Wickersham Monument

A plaque at the northeast corner of 1st Avenue and Noble Street marks the original site of Judge James Wickersham’s frame home (the actual house can be seen at Pioneer Park). Wickersham was instrumental in the success of Fairbanks and the one who suggested “Fairbanks” as the name for the new settlement on the Chena River. He is also credited with coining (during the ceremonies commemorating the completion of the Alaska Railroad) the phrase “Alaska’s Golden Heart” to describe Fairbanks. Even after leaving the state in 1907, he continued to support Alaska as a congressional delegate. Wickersham, who helped start the Alaska Railroad, Denali National Park, and the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines (which became the University of Alaska Fairbanks), also intro­duced the first Alaska statehood bill in 1916.