysteries linger on. Newsapaper articles tell when the Cold War heated up in the late 40's, the Army cached arms there for resistance fighters in case Russia invaded. Others tell that the old Batzulnetas Indians, sovereigns of all Nabesna country for hundreds of years, called the great cliffs towering about the gold town and mine "El Se Ba". Some say the word is Apache. The old town, the mine and the cliffs are on the National Register of Historic Places and hold secrets not likely ever to be revealed. An intriguing read.