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horses or oxen, but the majority of settlers who had no work animalshad to use heavy, homemade windlass arrangements turnedwith a twenty -or thirty -foot pole. Slashing, felling, and skidding,stump pulling, windrowing debris, and burning stumps and rootsdid not end the labor. A blanket of dense, springy moss, often twotothree-feet thick and laced with roots of trees and low, creepingbushes, had to be removed. 69Many cleared the absolute minimum in order to get patent on the land. Agriculturein the Fort Richardson area was further hampered by the high acidic content of thesoil. Often food could be more easily and effectively acquired by hunting, trappingand fishing.Perhaps the best remembered homesteaders in Alaska are those from the MatanuskaValley. Several projects over the years, including the Matanuska Colony and theExperimental Farm at Matanuska, were started to stimulate settlement and agriculturaldevelopment in the area. It should be remembered, however, that homesteadingwas taking place throughout Alaska. Indeed nearly the entire Anchorage Bowlarea (outside of the city) was at one time or another open to, or settled by, homesteaders.Homesteading in Alaska required independence, a sense of adventure and often alot of hard work. The beauty of the land and life, however, made it all worthwhile.7.2 Fort Richardson HomesteadersThe area that is now Fort Richardson was quite sparsely populated in the earlyhomesteading years. Limited road access probably contributed to the lighter developmentand interest in the area. Most homesteads were clustered on what is nowthe western border of the base. There they were closer to Anchorage, main roadsand the conveniences of “civilization”.Homestead residences varied in size and complexity. In the Fort Richardson area,most built small log cabins and a few outbuildings with the occasional barn. Nopublic utilities were available, and wood stoves were the sole source of heat inwinter.This study focuses on the 40 homesteads or claims that were still in existence at thetime of government land withdrawals for W. W. II base establishment. (See Table 1for a complete list of names and land transaction dates) Of the 40 parcels, only 16were patented homesteads. The rest were still in the process of proving up on theirclaims. About half of the homesteaders in this study did not file for entry until thelate 1930s. Many were quite close to receiving patent when the government acquiredthe land.A number of the homesteaders were single men with no known family in Alaska.Unfortunately, this contributes to a lingering mystery regarding their personal livesand intended use of the homesteads.Homesteading on Fort Richardson is divided into three main time periods in thisreport. 1914 to 1919 represents the initial phase of homesteading on Fort Richard-69Ibid., p.21.22<strong>Homesteads</strong> on Fort RichardsonAlaska
son. Anchorage was just established as an important railroad town. The populationboomed in a very short time as people flooded into the area for work. From 1920 to1929, homesteading activity decreased as the population declined due to WorldWar I and economic problems. From 1930 to 1939, activity gradually picked upagain, making this the busiest period for homestead entries. Many claims werefiled in the last few years of the decade, and were cancelled or given up with littleTable 1: Land Transactions of Fort Richardson HomesteadersNAME Application Filed Patented Sold To/DateWhitney, John D. 1914 1922 USA/1941Wilson, James H. 1915 1926 J. Campbell/1926; USA/1941Folberg, Christ 1917 1924 J. Mannick/1938; USA/1942Kulin, John Eric 1917 1922 USA/1942Carlson, Victor 1919 1926 T. Price/1935; USA/1943Thompson, John H. 1919 1928 USA/1944Weaver, WM H. 1920 1931 USA/1943Zinis, Fred 1920 1923 USA/1944?Hogland, John R. 1923 1930 USA/1942Hunter, Gus 1931 1941 USA/1941Clarence, Donald 1933 1943 USA/1943Nieminen, Leopold 1936 -- gave up claimPorlier, Leon L. 1936 1942 USA/1943Sly, Samuel E. 1936 1940 S. Keist/1940; USA/1942Fenton, Claude L. 1937 -- claim cancelledHarder, Victor 1937 -- gave up claimHarpham, Clarence 1937 -- gave up claimHarpham, Frank E. 1937 -- claim cancelledHitchcock, Benson 1937 -- gave up claimKenote, John 1937 1942 USA/1942Murray, James 1937 -- gave up claimPrizer, Robert 1937 ? USA/1942Chambers, WM 1938 -- gave up claimKjosen, Edvart 1938 -- gave up claimMeier, Alvin 1938 -- gave up claimMeier, Edwin L. 1938 -- gave up claimOgren, Victor 1938 -- gave up claimStolt, WM A. 1938 -- gave up claimHarrington, John J. 1939 1941 USA/1942Hoserud, Albert 1939 -- claim cancelledJohnston, George 1939 -- gave up claimKennedy, James W. 1939 -- claim cancelledKolp, George 1939 -- gave up claimKrueth, Harry 1939 -- gave up claimLaMothe, Henry S. 1939 -- gave up claimOtto, Ray 1939 -- gave up claimKinney, Keith 1940 -- claim cancelledNettleton, Clyde 1940 -- gave up claimO’Malley, Warren 1940 -- claim cancelled<strong>Homesteads</strong> on Fort RichardsonAlaska23
Page 3 and 4: Homesteads onFort
Page 5: table of contentsCHAPTERS1.0 INTROD
Page 8: may have homesteaded in the area an
Page 11: Chapter 3.0 The EnvironmentFort Ric
Page 15 and 16: Chapter 4.0Early PeopleIt is though
Page 17 and 18: Chapter 5.0AnchorageThe history of
Page 19 and 20: profitable. 32 Ohlson tried, as had
Page 21 and 22: Chapter 6.0World War II and FortEst
Page 23 and 24: Fort Richardson was originally what
Page 25 and 26: Chapter 7.0HomesteadingHomesteading
Page 27: unsurveyed, a physical description
Page 31 and 32: 0 1 2 Miles0 1 2 3 KilometersMap 2.
Page 33 and 34: x 32', which had fallen into disrep
Page 35 and 36: 0 1 2 Miles0 1 2 3 KilometersMap 3.
Page 37 and 38: Map 4: Homesteads
Page 39 and 40: eauty shop in downtown Anchorage. P
Page 41 and 42: The children attended high school.
Page 43 and 44: Chambers built a 12' x 18' log hous
Page 45 and 46: accomplished musician. He played th
Page 47 and 48: William and Lily StoltBill was born
Page 49 and 50: George JohnstonGeorge Johnston file
Page 51 and 52: Folberg. Mannick sold the land to t
Page 53 and 54: Chapter 8.0National Registerof Hist
Page 55 and 56: Hoserud, Robert Prizer, John Thomps
Page 57 and 58: The south room has four bunk bed fr
Page 59 and 60: ReferencesAir Force History. United
Page 61 and 62: Other Sources1920 US CensusBureau o
Page 63 and 64: APPENDIX A: Abbreviations and Acron
Page 65 and 66: Appendix b:APPENDIX A: Abbreviation
Page 67 and 68: Fort RichardsonHOMESTEAD RECORDProp
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Fort RichardsonHOMESTEAD RECORDProp
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Appendix c:Records of Unperfected F
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Appendix d:Land Acquisition and Dis
Page 109 and 110:
Map 5. Land Acquisition/Disposal Hi
Page 111:
Index of HomesteadersCampbell, 26,
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