Results of Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed Glenn Highway Milepost 53 to 56 Reconstruction Project (Department of Transportation and Public Facilities No

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Results of Cultural Resources Survey of the Proposed Glenn Highway Milepost 53 to 56 Reconstruction Project (Department of Transportation and Public Facilities No. 58013)

August 2010

Prepared By: Linda Finn Yarborough, Ph.D. Paul J. White, Ph.D. Sarah Meitl, M.A; Catherine Pendleton, M.A.; Valerie Gomez, M.Sc; Aubrey Morrison, B.A., and Erika Malo, B.A.

Cultural Resource Consultants LLC Anchorage, Alaska

For:

4041 B Street Anchorage, Alaska 99503

Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Executive Summary

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities proposes to realign the Glenn Highway between mile posts 53 and 56. The new proposed alignment will cross the Moose Creek Valley, with a proposed area of disturbance close to two miles long, of which over a mile will be fill, in an area 500 feet wide. Cultural Resource Consultants LLC (CRC) was subcon- tracted through DOWL HKM to identify cultural resources in the general vicinity, or study area, and the proposed area of disturbance. No Area of Potential Effect was defined at the time. CRC’s cultural resource specialists conducted reconnaissance and intensive field surveys and documentation between July 8 and July 16, 2009, having first coordinated with Chickaloon Village Traditional Council, which provided a representative to assist in the surveys.

Evidence of the following cultural resources were found in the project study area:

- characteristic depressions that appear to be early historic or prehistoric Athapaskan cache pits or similar depressions, associated with subsistence and seasonal residence in the Moose Creek Valley near its confluence with the Matanuska River (ANC-2868, ANC-3329, ANC-3330, ANC-3331, ANC-3332, and ANC-3333), - twentieth century depressions that may be prospect pits, (ANC-2869), - the probable site of an early twentieth century roadhouse related to the Alaska Railroad and coal mining in the area (Moose Creek Roadhouse Site, ANC-3278), - two twentieth century road segments, one associated with the Kleinsmith homestead (ANC-3371) and the other currently of unknown association (ANC-3372) , - ANC-3373, a twentieth century depression that might be associated with homesteading, - the Gregg House, a renovated homestead house from the 1950s or 1960s (ANC-3370), - the Katie Wade Homesite (ANC-3080), - the Long Farm fields from the 1970s (no number assigned), - the remains of a communications line (ANC-3374), - isolated twentieth century artifacts (no number assigned), - the Alaska Railroad Matanuska Branch bed and related Moose Creek Railroad Bridge remains (ANC-00097), - the Alaska Railroad’s Moose Creek Spur (ANC-3272), - the Moose Creek, or Doherty Mine, Coal Chute (ANC-3273), - the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway (ANC-3274), - the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-03275), which includes the Moose Creek Spur, the Moose Creek Coal Chute, and the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway, and features and activity areas related to work at this industrial complex - the Station Road (ANC-3335), which connects the Chickaloon Trail, now the Glenn Highway, to the Alaska Railroad’s Moose Creek Section, or Station, location.

Of these cultural resources within the study area, no recommendations are made for the Katie Wade Homesite, which is being considered under a separate project, the Moose Creek Road- house Site (ANC-3278), or the possible prospect pits (ANC-2869). Six cultural resources – The Gregg House (ANC-3370), the Kleinsmith Homestead road segment (ANC-3371), a second historic road segment (ANC-3372), the twentieth century depression (ANC-3373), the isolated

i Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 twentieth century artifacts, and the Long Farm fields – are recommended ineligible for the Na- tional Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Eleven of the cultural resources within the study area are recommended eligible for the NRHP:

- Cache pit sites ANC-2868, ANC-3329, ANC-3330, ANC-3331, ANC-3332, and ANC-3333, recommended eligible under Criterion D, - the Alaska Railroad’s Moose Creek Spur (ANC-3272), recommended eligible under Criteria A and D, - the Moose Creek, or Doherty Mine, Coal Chute (ANC-3273), recommended eligible under Criteria A and D, - the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway (ANC-3274), recommended eligible under Criteria A and D, and - the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-3275), also recommended eligible under Criteria A and D, which includes the Moose Creek Spur, the Moose Creek Coal Chute, and the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway, and activity areas related to work at this industrial complex as defined by documented artifacts and features in the vicinity of the Moose Creek Coal Chute and the Moose Creek Spur. - the Station Road (ANC-3335), recommended eligible under Criterion A.

All of the eleven historic properties above are within the study area, and nine are within the 500- foot wide proposed direct impact area. Cache pit sites ANC-2868 and ANC-3333 are just south of the direct impact area. The other nine will be directly affected by the proposed construction activities. For this reason, CRC recommends a finding of “adverse effect” for the proposed project.

ii Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Table of Contents

Executive Summary ...... i

Introduction ...... 1

Location and Environment ...... 1

Project Description and Study Area ...... 3

Methodology ...... 3

Background information ...... 5 Prehistory ...... 5 Ethnography ...... 6 Railroad and Coal Mining Developments in the Matanuska Valley ...... 8 Development of Trails and Roads ...... 14 Settlement and Homesteading in the Matanuska Valley ...... 18 The Homestead Act ...... 18 Homesteading in the Matanuska Valley ...... 20 Homesteads at Moose Creek ...... 22 Previous Cultural Resource Work in the Moose Creek Area ...... 27 Previously Known Cultural Resources within the Project Vicinity ...... 28 Moose Creek R.R. Station (Moose Creek Section House & Storage Shed) (ANC-00015) ...... 28 Moose Creek Railroad Bridge (ANC-0097) ...... 28 Moose Creek Town site (ANC-0126) and Moose Town site (ANC-1826) ...... 28 Moose Creek Garbage Dump (ANC-00740) ...... 28 Doherty Mine, Pioneer Mine (ANC-01319) ...... 31 Moose Creek Bridge (ANC-01998) ...... 31 ANC-2868 ...... 31 Moose Creek Caches (ANC-2869) ...... 31 ANC-3010 ...... 32 Katie Wade Homesite (ANC-3080) ...... 32 Moose Creek Spur Line/Baxter Mine Car Track ...... 32 Cemetery (ANC-3328) ...... 32 Other Reported Sites ...... 33

2009 Survey Results ...... 33 Moose Creek Depressions/Cache Pits (ANC-2868, ANC-3329 through ANC-3333). 33 Moose Creek Roadhouse Site (ANC-03278) ...... 37 Isolated Artifacts (no AHRS numbers) ...... 38 Gregg House (ANC-3370) ...... 38 Long Farm Fields (no AHRS number) ...... 42 Road Segments (ANC-3371 and ANC-3372) ...... 44

iii Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Historic Depression ANC-3373 ...... 45 Communications Line and Posts (ANC-3374) ...... 47 Railroad and Mine related Features ...... 47 Alaska Railroad Matanuska Branch/Moose Creek Railroad Bridge (ANC-00097) ...... 47 Possible Prospect Pits (ANC-2869) ...... 48 Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-03275) ...... 48 Moose Creek Spur (ANC-3272) ...... 48 Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway (ANC-3274) ...... 56 Moose Creek Coal Chute (ANC-03273) ...... 58 Artifacts Associated with the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-3275) ...... 62 Station Road (ANC-3335) ...... 65

