Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge

	Creamer's Dairy
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
Location	At end of Creamer Lane, in Creamers Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, Fairbanks, Alaska
Coordinates	64°51′51″N 147°44′16″W / 64.86417°N 147.73778°W
Area	12 acres (4.9 ha)
Built	1904
Built by	Charles T. Hinckley; Charles Albert Creamer
NRHP reference No.	77001572
AHRS No.	FAIR-85
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 13, 1977
Designated AHRS	May 20, 1975

Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge is a 2,200 acre (7.3 km²) bird sanctuary, located within the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska and partially within the city limits of Fairbanks. It consists of wetlands, fields, and forests. The refuge surrounds the former farm of Charles Hinckley and later Charles Albert Creamer (1889-1974), a former chicken rancher from Washington state who moved to Fairbanks. Creamer saved waste grains from his barn to feed migrating birds. After Creamer's death, preservationists banded together to make the area a state refuge. The Creamer farmstead now serves as a visitor center and environmental education center, with the non-profit "Friends of Creamer's Field" presenting programs year-round. In the summer visitors can take a guided nature walk on the refuge trails. The refuge is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. It is a multi-use refuge, and limited hunting is also allowed in certain seasons. In winter dog mushing trails criss cross the back of the acreage, while skijorers have trails in the front fields.

Among the birds that flock to the refuge in spring and fall during migrations are Sandhill Cranes, Loons, Swans, Canada geese, Plovers, and Sandpipers. In total, over 100 bird species have been spotted in the refuge.^[2]

History

Charles Hinckley built a log barn and opened a dairy business upon arriving in Fairbanks in 1904. In 1938 Charles Albert Creamer succeeded to Hinckley and built the modern day barn, which is still visible today. All other buildings in the area were constructed subsequently after, up to the closure of business in 1965. The State of Alaska purchased all the land around the dairy in 1969, to establish the Migratory Refuge. The property is the only group of pioneer dairy farm buildings surviving in the interior of Alaska.^[3]

The Creamer's Dairy, also known as Hinckley's Dairy, comprising the barn and five other historical buildings, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.^[1]

View of the elevated trail through the boreal forest at Creamers Field
Sandhill cranes at Creamers Field
Interior of Creamer's barn
Field of the former Creamer's Dairy
Closeup of the dairy barns
Creamer Dairy - February sunrise.

References

^ ^a ^b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ dfg.webmaster@alaska.gov. "Alaska Department of Fish and Game". www.adfg.alaska.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-04.
^ "NRHP nomination for Creamer's Dairy". National Park Service. Retrieved May 16, 2017.

External links

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[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[2] .webmaster@alaska.gov. "Alaska Department of Fish and Game". www.adfg.alaska.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-04.

[NRHP-3] "NRHP nomination for Creamer's Dairy". National Park Service. Retrieved May 16, 2017.

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v t e Refuges and Sanctuaries in Alaska
Refuges	Cape Newenham Izembek Trading Bay Susitna Flats Anchorage Coastal Goose Bay Palmer Hay Flats Minto Flats Creamer's Field Yakataga Mendenhall
Critical Habitat Areas	Egegik Pilot Point Cinder River Port Heiden Port Moller Tugidak Island Kalgin Island Redoubt Bay Willow Mountain Clam Gulch Anchor River Fox River Kachemak Bay Copper River Dude Creek Chilkat River Homer Airport
Sanctuaries	McNeil River Walrus Islands Stan Price
Range	Delta Bison

v t e Properties on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska
	Boroughs
	Aleutians East Anchorage Bristol Bay Denali Fairbanks North Star Haines Juneau Kenai Peninsula Ketchikan Gateway Kodiak Island Lake and Peninsula Matanuska-Susitna North Slope Northwest Arctic Sitka Skagway Wrangell Yakutat
	Census areas
	Aleutians West Bethel Chugach Copper River Dillingham Hoonah–Angoon Nome Petersburg Prince of Wales–Hyder Southeast Fairbanks Yukon–Koyukuk
	There are no sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Kusilvak Census Area.

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History

See also

References

External links