In 1914, when plans for a railroad were announced, a rail camp was built at the Healy Forks junction, bringing even more settlers to the area. Once the railroad appeared, it wasn't long before dozens of underground coal mines were operating along the river banks, providing fuel to the local community and at times sending shipments to other Alaskan locales. The coal mines in turn lured more pioneers to the area. Emil Usibelli, an Italian immigrant, arrived as a logger and by 1943 had opened his own successful strip mine near the aptly named Suntrana camp, a word that means "burning hills" in the Athabascan language. In following years, the Usibelli Coal Mine eventually bought out all the other mines dotting the valley and today is the sole operating coal mine in the state of Alaska.
As more and more settlers and their families moved to the Dry Creek, Healy Fork, and Nenana River valleys, eventually a one room school house was added to the other businesses that were already established -- bunk houses, hotels, the post office, "Goat Mary's beer parlour, a general store and many other roadhouses and churches. It wasn't until the 1970's, once the George Parks Highway was completed, that the center of Healy gradually migrated from the river to its current position along the highway. Soon more businesses moved in and eventually a larger K-12 school was dedicated, combining the old Healy and Suntrana one-room school buildings.
This is only one small portion of Healy's early history. Today, because the community includes the surrounding areas of Ferry and Denali, it is important to remember that while the railroad and coal mines were developing along the river valleys, only twelve miles south amongst the towering mountain peaks of the Alaska Range, other events were unfolding that would eventually produce the Denali National Park and Preserve. But that is another history with its own story to tell.