Significance ...... 65 Moose Creek Depressions/Cache Pits (ANC-2868, , -3329, -3330. -3331. -3332, and -3333) ...... 66 Moose Creek Roadhouse Site (ANC-03278) ...... 67 Isolated Artifacts (no AHRS numbers) ...... 67 Gregg House (ANC-3370) ...... 67 Long Farm Fields (no AHRS number) ...... 68 Road Segments (ANC-3371 and ANC-3372) ...... 68 Historic Depression ANC-3373 ...... 69 Communications Line (ANC-3374) ...... 69 Railroad and Mine related Features ...... 70 Alaska Railroad Matanuska Branch/Moose Creek Railroad Bridge (ANC-00097) ...... 70 Possible Prospect Pits (ANC-2869) ...... 70 Moose Creek Spur (ANC-3272) ...... 70 Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Rail (ANC-3274) ...... 71 Moose Creek Coal Chute (ANC-03273) ...... 72 Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-03275) ...... 73 Station Road (ANC-3335) ...... 74

Conclusions and Recommendations ...... 75

References Cited ...... 77

iv Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 List of Figures

Figure 1. Project Location ...... 2 Figure 2. Project Area and Proposed Area of Disturbance...... 4 Figure 3. Coal Bunkers, Moose Creek, Alaska. Photograph by Phinney S. Hunt, number A.E.C.G130...... 10 Figure 4. “Loading the First Coal”, from the Doherty Mine. Photograph by Phinney S. Hunt, number A.E.C.G12...... 11 Figure 5. “Doherty’s Coal Mine”. Photograph by Phinney S. Hunt, number A.E.C.G47. .12 Figure 6. “Map of Definite Location ~ “A” Line, Moose Creek to Baxter Coal Mine, STA.0+00 to STA.216+00, May 1918”. Department of the Interior, Alaskan Engineering Commission...... 13 Figure 7. Detail of map from USGS Bulletin 1016, surveyed in 1943-1944, showing the route ofthe newly constructed Glenn Highway, the dirt truck road west of Moose Creek from the Glenn Highway to the edge of the bluff above the Moose Creek Spur, and the Moose Creek Station Road...... 15 Figure 8. Detail of “Township No. 18 North, Range No. 2 East of the Seward Meridian, Alaska. Matanuska Coal Fields” ...... 17 Figure 9. Locations of homesteads in the Moose Creek area, in relation to the railroad reserve and Moose Townsite ...... 23 Figure 10. Six previously known sites in the project area...... 29 Figure 11. Detail of 1937 ARC map, “General Situation, Matanuska Valley Alaska”, showing the two Moose Townsite locations, one within the other...... 30 Figure 12. 2009 map showing the later Moose Townsite (3492) and the original Moose Townsite, U.S.S. 1152, now a Railroad Reserve...... 31 Figure 13. Locations of depressions ANC-2868, ANC-2869, and ANC-3329 through ANC-3333...... 35 Figure 14. Locations of cultural resources found in 2009 survey, and previously known sites in the project area ...... 36 Figure 15. Modified 55-gallon drum in the vicinity of ANC-3278...... 37 Figure 16. Locations of isolates and individual artifacts...... 39 Figure 17. Log with flattened faces and railroad spikes...... 40 Figure 18. Gregg house, south and west elevations...... 41 Figure 19. Gregg house, north elevation...... 41 Figure 20. Gregg house, oriel windows and secondary entrance...... 42 Figure 21. Gregg house, east elevation, showing roof modifications...... 42 Figure 22. Long Farm upper field...... 43 Figure 23. Kleinsmith homestead road (ANC-3372), east side of Moose Creek...... 44 Figure 24. Road segment ANC-3372, west side of Moose Creek...... 45 Figure 25. Historic Depression ANC-3373, entrance, view south...... 46 Figure 26. Communications line and posts...... 47 Figure 27. The Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-3275)...... 49 Figure 28. Moose Creek Spur standard gauge 70-pound rail with portion of label...... 51 Figure 29. Moose Creek Spur switch mechanism at base of bluff...... 52 Figure 30. Moose Creek Spur, Panama Canal “frog”...... 53

v Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Figure 31. Materials from Panama Canal, AEC Railway Terminal yard, Anchorage, Alaska. Photograph by Phinney S. Hunt, 1917...... 54 Figure 32. Moose Creek Spur, feature GH3...... 55 Figure 33. Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway, suspended in landslide area...... 57 Figure 34. Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway bed, view northeasteast from coal chute. 58 Figure 35. Moose Creek Coal Chute, cross section and profile...... 60 Figure 36. Moose Creek Coal Chute, axonometric reconstruction...... 61 Figure 37. Moose Creek Coal Chute, plan view...... 62 Figure 38. Moose Creek Coal Chute, top section...... 63 Figure 39. Narrow gauge rail section in east creek bank...... 64 Figure 40. Possible syrup can, found in area of metal distribution near Moose Creek Spur rail...... 64

List of Tables

Table 1. Locations and measurements of cache pits/depressions...... 34 Table 2. Artifacts associated with the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District. . . .63

vi Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Introduction

The Glenn Highway is a National Scenic Byway and an All American Road that runs between Anchorage and Glennallen, a distance of about 135 miles. The Alaska Department of Trans- portation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF), with funding from the Federal Highways Administra- tion (FHWA), proposes to reconstruct and realign the Glenn Highway between Milepost (MP) 53 and MP 56. Between July 8 and July 16, 2009, Cultural Resource Consultants LLC (CRC) archeologists conducted a cultural resources survey both in the general area of the project and in the proposed area of disturbance. Prior to the 2009 survey, two cultural resources had been recorded within the project’s proposed area of disturbance, and several more were known in the general area. The goal of this work was the identification of cultural resources within the proposed area of disturbance for the proposed project.

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federally funded projects to consider the effects of proposed actions on properties included on, or eligible for listing on, the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The principal impact issue for historic properties is the loss or degradation of archaeological sites and historic structures, either through direct disturbance during construction, or indirect disturbance such as changes in public accessibility. Historic properties can be affected by actions that alter in any way the attributes that might qualify the resources for inclusion in the NRHP. Adverse effects can result when a resource’s significant characteristics are diminished. The principal measure to mitigate any possible impacts on historic properties is a commitment to comply with Section 106 of NHPA.

