Homesteads on Fort Richardson, Alaska - The USARAK Home Page ...

compensation when the government withdrew the land for military purposes in the1940s.The following chapter contains biographical information about the homesteadersas well as descriptions of the buildings they constructed, and the years they livedon the land. Biographical information was gathered from a number of sources includingpersonal interviews, obituaries, the 1920 US Census, and books. Buildinginformation was obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers archive auditfiles. Information about homestead entry dates and patent was found in the Bureauof Land Management, public room. The selling price of homesteads or claims wasgenerally found in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers audit files or at the AlaskaState Recorders Office in the grantor/grantee indices. Only obituaries, books andpersonal interviews will be credited in the footnotes.7.2.1 1914 – 1919Between 1914 and 1919, six homesteads were applied for. All received patent.Four were immigrants from Finland, Sweden and Russia. All but two of them werebachelors, and none, as far as we know, had children. Transportation to and fromtown would have been difficult for these early homesteaders. It is unlikely thatanyone owned a car: the Model T Ford was still quite a new invention. The Whitneysused a horse-drawn wagon to get into town. (See Fig. 5) Others may have had dogteams, or simply walked. Eventually the 18-mile “Loop Road” was completed,providing relatively reliable access from the mouth of Ship Creek into the homesteaders’territory. Still, roads branching off into an individuals claim had to be clearedand maintained. The first homesteaders to settle on what is now Fort Richardsonincluded the Whitneys, James Wilson, Christ Folberg, John Erik Kulin, VictorCarlson, and John H. Thompson. Their stories presented in the following narratives.John Doran (Bud) and Daisy Olive Kincaid WhitneyThe first homesteaders on Fort Richardson were John and Daisy Whitney.John and Daisy were married in 1903 in Candle, Alaska. They worked invarious mines throughout the territory before moving to Ship Creek in1911. 70 When the Whitneys settled on the upper part of Ship Creek in1914, there were only a few other people living in the area. Within acouple years, however, they would witness the dramatic growth of Anchorageinto a bustling railroad town.Figure 4. Daisy and BudWhitney. Courtesy of AnchorageMuseum of History and Art.B98.2.10.“Throughout their time on the homestead, the Whitneys made their livingfrom the land. Until Anchorage became established as a commercialsupply point, they had to support themselves entirely by cultivating agarden, raising livestock, or hunting.” 71 Many people used their “ranch”as a picnic and hiking spot. They had a three room log house on theproperty that was still in excellent condition in 1941. There was also asmaller, 10’ x 12’ log cabin that was in poor condition. In 1918, an AlaskaRailroad stop near the land was named Whitney Station in their honor.70Daugherty and Saleeby. Elmendorf Air Force Base, Homestead Study. p. 16.71Ibid.24<strong>Homesteads</strong> on Fort RichardsonAlaska