The SS Nenana is featured in the Preservation Magazine for the Summer 2023 edition.
Threatened: SS Nenana
Preservation Alaska named a wooden-hull sternwheeler the state’s most endangered historic property in May of 2023. Community members, led by Friends of SS Nenana President Patricia De Nardo Schmidt, are working to save the boat, which is owned by the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The Nenana, the last vessel of its kind in Alaska and a National Historic Landmark, was a workhorse during its heyday. From 1933 to 1954, the boat would traverse 858 river miles on the Tanana and Yukon rivers, bringing goods to villages, gold mines, and military bases along the route. Planes became the primary means for shipping cargo in the region, and the changing times put the Nenana out of commission.
After being moved to Fairbanks in 1957, it underwent significant changes. Preservationists restored it in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but the boat—now on dry land in Fairbanks’ Pioneer Park—has suffered years of deferred maintenance. The wood and paint have endured weather damage, leaks abound, and the sternwheel is sagging.
The borough has requested bids for restoration and stabilization work, but so far estimates have exceeded the budget. Lee Williams, the superintendent who oversees Pioneer Park, says the short-term plan is to make the cargo deck accessible again so the Nenana (shown above, in 2016) can serve as an advocacy center and boost the Friends group’s fundraising efforts.