Location and Environment

The proposed project is located in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough (MSB), approximately 55 miles north of Anchorage, in the southwestern portion of the Talkeetna Mountains (Figure 1). The project area is at approximately 61º42’ north latitude, 149º03’ west longitude, within the Anchorage quadrangle, Township 18N, Range 2E, Seward Meridian, Sections 1 and 2. The project area is primarily in the lower Moose Creek valley. Moose Creek is a northern tributary of the Matanuska River. This swiftly flowing, glacially-fed, anadromous stream heads in unnamed glaciers that are northeast of Mint Glacier, and east of Montana Peak, at about 4500 to 5000 feet elevation. Moose Creek flows south between Arkose Ridge on the west and Eska Mountain on the east, then turns to the southwest, flowing between Arkose Ridge and Wishbone Hill, to the southeast, and roughtly paralleling the Matanuska River. Two tributaries, Premier Creek and Buffalo Creek join Moose Creek from the north and southeast, respectively, in this area. About half a mile southwest of the confluence of Premier Creek with Moose Creek, the latter turns to the southeast and flows a further 3 to 4 miles through Tsadaka Canyon, into a valley that widens to about a half mile, across which it meanders for a little less than a mile, and then flows into the Matanuska River. Multiple old stream channels, some as deep as 10 feet, are apparent on the east side of the creek. Moose Creek floods each spring, according to the environmental staff of the Chickaloon Village Tribal Council (CVTC). The main channel of the Matanuska River is actively cutting north into the Moose Creek valley, with from 350 to 1500 feet having been lost, depending on the area, to the river on the east side of the creek over the past 60 years. The bluffs east and west of Moose Creek near its mouth are about 200 feet high.

1 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 A beaver dam about 2000 feet north of the Matanuska River has created a small lake in the valley. The creek sustains a king salmon run, which was almost eliminated by coal mining and railroad activities in the early twentieth century. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and CVTC have recently been working together to rehabilitate and enhance the run.

Vegetation in the Moose Creek valley consists of an open cottonwood forest, with occasional birch, on the valley floor, with an understory on the east side of the valley of primarily currants and horsetails, grass, some roses, ferns, devil’s club and pushki. Alders occupy the banks of the creek itself on both sides. The west side of the creek valley has similar vegetation, with a somewhat larger amount of ferns. Vegetation on the steep slopes up from the valley to the bluffs

Figure 1. Project Area location, shown as black square, and pink dot in inset.

2 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 is similar open forest, with increasing amounts of birch. Birch are the predominant tree on top of the bluffs, with an understory that includes horsetail, fireweed, larkspur, wild geraniums, currants and highbush cranberries.

Project Description and Study Area

DOT&PF proposes to realign this section of the Glenn Highway between MP 53 and MP 56, using a 500-foot wide area of fill to construct a straight route across the Moose Creek valley, replacing the existing road alignment which curves north and crosses Moose Creek at the south end of Tsadaka Canyon.

The project area begins atop a steep bluff on the west side of Moose Creek at about MP 53 of the Glenn Highway, about 4 miles northeast of the official boundary of the city of Palmer (Figure 2). Within a distance of about 1500 feet, the project’s proposed direct impact area expands to 500 feet wide, encompassing the current road within its northern portion, until the road begins to turn to the north and descend into the Moose Creek valley. This 500-foot wide construction area continues straight across Moose Creek valley, joining the existing Glenn Highway again at the top of the bluff at about MP 55.5. The project end is about half a mile further east at about MP 56. From beginning to end the project area is about 2.2 miles long. The 500-foot wide portion of the proposed direct impact area is about a mile in length.

The proposed study area for this project is considered by DOT&PF to be the portion of the project area that will be directly affected by construction of the new alignment (Figure 2), as well as the area between the proposed new alignment and Tsadaka Canyon to the north and the Matanuska River to the south.

Methodology

All available archeological literature and the records of the Alaska Heritage Resource Survey (AHRS) were reviewed prior to the field survey, to compile information about previously recorded sites in the vicinity of the project area. An in-depth historical review was then conducted to identify potential types of properties and remains that might be encountered during survey of the project area. CVTC was contacted regarding the planned cultural resource survey.

CRC staff conducted pedestrian survey of the project area from July 8 to 16, 2009. The survey crew consisted of four members from CRC: Linda Finn Yarborough, Sarah Meitl, Aubrey Morrison, and Erika Malo. In addition, Angela Wade, head of the Environmental Stewardship Department of CVTC, assisted in general survey and documentation work on five different days. Gary Stevig, also from CVTC, spent part of one day assisting with the survey. Industrial archaeologist Paul White, of the University of Alaska Anchorage, assisted with documentation of the Moose Creek Coal Chute on two different days. Archaeologists Fran Seager-Boss, of the MSB, and Dan Stone assisted with survey for a few hours on July 8, 2009.

As requested by DOT&PF, a reconnaissance level pedestrian survey of the proposed area of disturbance was conducted on July 8, 2009. The crew subsequently conducted an intensive

3 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Figure 2. Project Area and Proposed Area of Disturbance. Area and Proposed Figure 2. Project

4 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 survey of the area that the project is proposed to directly affect. This included documentation of cultural resources that intersect with the project area, but extend beyond it.

The project area was roughly divided into four sections based on topography and access to facilitate survey. These consisted of the valley and bluff east of Moose Creek, the lowlands and farmed fields west of Moose Creek and south of a slide area on the western bluff, the western Moose Creek valley north of this slide area, and the western project area adjacent to the highway. Portions of the proposed area of disturbance in the vicinity of the road between the Long Farm upper and lower fields, and where slides had occurred along the west bluff of the Moose Creek valley, were excluded from pedestrian survey due to the area’s high degree of slope (over 45°) and/or slope instability. Pedestrian survey was conducted in 10 meter (m), or smaller, intervals within each section. With the exception of the upper field, all areas were forested. In the proposed direct impact area, shovel tests were used to search for potential sub-surface remains in approximately 200 m intervals. Shovel tests stopped at either glacial till, or approximately 80 to 100 centimeters below surface (cmbs) if no till was present. The upper field is grass covered, and the survey strategy was altered for this different environment to ensure adequate survey measures. Surveyors maintained 10 m transects but shovel tests were conducted in irregular, smaller intervals to accommodate the field’s shape and size so that several shovel tests were dispersed throughout the section of the field through which the proposed right-of-way passes. A metal detector was used to facilitate tracing railroad alignments, and identification of sub-surface metal historic remains.

Several large linear cultural resources were identified during survey. After documentation of the portions within the proposed area of disturbance, extensions of the linear cultural resources outside the proposed area of disturbance were also documented. This was done to ensure a more complete understanding of the resources when evaluating their significance and integrity for eligibility for the NRHP.

