Gold was found in the Nome area in September 1898 and the town got its start that winter when 6 miners met at the mouth of Snake River and formed the Cape Nome Mining District. Originally the settlement was called Anvil City, after Anvil Creek when the first major gold strike was found. During the following summer gold was found on the beaches of Nome. News of the gold strike set off a major rush in the summer of 1900 when the news reached Seattle. By August 1900, there were some 20,000 people in Nome. The entire Seward Peninsula is believed to hold 100 gold dredges from bygone days; 44 dredges, some complete and others in pieces, lie in the immediate Nome area.
Nome is the oldest first-class city in Alaska and has the state's oldest first-class school district. It was incorporated in 1901.
Nome is the transportation and commerce center for northwestern Alaska. Alaska's reindeer industry is centered in the Nome vicinity and the area has rich mineral potential. Nome also is a major stopover on arctic tours and a jumping-off point for tours to surrounding Eskimo villages.
Nome is the location of Northwest Community College. The Bering Sea is only a stone's throw from Front Street; boulders have been piled high at its edge to protect the town during fierce storms, but in 1974 Nome was severely damaged when a violent storm breached the seawall and engulfed most of the buildings on the shore side of Front Street.
Carrie McLean Memorial Museum is located in the basement of the building containing the Kegoayah Kozga Library on Front Street. This history museum has a fascinating collection of some 6,000 photographs of the gold rush and early Eskimo life. Permanent exhibits include the Bering Land Bridge; natural history, Eskimo lifestyle and art; contemporary art; the Nome gold rush; and dog mushing history.
Rocker Gulch Park is a historical park located on an early mining claim The park features a nonoperating gold dredge and mining equipment from Nome's gold rush days. Trail markers on the self-guided tour describe the history and geology of the area.
Nome's city hall, with turn-of-the-century decor, is on Front Street. During the Iditarod festival celebrating the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome, hundreds of visitors come to Nome to take part in various activities that include a state-wide basketball tournament, a reindeer fair and the 200-mile Nome to Golovin snowmobile race. The highlight of the month comes with the completion of the sled dog race, for which all townspeople turn out to welcome each tired musher and team at the finish line.
Nome celebrations include the annual Midnight Sun Festival, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in June. The highlight of the festival is a raft race on the Nome River, in which many strange craft take part. Winner of the raft race is traditionally awarded a fur-lined honey bucket.
The Anvil Mountain Run is scheduled the Fourth of July. This 12.5-mile race follows from city hall to the top of 1,977-foot Anvil Mountain, so named because of the anvil shapeed rock on its peak, and down afain via the face of the mountain.
Other events in the community are the Memorial Day Polar Bear Swim and the Labor Day Bathtub Race.
Three well-maintained gravel roads, maintained only in summer, extend east and west from the city; the 72-mile Nome-Council Road, the 72-mile Nome-Council Road and the 86-mile Nome-Taylor Road.
Communications in Nome include phones, 2 radio stations, TV and the weekly Nome Nugget newspaper. There are community electricity, water and sewer systems. The community is served by 15 churches, elementary and high schools, a 20-bed hospital and port facilities for vessels up to 22 feet of draft in 30-foot depth.
