Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Scenes of grain and vegetable harvest at Fairbanks, Alaska, circa 1920s, at Paul John Rickert's farm. Rickert (1867-1938) moved to the Fairbanks area in 1905 and acquired a 320-acre homestead known as "Fairbanks Gardens" in the area of what was then south Fairbanks. According to a 1966 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner article, Rickert's farm included greenhouses at 14th and Cushman Streets. From 1918-1923 Rickert served on the board of trustees of the Alaska Agriculture College & School of Mines which later became the University of Alaska Fairbanks (B&W/Silent/16mm film).
Fairbanksan Patricia Schmidt supplied this additional information in September 2024: The film was taken on John Paul Rickert's farm. On May 7th, 1905, he and his wife, Stacia, had moved from the Klondike to Chena, Alaska. They later moved to Fairbanks, where he continued mining and working for the Fairbanks Telephone Company. In 1910, he acquired a 320-acre homestead and started experimental farming. He retired from the phone company and started farming full-time. What is now the northern reaches of South Fairbanks was originally the farm of Paul J. Rickert. The homestead holdings were called the Fairbanks Gardens. In 1904, George William Gasser, Paul John Rickert, and Charles L Thompson incorporated the Tanana Valley Fair Association (the name changed to the Tanana Valley State Fair Association in 1961). In 1923, Rickert sold part of his original homestead to the city of Fairbanks to enlarge the impromptu landing strip that had been on his property. This became Weeks Field, Fairbanks' first airport. When he died, he left part of his land to the city of Fairbanks to be used for education. Lathrop High School is built on his property.
This is a clip from AAF-64 of the Cann-Cathey Collection held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives Department in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Your donation in any amount will help us continue important preservation work. Please visit the “About” section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. Thank you! For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives.
Scenes of grain and vegetable harvest at Fairbanks, Alaska, circa 1920s, at Paul John Rickert's farm. Rickert (1867-1938) moved to the Fairbanks area in 1905 and acquired a 320-acre homestead known as "Fairbanks Gardens" in the area of what was then south Fairbanks. According to a 1966 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner article, Rickert's farm included greenhouses at 14th and Cushman Streets. From 1918-1923 Rickert served on the board of trustees of the Alaska Agriculture College & School of Mines which later became the University of Alaska Fairbanks (B&W/Silent/16mm film).
Fairbanksan Patricia Schmidt supplied this additional information in September 2024: The film was taken on John Paul Rickert's farm. On May 7th, 1905, he and his wife, Stacia, had moved from the Klondike to Chena, Alaska. They later moved to Fairbanks, where he continued mining and working for the Fairbanks Telephone Company. In 1910, he acquired a 320-acre homestead and started experimental farming. He retired from the phone company and started farming full-time. What is now the northern reaches of South Fairbanks was originally the farm of Paul J. Rickert. The homestead holdings were called the Fairbanks Gardens. In 1904, George William Gasser, Paul John Rickert, and Charles L Thompson incorporated the Tanana Valley Fair Association (the name changed to the Tanana Valley State Fair Association in 1961). In 1923, Rickert sold part of his original homestead to the city of Fairbanks to enlarge the impromptu landing strip that had been on his property. This became Weeks Field, Fairbanks' first airport. When he died, he left part of his land to the city of Fairbanks to be used for education. Lathrop High School is built on his property.
This is a clip from AAF-64 of the Cann-Cathey Collection held by the Alaska Film Archives, a unit of the Alaska and Polar Regions Collections & Archives Department in the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
The Alaska Film Archives appreciates your support. Your donation in any amount will help us continue important preservation work. Please visit the “About” section of our YouTube channel to learn how you can help today. Thank you! For more information please contact the Alaska Film Archives.