Background Information

Prehistory

The earliest archeological sites in the Upper Cook Inlet region have been found at Beluga Point on Turnagain Arm and along the upper Kenai River. These sites, which date to the early Holocene, have characteristic core and blade assemblages (Reger 1996:3). Other components at Beluga Point and sites along the Kenai River contain artifacts that are reminiscent of pieces found on the Alaska Peninsula 3,500 to 4,500 years ago (Reger 1996:3-5). The people that occupied those sites are known for their use and trade of obsidian.

There is a notable gap in the record between the early to middle Holocene occupations of the region and later cultures. However, during the last millennium B.C. and first millennium A.D., the Susitna River drainage and the interior of the Kenai Peninsula were inhabited by Pacific Eskimos who were taking advantage of the area’s rich salmon resources (Reger 1996:5). Reger (1996:6), who has termed these people “Riverine Kachemak,” believes they were related to coastal groups of Cook Inlet and had ties to the Norton culture of Bristol Bay region. Excavations of semi-

5 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 subterranean house depressions at Russian River have documented the presence of this fishing culture about 1,750 to 1,850 radiocarbon years ago (Corbett 1998).

During the second millennium A.D., the Eskimos in Upper Cook Inlet were replaced by ancestors of the historic Dena’ina people, although the Chugach Eskimo of Prince William Sound continued to use Turnagain Arm (Dumond and Mace 1968:19; Reger 1998:168). The earliest Dena’ina occupation appears to date to about 1,000 years ago (Corbett 2000:3). Late prehistoric Dena’ina sites “are numerous and scattered widely over the area” (Reger 1996:8). Their territory consisted of both the Matanuska and Susitna River drainages, west to Lake Iliamna, and south to Kachemak Bay (Cole et al. 1985).

Ethnography

Lisianski estimated the population of the Cook Inlet Dena’ina at about 3,000 individuals in 1805 (Lisianski 1968:188). By the late 1800s, the population had been decimated by disease and had fallen to about 1,000. By 1932, there were only about 650 Dena’ina (Osgood 1976:20). There were smallpox epidemics in 1808, 1818, 1835-40, and 1862 (Tikhmenev 1978:161, 198, 371), and although the Russians began to vaccinate residents of the Alaskan colonies in the 1820s (Arndt 1985:6), each outbreak of the disease had an impact on the population. Abercrombie (1900:399) referred to the epidemic of the 1830s as “extraordinary,” and said it “swept away half the native population from Prince of Wales Island to the Arctic.” Measles in 1848 and 1875, and influenza and typhus in 1855, also took their toll (Tikhmenev 1978:372, Abercrombie 1900:399).

The Dena’ina usually lived in villages in the winter and spent the summers at their camps procuring seasonal resources such as salmon and caribou. Prior to historic acculturation, winter houses were rectangular, gabled, and semisubterranean log buildings, with a subfloor excavated to a depth of two to five feet. They were designed with a tunnel entrance, one large room with a central raised hearth, and several side rooms (Osgood 1976:55-62). Houses in the Upper Cook Inlet area could be as large as 40 feet long by 30 feet wide, with four or five houses in a large village. Upper Cook Inlet summer houses were about 50 feet long, were constructed above ground of poles covered with birchbark, and doubled as smoke houses.

Temporary shelters included the semispherical lodge or “beaver house” that was built by lashing together bent alders with spruce roots. More poles were added to “form a framework” which was then covered with bark or skins. These lodges were usually elongated in shape, but round ones were built in the mountains for sweat bathing (Osgood 1976:62, 63). Lean-tos were constructed by lashing together poles with spruce roots and covering the poles with skins (Osgood 1966:64). Occasionally the Dena’ina made open camps by placing spruce boughs around a fire (Osgood 1966:65). A Dena’ina elder from the Kachemak Bay area told Osgood (1976:65) that for bedding at an open camp, “he digs a little hole in which he puts dry grass…[and then] he crawls in, covers himself with some more hay, and finally puts a sack over his head.”

Separate storage houses, or caches, were built on platforms from five to nine feet above the ground (Osgood 1976:65). In the Upper Inlet area, underground caches were also built at some distance from villages, and completely below ground, “so that strangers find them hard to detect”

6 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 (Osgood 1976:66). The Dena’ina were also known for their birch bark basketry and for the birch bark canoes that they used to travel on the vast systems of lakes and rivers connecting the coast to the interior (Cole et al. 1985).

In his ethnographic work of the early 1930s, Osgood noted that the primary Dena’ina settlements in the Upper Inlet area were Eklutna, Zdluiat, Nitak, Knakatuk, and Knik, generally southwest of this project’s study area (Osgood 1976:14). West of the study area, in what Osgood called the Susitna area, Dena’ina villages were located at Susitna Station, approximately 23 miles above the mouth of the Susitna River; Alexander Creek; and Kroto Creek with smaller settlements at Wasilla, Nancy Lake, and Red Shirt Lake (Learnard 1900:654; Reger 1980:3). Although settlements tended to be close to lakes, rivers, and large streams, the western Talkeetna Mountains in general were also part of the traditional use area, and served as an important hunting ground for moose, sheep, and caribou (Buzzell 1998).

The traditional area of the Ahtna encompasses the Copper River and its tributaries, and the upper drainages to the west of the Matanuska, Talkeetna and Susitna Rivers (Jacobs and Hirsch 1998:19). Both the Ahtna and the Dena’ina of Upper Cook Inlet report that an expansion of the Ahtna to the west occurred in the mid-nineteenth century (Kari and Fall 2003:289). However, the Ahtna version of the name for the Matanuska River, Ts’etuunh Na’, was documented in the late eighteenth century, in 1797 by Dmitrii Tarkhonov (Kari and Fall 2003:289). The name “Matanuska” itself may be a variant of the Russian name for the Ahtna in the early nineteenth century, Mednovtsy (Kari and Fall 2003:290). Consequently, the general areas called Tsidek’etna (Moose Creek and adjacent area) and Kisidlentnu (Wolverine Creek and adjacent area), both tributaries of the Matanuska River, and today considered traditional Chickaloon Tribal areas, are part of a somewhat transitional, shared area between people with more Dena’ina associations, and those with more Ahtna associations.

Although Dena’ina names for the area have been recorded by elders from upper Cook Inlet Tribal groups, the place names recorded for this general area by the Chickaloon Tribe are Ahtna (Larry Wade and Angela Wade, personal communication 2008). Many of these place names are documented in Shem Pete’s Alaska, to which a number of Chickaloon elders contributed (Kari and Fall 2003:289-311). Mendenhall recorded the name of the Creek as Tsadaka, which Captain Glenn recorded as meaning “moose” (Mendenhall 1898: Map 58, in Kari and Fall 2003:297). The general area that includes Moose Creek and the land around it, in which the project area is located, is known as Tsidek’etna’ (Ahtna), Chidaq’atnu (Dena’ina), Grandmother’s Place Creek (English meaning of Tsidek’etna’ and Chidaq’atnu), Tsadaka, and Moose Creek (Kari and Fall 2003). C’ek’aali Cene’, or “Whetstone Flat” is the Ahtna place name for the “long bluff on the north side of Matanuska River between Palmer and Moose Creek”. According to Johnny Shaginoff, a village was earlier located on this bluff, west of the mouth of Moose Creek (Kari and Fall 2003:296), and was a well known place among both Dena’ina and Ahtna. The village’s exact location remains unknown. Mr. Shaginoff also reported another village, named Cizdlende, Cisidlende (Ahtna) and Kiydlent (Denaina) on the south bank of the Matanuska, several miles below the confluence of Wolverine Creek and the Matanuska River, and slightly downstream from and opposite of the mouth of Moose Creek (Kari and Fall 2003:292).

