The Story of Copperville and Cordova

An Ahtna boy was walking in the woods when he heard singing. He followed the voice which led him to dig up a large chunk of copper out of the ground and the boy became a wealthy man. Copper became a useful resource for the Ahtna people in this area known as Copper Valley. Mining in the first few decades of the 20th century cause villages in this area to pop up and Copperville is one.The area around Cordova was likely a fish camp for the Eyak people, a mix of Aleut, Athabascan, and Tlingit. In 1790, Spanish Explorer Fidalgo made land claims for Spain in the area and named this spot "Cordova." His claims didn't stick, but the name did. When copper was discovered in the area, a man named Michael Heney built a railroad to serve the exports for the mining operations. He became known as "The man who built Cordova." Today, Cordova is sustained by the fishing and tourism industries and is a really nice place to visit.Contact the show at [email protected] Logo was created by Evan Van KirkMusic was created by Isaac Bedingfield