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All the United States Alaska North Pole Santa Claus House

Santa Claus House

A trading post in the North Pole where children send letters.

North Pole, Alaska

Added By
Nick Jackson
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Santa Claus House   Hotice Hsu / CC BY-SA 2.0
Santa Claus House   Hotice Hsu / CC BY-SA 2.0
Santa Claus House   Haydn Blackey / CC BY-SA 2.0
Santa Claus House   wbrentprice / CC BY-ND 2.0
  Haydn Blackey / CC BY-SA 2.0
Letters to Santa   Haydn Blackey / CC BY-SA 2.0
North Pole Post Office   Amy Meredith / CC BY-ND 2.0
North Pole, Alaska   Tim Martini-Exploring The Obscure show
Hanging with Santa’s Reindeer   Tim Martini-Exploring The Obscure show
  Bluejeanlace / Atlas Obscura User
Plaque on “The North Pole” at 5th Avenue Park Alaska   likeparty / Atlas Obscura User
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About

When Nellie and Con Miller arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1949, they didn't have anything with them except for their two children and $1.40. Con became a merchant and fur buyer in the area, but he would also put on an old red Santa suit and entertain the village children; he would do anything to carve out a living for himself in this new frontier and the kids couldn't have been happier to see their first St. Nick.

Only a few years later, the Millers had cobbled together enough money to built a trading post just outside of Fairbanks. They named it the North Pole, but when a young visitor recognized Con and asked if Santa was building a new house, they changed the name of the outpost to the Santa Claus House and decorated as they thought one of St. Nick's home might look.

The Santa Claus House received international recognition and, after newspapers and magazines all over the world wrote about the new trading post, letters from kids started to pour in. The Millers, for decades now, have been returning as many of those letters as they could, sending mail to boys and girls all over the world who think they're corresponding with Santa Claus himself. Over the span of 60 years or so, the Millers sent more than two million personalized letters.

The town of North Pole, Alaska, which has grown up around the Santa Claus House, has the slogan "Where the Spirit of Christmas Lives Year Round." And the Santa Claus House is just one of the ways that spirit lives on. Visitors to the town will be greeted by not just it, but also a 42-foot-tall Fiberglas Santa Claus statue that stands on Richardson Highway. Other Christmas items decorate the town all year-round.

Related Tags

Holidays With A Twist Santa Claus Shops Purveyors Of Curiosities Architectural Oddities Outsider Architecture Architecture

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Located 14 miles outside of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Community Contributors

Added By

nbj914

Edited By

ExploringTheObscure, Michelle Cassidy, Bluejeanlace, likeparty

  • ExploringTheObscure
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • Bluejeanlace
  • likeparty

Published

December 24, 2015

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  • We actually visited North Pole in June of 2022 so we are eyewitnesses.
  • Roadside America: Santa Claus House and Statue: http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/11281
  • North Pole, Alaska: http://fairbanks-alaska.com/north-pole-alaska.htm
  • Trip Advisor: Santa Claus House: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g31079-d264784-Reviews-Santa_Claus_House-North_Pole_Alaska.html
  • Exploring The Obscure: http://www.exploringtheobscure.com
Santa Claus House
101 Saint Nicholas Dr.
North Pole, Alaska, 99705
United States
64.755188, -147.34452
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

Lady of the Lake

North Pole, Alaska

miles away

Fairbanks Antler Arch

Fairbanks, Alaska

miles away

Lend-Lease Monument

Fairbanks, Alaska

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of North Pole

North Pole

Alaska

Places 2

Nearby Places

Lady of the Lake

North Pole, Alaska

miles away

Fairbanks Antler Arch

Fairbanks, Alaska

miles away

Lend-Lease Monument

Fairbanks, Alaska

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of North Pole

North Pole

Alaska

Places 2

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7 Places Dedicated to the Story of Santa Claus

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