7 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 A variety of outside influences challenged the continuation of Ahtna culture in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. During the Russian period, to 1867, the Ahtna were in contact with both Russian and British traders, and were introduced to European trade goods, including rifles, and iron tools (Jacob and Hirsch 1998:23). The more dispersed population and settlement pattern of the Chickaloon Ahtna, in contrast to the Ahtna of the Copper River, has resulted in less “official” documented history that for other groups of people in Upper Cook Inlet (Jacob and Hirsch 1998:29). The rough and rapid waters of the upper Matanuska and Chickaloon Rivers made navigation to the Chickaloon territory difficult for the Russians, and later, for the Americans. During both the Russian and American periods, non-native immigrants brought with them disease and alcohol, which were devastating to the upper Cook Inlet Native populations (Fortuine 1989:203, 234).

By the early twentieth century, the Chickaloon Ahtna were involved in the fur trade, and in contact with gold and copper miners (Jacobs and Hirsch 1998:27). The establishment of Anchor- age in 1914 and the development of the Alaska Railroad north to Fairbanks resulted in the emigration of a large non-native population to upper Cook Inlet. Schools were established that discouraged speaking Native languages. The demand for coal for fuel during World War I brought coal miners, and an Alaska Railroad spur, to the Matanuska and Chickaloon Rivers area. When mines were established in the Matanuska coal fields near the Chickaloon River, the Alaska Railroad established a branch line to the area. Many of the Chickaloon Ahtna worked seasonally for the miners or the railroad, and many Chickaloon Ahtna women married non-native men who came to the area as part of the work force (Wade 2004).

After World War II, in the late 1940s, the Alaska Road Commission (ARC), supported by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) and the U.S. Department of the Army planned to reconstruct and surface the Glenn Highway between Palmer and the Richardson Highway to the east. In 1950 and 1951, the road upgrade construction work occurred as a joint project between the ARC and the BPR, funded by the U.S. Congress (Naske 1986:227-229; Noyes 1951:5). The upgraded road facilitated communication between the Chickaloon Ahtna and the Copper River Ahtna, and also brought visitors and non-native immigrants to the area (Jacobs and Hirsch 1998:37).

Despite the increasing proximity and influence of non-native culture and commerce, conveniences and foods, disease and increasing pressure on subsistence resources, including the mining-related destruction of the salmon runs in Moose Creek and the Chickaloon River, many of the Chickaloon Ahtna continued to pursue traditional subsistence practices (Jacobs and Hirsch 1998:28; Wade 2004). The Wade and Larson families hunted and gathered berries throughout the Moose Creek/Tsidek’etna area during the 1940s and 1950s (Kari and Fall 2003:297; Lawrence Wade, personal communication 2008). However, the twentieth century was a time in which many drifted away from traditional cultural knowledge (Wade 2004:16).

Railroad and Coal Mining Developments in the Matanuska Valley

Mining interests began to shift from gold to coal in the Matanuska Valley in the early twentieth century. Miners first learned about the good quality coal of the Matanuska Coal Fields from the Dena’ina and Ahtna. Mendelhall observed coal seams along the creek bluffs while following the

8 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 trail cut by Lt. Castner’s expedition up the Matanuska Valley, and reported on his observations in 1900 (Mendenhall, in Seager-Boss 1994:38). However, serious development of this resource did not occur until after 1914 due to a lack of good transport options and President Roosevelt’s executive order that withdrew all coal lands from entry beginning in 1906 (Bauer and Cole 1985: 3,10,13).

Around 1904, Frank Watson built the Watson trail on the general route of Lt. Castner’s earlier blazed trail, at a cost of $40,000, to facilitate access and the shipment of coal from his coal claim in Chickaloon to Knik, the nearest trade center. Interest in developing coal resources in the Matanuska Valley was still high after Roosevelt’s withdrawal of land. The Dalton Trail was built by Jack Dalton and connected the Carle Wagon Road to the west with the Watson Chickaloon Trail at Moose Creek. The material for the Navy’s coal suitability test for the fleet was shipped over this trail in 1913 (Seager-Boss 1994:40).

The Navy’s test confirmed that Matanuska Coal was worth mining, but the trails developed were not suited to heavy, year-round traffic that the mines would need in order to be profitable. The complexity of the competing problems of Roosevelt’s aim to limit monopolies, yet aid development eventually prompted the federal government to build a railroad that would connect Alaskan settlements with potential resources. Reaching the Matanuska coalfields was a priority for the new government venture (Bauer and Cole 1985:17).

Between 1915 and 1924, the Alaska Engineering Commission (AEC) Railway was extended north from the new town of Anchorage toward Matanuska, Palmer, and Fairbanks. The Matanuska Branch aimed to connect the rich coalfields in the Matanuska Valley to consumers, including small Alaskan communities, the Alaska Railroad, and the U.S. Navy. The Matanuska Branch reached Moose Creek in 1916 and by 1917 the rail connected Chickaloon with Matanuska Junction (MSBCRD 1989:23); in some places the rail line followed the Chickaloon trail (Seager-Boss 1994:41). The Matanuska Branch is occasionally referred to as the Chickaloon Spur by some researchers and historians. Numerous mines began producing coal for transport along the Matanuska Branch and for the railroad’s own consumption (Bauer and Cole 1985:18).

The Doherty Mine, developed by R.G. Doherty a little less than a mile up Moose Creek, opened in 1916, and was the first mine on Moose Creek. It was also the first to ship out coal on the new rail system (Fitch 1967:67).

In 1916, documented by the official AEC photographer Phinney S. Hunt, the AEC built the Moose Creek Spur, and with construction of the spur and coal chute, loaded the first coal from the Doherty mine in August (Figures 3 and 4). Some 200 feet higher in elevation, the Doherty mine narrow gauge rail was built to transport coal from the mine to the top of a coal chute constructed that same year, from which coal was loaded onto AEC trains, which could then transport the coal to Palmer and Anchorage. It is unclear at this time if the AEC or Doherty Mine built the coal chute.

9 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 3. Coal Bunkers, Moose Creek, Alaska. Photograph by Phinney S. Hunt, number A.E.C.G130. AMRC-aec-g130.

