Marge Gull painting of Byler’s Roadhouse, 18 miles from Fairbanks
Another painting by Alaska artist, Marguerite “Marge” Gull. This is of Byler’s Roadhouse, which used to be located along the old Valdez-Trail near present-day North Pole. The roadhouse was established in about 1907 by Jonathan Byler, and was the first Orr Stage line station after leaving Fairbanks.
The roadhouse changed owners several times. When the Delta Winter Cut-off section of the Valdez-Fairbanks Trail was totally abandoned in the 1920s, John Sullivan and his wife (who had operated Sullivan’s Roadhouse along the Cut-off) bought this roadhouse and operated it for several years. The roadhouse no longer exists.
Marge (who died in 2013) came to Alaska with her husband in 1938, living first in Fairbanks and then Anchorage. She was an amateur painter and painted 49 of the roadhouses along the Valdez-Fairbanks Trail.
I assume that at least some of the paintings were done from photographs since many of the roadhouses disappeared long before Marge came to Alaska.This painting is in the collection of the Valdez Museum. I’ll be adding more paintings periodically.
