A Tent City in the Wilderness

How Anchorage, Alaska began.

Pictured above is the beginning of Anchorage, Alaska, in the spring of 1915.

Over 2,000 prospective workers and merchants assembled at the mouth of Ship Creek at Cook Inlet in Southcentral Alaska.

And more were arriving every day.

A “tent city” quickly sprang up out of the wilderness. It was filled with a ragtag collection of tents and temporary wood buildings. The conditions were rugged and unsanitary.

What Caused This Rush? It Wasn’t Gold

From May to June in 1914, eleven survey parties were sent from Seattle to Alaska.

The purpose of those survey crews was to determine possible routes for a proposed Alaska Railroad.

BONUS

Take a look at this information about the Alaska Railroad Survey Crews and enjoy.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson Decided

In April 1915, President Wilson made the decision that the Alaska Railroad would run from Seward to Fairbanks. The route would take the railroad past the coal deposits of the Matanuska Valley and would end in Fairbanks.

Construction headquarters would be established at the mouth of Ship Creek at Cook Inlet.

The Alaska Railroad Act

In 1915 the United States Congress authorized construction of the only federally owned railroad in the history of the U.S.

Enter the Alaskan Engineering Commission (AEC)

In the spring of 1915, work began on the Alaska Railroad.

A construction site was set up at the mouth of Ship Creek.

Driving the First Spike

On April 29, 1915, Martha “Babe” White drove the first spike on the Alaska Railroad at Ship Creek.

BONUS

Take a look at this fascinating story about “Babe” White’s mother and enjoy.

The Plateau Above Ship Creek

Lots were then laid out for a 240-acre town site under the supervision of Andrew Christensen of the General Land Office. The townsite would become Anchorage, Alaska.

First House Built in Anchorage

Located in Elderberry Park at 420 M Street in Anchorage, Oscar Anderson built the first house in Anchorage in 1915. That house still stands today as an Anchorage tourist attraction.

Oscar Anderson claimed to be the 18th person to set foot on what is now Anchorage. He lived in his house until his death in 1974.

BONUS

Take a virtual tour of the Oscar Anderson House and enjoy.

What Would They Call This New “Town”?

On August 9, 1915, an election was held to decide on an official name for the town that was springing up before their eyes.

Names to consider included:

Alaska City

Gateway

Homestead

Lane (named after Secretary of the Interior Franklin D. Lane)

Matanuska

Ship Creek

Terminal

Winalaska

There were 538 votes cast.

The winner was Alaska City with 146 votes.

Lane came in second with 129 votes.

The governor at the time, J.F.A. Strong, wanted “Matanuska.”

The Alaska Engineering Commission, the AEC, wanted the name “Ship Creek.”

Enter the United States Post Office

As the story goes, a vessel was anchored in Cook Inlet off the settlement of Knik, just across the inlet from the tent city at Ship Creek. The vessel was named “Anchorage.”

Apparently, the U.S. Post Office thought that was a good name, so they decided to give the new town at Ship Creek the name Anchorage.

Roydon Chase was appointed the first postmaster, and all mail was then sent to “Anchorage, Alaska.”

The new name was quickly added to maps and was used in news stories covering the building of the railroad and the town.

Yes You Can Share this Edition

And when you do, your friends and family will be so happy that they will gift you with a year's supply of your favorite dessert… well, it could happen.

A Newspaper Opens Shop on Ship Creek

On June 5, 1915, from its ragged tent city office, the first issue of the Cook Inlet Pioneer & Knik News was issued as volume 1, number 1, a weekly newspaper.

That October, the name of the first newspaper in the tent city of Anchorage was changed to the Cook Inlet Pioneer, and it became Anchorage’s first daily newspaper.

Note:

The Cook Inlet Pioneer would later become the Anchorage Daily Times.

BONUS

Earlier, we mentioned Knik which was once the largest settlement on Cook Inlet. Knik was there long before the Alaska Railroad Act and the tent city at Ship Creek.

Goods were shipped from Knik to interior Alaska.

But when the Alaska Railroad bypassed Knik in favor of Ship Creek, and when the railroad reached Wasilla, Knik lost its place as a shipping point.

As a result, most of Knik was abandoned, and many of the buildings were moved to other communities like Wasilla.

Anchorage Railroad Station, Today

From that first spike in 1915 to this image today.

Ship Creek Today

Do you think those 2000 workers and merchants who journeyed to the mouth of Ship Creek in 1915 could have imagined the picture above?

A Note from Mike and Mary

Have you taken a trip on the Alaska Railroad?

Just think about those pioneers who came to the mouth of Ship Creek in 1915 to build a railroad and a town from nothing.

Those pioneers who went before us were a hearty breed. No cell phones or streaming video on their mobile device. But they built a railroad and a town. And now, over a hundred years later, you read and hear about them and marvel at what they accomplished.

Mary and Mike are proud to have grown up and worked in that place named Anchorage, Alaska. Thank you to all those pioneers who made the long journey, saw the potential, and worked hard to make a dream come true.

Without them… there would be no Anchorage Memories.

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From a tent city to modern-day Anchorage, Alaska, the largest city in the largest state.

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Until Next Time

Mike and Mary

Anchorage, Alaska Memories Club