 Copper was discovered between the Kennicott Glacier and McCarthy Creek in 1900, after which Kennicott Mine, Kennecott Mining Company, and company town of Kennecott were created.Due to a clerical error, the corporation and town used the spelling of "Kennecott" instead of "Kennicott", named for Kennicott Glacier in the valley below the town.The glacier was named after Robert Kennicott, a naturalist who explored in Alaska in the mid-1800s.