Libby Dalton Slane: Setting the record straight on Pioneer Park

By LIBBY DALTON SLANE

March 23, 2026 – The Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks and Recreation Board has been tasked with making a recommendation on FNSB Ordinance No. 2025-20 which would change the name of Pioneer Park to Alaskaland. This proposed ordinance has many inaccuracies.

Fairbanks commission ignores testimony, rewrites history

The statement “The park was originally established as the grounds for the Alaska ’67 Centennial Exposition” – is totally false. The park was not donated and cleared specifically to prepare for the A-67 Centennial. The park was a vision and a plan by the Pioneers of Alaska to make a park for the entire community. In 1961, the Pioneers acquired the 44-acre parcel and had already began building a “Pioneer Park”. This was well before the Centennial promoters ever showed up on the scene.

Starting in 1960 the Pioneers worked very hard to establish this park. Several historic buildings were re-located there from locations in town where an urban renewal project was clearing out many old structures that had significant value. The Pioneers wanted to save many of these structures.

Then in 1964 local promoters and city fathers asked the Pioneers if they could take over the site and develop it into a suitable site for the Alaska Purchase Centennial that was scheduled for 1967. Fairbanks’ centennial plan was judged the best (over Sitka and Anchorage) and so it was selected for the statewide celebration.

After the 1967 centennial celebration the agreement was the site would revert back to the Pioneers and the name Pioneer Park would continue. That didn’t happen. A devastating flood in August covered Fairbanks. The A-67 site closed for the season. It was a financial disaster for the promoters. There were large debts the Pioneers were not able to assume. So ownership of the site went to the City of Fairbanks and the name Alaskaland was given to the park by its new owners.

Ownership of the park remained with the City of Fairbanks until August 1, 1987, when the city deeded the entire property to the FNSB. The park and its operation were placed in the Department of Parks and Recreation. Little visible historic preservation was accomplished (by the borough) on the properties though basic maintenance of the physical buildings and grounds was adequate. However, some historic improvements were accomplished at the park by groups such as Tanana-Yukon Historical Society, the Fairbanks Historical Preservation Foundation , the Friends of the Railroad and the Pioneers of Alaska.

The Engine No. 1 narrow gauge from Dawson and early Fairbanks days, along with the SS Nenana are good examples of joint preservations. Pioneers of Alaska donated $250,000 toward the Nenana restoration project, created new exhibits and performed other restoration projects at the park as well as running the Pioneer Museum.

In October 2000 a new mayor was elected and along with the borough assembly a genuine interest was taken in upgrading the park. An Alaskaland Review Panel was formed and they worked on the park’s plan going forward. One of their many recommendations was a name change. July 22, 2002, the name of the park was officially changed back to Pioneer Park.

From 2002 to present 2026 many more improvements have been made at the park. One initiative was an extensive diorama in the cargo deck of the SS Nenana of every village along the Yukon River that the ship serviced. Other improvements in the park initiated by the Pioneers are the addition of interpretive signs and new exhibits in the mining area.

This proposed ordinance states that the name “Pioneer Park is controversial, alienating the region’s Alaska Native people” and is “not inclusive.”  I find that very far-fetched and false. This is someone’s personal opinion, not factual.

That the pioneers in Fairbanks, who established this park, wanted to name it after the early people that came here, worked, settled and stayed forming this town, was a tribute to them. They were of many races and came from many places. The common theme was they loved it here and worked hard to be able to live and stay here.

The park does not discriminate against anyone in any fashion and certainly the name doesn’t. The basis of this ordinance is divisive and is the same ideology that divides our country today.

In 1967 communities throughout the State celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Purchase of Alaska from Russia. The City of Fairbanks decided to spend its share of state and federal funds by constructing a Centennial Exposition there. The local Pioneers of Alaska made available a 44-acre park site for the development of the Exposition: A-67.

Pioneer Park is a permanent memorial to the role Fairbanks had in Alaska’s History. The name “Pioneer Park” should remain.

 Libby Dalton Slane. is a lifelong resident of Fairbanks.