It seems likely that the Doherty mine workers built the narrow gauge rail that bears the mine’s name. The Doherty Mine was unusual among mines in the Matanuska Valley, because of its developed infrastructure, which enabled it to transport its coal from the mine in small ore cars via a narrow gauge tram railroad, rather than by sled, to the coal bunkers adjacent to the AEC Railway (Waring 1934:162, 1936:22) (Figure 5).

The AEC Railway’s Moose Creek Spur ran in 1916 at least from the Matanuska Branch up to the coal chute to which the Doherty Mine transported its coal. Research to date has not clarified whether construction of the Spur further up the Moose Creek valley occurred in 1916 or 1917.

Success of coal development on Moose Creek seemed sure in 1917 when the Baxter Mine opened 4.5 miles up Moose Creek (Apell 1944:6). By 1918, considerable infrastructure was in place along, and near the mouth of, Moose Creek to transport coal from the Doherty and Baxter Mines to the Matanuska Branch (Figure 6).

However, the Baxter Mine became the only mine on Moose Creek when the Doherty Mine closed in 1918 (AHRS 2009). The coal bunkers near the Moose Creek spur were abandoned by

10 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 4. “Loading the First Coal”, from the Doherty Mine. Photograph by Phinney S. Hunt, number A.E.C.G12. AMRC-aec-g12.

1923, although the spur was still in operation (Patrick Durand, personal communication 2009). The Baxter Mine closed in 1925, but by that time the Rawson and Alaska Matanuska Mines, and the Premier Mine, 6.75 miles and 3.75 miles, respectively, up Moose Creek, were under development or opening for production (Apell 1944:6-7).

The need for expanded infrastructure was considerable and a narrow gauge rail was built up Moose Creek to the Rawson and Alaska Matanuska Mines in 1923 (Apell 1944:7, MSBCRD 1989:74). Before the spur was extended many of the mines were only operational in the winter so that sleds could be used for transport (MSBCRD 1989:74). In 1926, the rail was updated to standard gauge to the Premier Mine (Apell 1944:7; Bauer and Cole 1985:17). The spur continued to be extended over the years until it reached a total length of 7 miles and extended beyond the Wishbone Hill Mine. The first four miles of the spur were standard gauge, while the last three were narrow gauge. The spur crossed or ran very close to Moose Creek for many miles (MSBCRD 1989:38) and was prone to flood damage (Barnes and Payne 1956:7). The spur was inactive for an unknown period of time previous to 1941, when the line was rehabilitated for use by the Alaska Railroad (Barnes and Payne 1956:80).

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Figure 5. “Doherty’s Coal Mine”. Photograph by Phinney S. Hunt, number A.E.C.G47. AMRC-aec-g47.

Other spurs in the Matanuska Valley were developed for coal transport to connect to the Matanuska Branch. Rail lines were put in at Eska and Chickaloon, two other major coal mining locations. Both of these areas were actively developed by the U.S. government. The railroad was not the only transportation route into or through the Matanuska Valley. Other trails, including the Watson and Dalton Trails, provided access to areas away from the rail line. Along the rail line some people traveled on the improved Watson-Chickaloon trail used to construct the Matanuska Branch (U.S. Department of the Interior [USDI] 1929:103), but beyond Chickaloon the only option was the unimproved Chickaloon-Nelchina trail.

The Matanuska rail system began its decline with the closure of the Chickaloon Mine and by 1933 the railroad began removing the unused tracks between Sutton and Chickaloon (MSBCRD 1989:38-39). All the tracks on the Matanuska Branch east of Sutton were removed by 1940 (MSBCRD 1989:39). The tracks west of Sutton continued to be heavily used as coal and supplies moved up and down the Eska and Moose Creek Spurs onto the Matanuska Branch.

Trucking became a factor in the transport of coal from the mines once rail lines became unfeasi- ble, either physically or fiscally, and quality roads were developed. In September 1942 Moose Creek flooded to such an extent that it washed out several sections of the Moose Creek Spur.

12 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Figure 6. “Map of Definite Location ~ “A” Line, Moose Creek to Baxter Coal Mine, STA.0+00 to STA.216+00, May 1918”. to STA.216+00, Figure 6. “Map of Definite Location ~ “A” Line, Moose Creek to Baxter Coal Mine, STA.0+00 Alaskan Engineering Commission. Department of the Interior,

13 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 The spur was not repaired due to the severity of the damage (Apell 1944:5; MSBCRD 1989:39). In 1941 the ARC, supported by the military, began to improve the road connecting the mines to Palmer and Anchorage, which allowed trucks to haul the coal from the mines after the 1942 floods. Some of the coal went directly to market by independent haulers (Apell 1944:26), but some trucks brought coal to a coal dump on a hill above an intact section of the Moose Creek Spur (Figure 7). Coal from the dump was sent down the side of the hill on a “long extension” into a tipple that funneled the coal into cars on the Moose Creek Spur (Barnes and Payne 1956:9; Patrick Durand, personal communication 2009). When the tipple was built and how long it functioned is currently unknown, although trucks still fed coal through the tipple to cars on the Moose Creek Spur as late as the 1950s (Patrick Durand, personal communication 2009). The Station Road, connecting the railroad’s Moose Creek Section to the Glenn Highway, was also in place by at least the early 1940s and provided an alternative access to the station (Figure 7).

Demand for coal began to drop as both the military and railroad began to switch from coal to gas and diesel, respectively in the 1950s and 1960s (MSBCRD 1989:40, 41, 44). Coal mines began to close and less freight was available for the railroad to haul along the Matanuska Branch. In addition, by the early 1950s, the Glenn Highway and subsidiary roads had been greatly improved, and connected the Matanuska Valley communities that previously only the railroad had serviced (MSBCRD 1989:44). In 1968, the Evan Jones mine closed and one year later the Matanuska Branch ceased all operations east of Palmer (MSBCRD 1989:44).

Development of Trails and Roads

According to both Dena’ina and Ahtna elders, trails rather than boats were used to travel along the Matanuska River, because of the river’s swift and rocky nature. Between late fall and spring, people traveling on the trail “just about where the road is running today” pulled their belongings and supplies on sleds (Kari and Fall 2003:290; McKinley in Kari and Fall 2003:290). Trails over mountain passes were also used to travel to other river drainages, such as the trail noted by Johnny Shaginoff that “led up Moose Creek and over the mountains to the upper Kashwitna River” (Kari and Fall 2003:297)

Lt. Castner blazed a trail from Knik up the Matanuska valley to Hicks Creek during his expedition to the Tanana River in 1898 (Seager-Boss 1994:38). This trail served as a foundation for the “Chickaloon-Knik-Nelchina trail”. Frank Watson improved the section from Knik to Chickaloon from a pack trail to a wagon road between 1904-1910 so he could reach his coal claim in Chickaloon.

