Music Mart: 60 years in the same Fairbanks location
Karl Reinhold Carlson was born in 1922 in British Columbia. His family moved to the United States in the 1930s, and Karl first came to Alaska in 1940 when his family moved to Kodiak,...
Alaska Railroad’s historic Engine 557 may soon return to the rail
The engine in the drawing is Alaska Railroad No. 557, a Consolidation-type steam locomotive. Consolidation is the U.S. designation for the locomotive’s wheel-configuration – 2-8-0 – with 2 leading wheels, 8 drive wheels, and...
St. Joseph’s Hospital served Fairbanks’ medical needs for more than 50 years
The Catholic Church sent Father Francis Monroe (Society of Jesus) to Alaska in 1894. He spent several years at missions along the Lower Yukon River before moving to the Upper Yukon after the Klondike...
Wilbur and sons played a big role in Fairbanks history
Wilbur Brothers Sheet Metal, in one form or another, has been a family-owned Fairbanks business since 1914. During the winter of 1913-14, Alden Wilbur Sr., who was living in Seattle with his wife and...
Marge Gull painting of Yost’s (McCallum’s) Roadhouse, Mile 203 of Valdez-Fairbanks Trail
The painting is of McCallum’s or Yost’s Roadhouse, at Mile 203 of the Valdez-Fairbanks Trail. In 1905 a Mrs. McCallum began operating a roadhouse out of a small single-story log cabin on the east...
Decaying railway dock in Cordova is a melancholy reminder of bygone days
From the 1911 completion of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway (CR&NW) until the mid 1930s, Cordova’s economy was primarily dependent on the railway and the shipment of copper ore from the mines at...
Skiing at Birch Hill in Fairbanks dates back to the 1930s
With skiing’s long history in Nordic countries, it is not surprising the Swedes, Norwegians, Danes and Finns entering Alaska at the turn of the 20th century brought their skiing traditions with them. According to...
How wireless telegraphy helped modernize Circle
The Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS) was an approximately 1,550-mile-long Alaska communications system built between 1900 and 1904. It linked a string of U.S. Army posts: Fort Davis in Nome, Fort St....
Orthodox chapel at Ninilchik has been serving the faithful since 1901
The Russian-American Company (RAC) charter stipulated that its employees could not reside permanently in Alaska, having to return to Russia at the end of their contracts. However, by the 1820s, the RAC had a...
Copper Center church is a reminder of early missionary efforts in Copper River Valley
The community of Copper Center is located on the Copper River’s west bank, just north of the Klutina River. It was founded in 1898 as a trading post along the trail from Valdez to...
