Elbridge Truman (E.T.) Barnette was coming to Alaska for a fresh start. Convicted of larceny in his early 20s and having served time in the Oregon Penitentiary, he was looking north to find a new life.
Barnette had hired a riverboat captain to take him up the Tanana River. But instead of continuing his journey, he argued with the boat captain. The captain put Barnette and his trade goods ashore in August 1901. The spot where he landed was near what is now present-day First Avenue and Cushman in Fairbanks, Alaska.
While initially not liking the idea of setting up his trading post far from the nearest gold fields, that changed when Felix Pedro, an Italian immigrant, discovered gold in Tanana Valley. Barnette helped name the town after Charles W. Fairbanks, an Indiana Senator.
Fairbanks was incorporated on November 10, 1903, and Barnette became its first mayor. Yet, 10 years after Fairbanks was founded, Barnette was charged with embezzlement and run out of town. He became known as the most hated man in town.
Historical Marker Inscription
Captain E.T. Barnette, a passenger on the riverboat Lavelle Young, debarked near this site on August 26, 1901, and established a trading post which in 1902 became known as Fairbanks.
State of Alaska
Governor Walter J. Hickel
Alaska Centennial Commission
Historical Markers of the World 