From Knik (circa. 1912), early explorers took a horse trail that reached to the upper end of the Matanuska Valley. It would take horses from 1 to 2 days to reach Moose Creek, depending on their load; and another day to day and a half to go from Moose Creek to Chickaloon River (Bauer and Cole 1985:6).

This trail is seen on Sleem’s map (1910) and is named the “Chickaloon Trail.” No trails were depicted past Chickaloon (Sleem 1910). In 1913 miners blazed a trail out from Chickaloon to the Nelchina district, where a new gold rush started. This trail ended at the new town of

14 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Figure 7. Detail of map from USGS Bulletin 1016, surveyed in 1943-1944, showing the route newly constructed Glenn High- and the above the Moose Creek Spur, the dirt truck road west of Moose Creek from Glenn Highway to edge bluff way, Moose Creek Station Road. Source: Barnes and Payne 1956, plate 2.

15 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Nelchina, which was founded at the mouth of Crooked Creek (Bauer and Cole 1985:40). The trail was mapped by the USGS in 1918 while investigating the Nelchina-Susitna area (Chapin 1918). These two trails enabled travel from Chickaloon to either Knik or Nelchina, hence the name “Chickaloon-Knik-Nelchina” trail. The trail was used as the railroad construction road during construction of the Matanuska Branch, and was re-built as the “Moose-Palmer wagon road” sometime prior to 1937 (Dale et al. 1991:21, USDI 1937). This trail was, for many years, the best way for people and goods to move in and out of the Matanuska Valley. Local residents such as Katie Wade (2004) recalled walking, rather than taking the train, between Palmer and Moose Creek in the 1930s and 1940s along this trail, which provided alternative access to residences, settlements, and railroad stations or sections.

Between 1910 and 1913 Jack Dalton constructed the Dalton trail from mile 24 of the Carle Wagon Road, in the Little Susitna River valley, across the flat area south of the Arkose Ridge to join Watson’s Chickaloon Trail. This was a slightly more direct route to bring coal out to Knik, and by 1913 the ARC had upgraded the Carle Wagon Road for the gold miners in the Willow Creek Mining district, making it probably a better road for hauling supplies. However, Watson’s trail ultimately became the more used and better developed non-rail route to Moose Creek and Chickaloon. The 1916 U.S. Survey map of Township 18 North, Range 2 East, Seward Meridian, shows both trails, with the Dalton Trail joining Watson’s trail at Moose Creek (U.S. Surveyor General’s Office 1916) (Figure 8).

Alaska’s importance as a transportation and defense center became apparent before the United State’s entrance into World War II, but little defense-related construction was accomplished before Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Construction soon began in earnest to complete the means for Alaska’s defense, which included building roads, runways, and military bases. The Glenn Highway from Matanuska to Glennallen was part of that construction effort.

Military commanders wanted to have multiple routes to shuttle supplies to their military bases and gave top priority to “the construction of a road connecting Anchorage with the Richardson Highway via the Matanuska” (MSBCRD 1989:26). This route would ensure that supplies or troops between Anchorage and Fairbanks could move overland. Construction on the Glenn Highway started at both ends of the road in 1941 (MSBCRD 1989:26), but it was originally known as the Palmer-Richardson Highway (USDI 1941:6). By 1943-1944 the road was called the Glenn Highway (Territorial Board of Road Commissioners 1945), was completed in 1945 (MSBCRD 1989:27; United States 1945:11), and opened to the public in 1946 (Figure 7, above) (MSBCRD 1989:27).

The road was twenty feet wide and generally followed an old pack trail, Chickaloon-Knik- Nelchina trail, or the old railroad bed of the Matanuska Branch, also known more recently as the Chickaloon Spur (MSBCRD 1989:26-27; Seager-Boss 1994:42). The builders of the Glenn Highway utilized the abandoned railroad bed from Sutton to Chickaloon (Irwin 1968:114). USGS Bulletin 668 Plate 1 shows a trail extending out from Chickaloon to meet up with a “military road” (the Richardson highway), but it does not name the trail (Chapin 1918). The Glenn Highway generally follows the path of the trail, except the Glenn Highway stays closer to the Nelchina River, instead of going around a higher elevation area, and runs farther north from

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Figure 8. Detail of “Township No. 18 North, Range No. 2 East of the Seward Meridian, Alaska. Matanuska Coal Fields”. the Tazlina River.

During the late 1940s, the Palmer Highway was integrated into the Glenn Highway system and plans were made to reconstruct and surface the road (Noyes 1951:8). This round of construction was part of a larger effort that reconstructed the Glenn, Richardson, and Alaska highways during the late 1940s and early 1950s. While the paving of Alaska’s main roads envisioned by the ARC and BPR would benefit the state’s resident population, and businesses such as mining and farming, this improvement work was sought and supported by the U.S. Department of the Army. By 1946, concern about the Soviet Union’s actions in eastern Europe and their expressed desire for world domination led to the Cold War. As noted in Naske’s Paving Alaska’s Trails (1986:227), “On October 28, 1947, Kenneth C. Royall, the secretary of the army, told Secretary of the Interior Julius A. ‘Cap’ Krug that the limited capacity of the Alaska Railroad and the deficiencies of ‘the road system in mainland Alaska jeopardize the mission of National Defense’.”

The support of the army bases in Alaska and development of Alaska’s strategic raw materials were considered “vital necessities for effective national defense”, which required a road system “not only adequate for peacetime use but capable of sustaining the increased traffic which an

17 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 emergency would impose.” Royall argued that defense of Alaska would protect the contiguous 48 states against attack, and that “adequate transportation routes from the contiguous states to Alaska and within the territory were of utmost importance for the logistics support of the military.” He specifically named Alaska’s main routes and included the Glenn, Richardson, and Seward highways. Royall urged improvement to all-year, all-weather road standards, citing dependence on the Alaska Railroad as a weak link in the defense system. In 1948, Congress approved the massive six-year road development program that ultimately cost more than $125,000,000 (Naske 1986:227-229).

This road upgrade construction work was a joint project between the ARC and the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) (Noyes 1951:5). All roads in Alaska were “reclassified at this time, on the basis of traffic, into three classes: primary, or through roads; secondary, or feeder roads; and tertiary, or local roads” (Noyes 1951:6). The Glenn Highway was classed as a “through” or “primary” road (Noyes 1951:Table 7).

The road between Palmer and Mile 102 (Glenn Highway, Section B-1) was improved between 1949 and 1953 (MSBCRD 1989:27; Noyes 1951:13). McLauglin Incorporated got the contract on May 25, 1949 to renovate section B-1 of the Glenn Highway (Noyes 1951: 11). The other sections of the Glenn Highway (B-2, B-3) were not started until 1950 (Noyes 1951: 12). The highway section B-1 was 54 miles long and was originally designed by the Bureau of Public Roads, but those were only straight-line diagrams. Hence, McLauglin Incorporated was responsible for the final product design as,

[t]his type of preliminary engineering permits early contract letting based on estimated quantities, but requires that the detailed design be performed by the construction engineering forces while the contract is actually being carried on (Noyes 1951:14).

The ARC supervised the work (Noyes 1951:13), which aimed to upgrade the roads for year- round traffic, capable of handling military vehicles (Naske 1986:227). Before the road was reconstructed, “on the Glenn highway almost all of the main bridges were one-way structures with a width of 14 feet” (Noyes 1951:17-18). Most of these bridges were replaced starting in 1950 (Noyes 1951:18).

The Glenn Highway was the main route between Fairbanks and Anchorage between 1946, when the road was opened for civilian traffic, and 1971, when the Parks Highway was built (MSBCRD 1989:27). After the road was opened to civilian traffic people soon began to settle along the road and open businesses to serve travelers. The Glenn Highway was as important to the area as the opening of the Chickaloon spur several decades before. The Glenn Highway was designated a National Scenic Byway in 2002.

Settlement and Homesteading in the Matanuska Valley

The Homestead Act In order to encourage settlement on public land, Congress passed the Homestead Act in 1862

18 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 (Carberry and Lane 1986:183). This Act provided that anyone who was at least 21 years old, head of household, and a U. S. citizen—or intending on becoming one—was entitled to 160 acres (1/4 section) of public land. Homesteaders had to file notice with the nearest land office and were required to live on the land, build a home, and cultivate the land for five years before they could receive the land title. At the end of five years, they had to pay filing fees totaling $18.00 and provide two witnesses who could guarantee that the homesteader had lived on the land for the required length of time and had made the required improvements (National Park Service 2009a and 2009b).

The Homestead Act was extended to Alaska in 1898 as the Alaska Homestead Law (Naske and Slotnick 1994:86). However, under this law, homesteaders in Alaska were only entitled to a maximum of 80 acres of land instead of the 160 acres allowed in the rest of the United States (Naske and Slotnick 1994:86). Also under the Alaska Homestead Law, only surveyed lands could be homesteaded; this proved to be a problem in Alaska as most of the land was still unsurveyed (Carberry and Lane 1986:183). Alaskan homesteaders had to pay for land surveys out of their own pockets (Naske and Slotnick 1994:86), which were as much as $15 to $20 a day, not including the cost of travel (Johnson and Stanton 1955:18).

Changes were made to the Homestead Act in 1903 that allowed a maximum of 320 acres (160 acres in National Forests) per homestead in Alaska (Georgeson 1916:11, 29). In 1912, the homestead residency requirements were reduced from five years to three years. Homesteaders had to build a habitable house and establish residency within the first six months. A leave of absence for up to five months was allowed, but 14 months of continuous residency were required. At least one-sixteenth of the land had to be cultivated by the second year and at least one-eighth of the land by the third year (USDI 1914:34-35). This meant that out of 320 acres, 40 acres had to be under cultivation by the third year. This prompted C. C. Georgeson (1916:29), the agronomist with the Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station to write:

On the whole, the amount of land allowed is more than the ordinary man can handle and comply with the laws…Without the means to clear the land rapidly and get it under cultivation, the large majority of settlers will find the task a heavy one, and it will greatly retard the fuller development of the country (Georgeson 1916:29).

In 1913, the Alaska territorial legislature and the field representative for the General Land Office began to press for a reduction in the allowable acreage from the maximum 320 acres to 160 acres, citing the difficulty for Alaskans to meet the cultivation requirements because of the short warm weather season and the difficulty in clearing the mostly forested land (Carberry and Lane 1986:183-184). In 1916, Congress passed a billed introduced by Alaskan Delegate James Wickersham to change the maximum acreage to 160 acres “of surveyed or unsurveyed land” (Carberry and Lane 1986:184). In 1919, Public Law 257 was passed changing the residency requirements on homesteads. Homesteaders now had the option of residing on their land for six months out of each year for four years or for five months out of each year for five years. This proved beneficial as it meant that a homesteader could leave his land to find seasonal employment elsewhere for six or seven months out of each year (Carberry and Lane 1986:184).

19 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 The Taylor Grazing Act was passed in 1934 which tied up land in the Lower 48 into grazing districts (BLM 2008). This left very little land available for homesteading, basically putting an end to homesteading in the Lower 48 (Carberry and Lane 1986:184; University of Wisconsin 1969:262). Since the act was not extended to Alaska (BLM 2008), land was still open for homestead entries (Carberry and Lane 1986:184).

Under the original Homestead Act, special provisions had been made for military veterans under the Soldiers and Sailors Additional Rights Statues. In 1947, this was amended under the Alaska Veterans’ Homesteading Act of 1947. This allowed military personnel who had served “at least ninety days” to apply that service “up to two years…in place of residence and cultivation requirements” (Carberry and Lane 1986:184). With a homestead residency requirement of three years, this meant that it was possible for a veteran to receive his land title after one year (Carberry and Lane 1986:184).

After statehood, changes were made to the disposal of land in Alaska, at first through auctions and later through land lotteries (Alaska Office of Economic Development (AOED) 2009). The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 repealed the Homestead Act, but it was postponed in Alaska until 1986 (BLM 2009a). The Homestead Program was begun in 1984 which allowed 40 non-agricultural acres or 160 agricultural acres of land to be chosen. Later on, prerequisites were added which included U.S. citizenship and Alaska residency for one year prior to filing a claim (AOED 2009).

Homesteading in the Matanuska Valley Different dates have been given for the beginning of homesteading in the Matanuska Valley. W. A. Rockie (1946:14) notes that homesteading began around 1900, but really did not take off until 1915 when the Matanuska Agricultural Experiment Station was established. According to Don Irwin (1968:19) the first homestead entry was filed by Daniel McArdle on January 8, 1915. Homestead filings in the Matanuska Valley were recorded in Knik where a U. S. Deputy Commissioner’s Office had been established in 1910 (Irwin 1968:19). Many of the early homesteaders were trappers, fishermen, miners, and a small number of farmers (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] 1949:50).

Clearing the land was not an easy task in the Matanuska Valley. Spruce, birch, aspen, cottonwood, and alder covered most of the land. Georgeson (1916:26) estimates that there were from 200 to 300 trees per acre, with diameters of anywhere from 6 to 24 inches. After the trees were cut down and the logs “skidded away,” the stumps had to be removed (Miller 1975:21). This was done “with grubbing hoe and ax” or the stumps were burned. Horses or oxen, if they were even available, were used to pull out larger stumps. Homesteaders with no work animals had to resort to homemade methods to pull out the stumps. Then the moss that covered the ground had to be removed. Either it was burned in place, or if it was too wet, it was cut out and put in piles to be burned later when it had dried (Miller 1975:21).

About 132 homesteads had been recorded in the Matanuska Valley by the end of 1914, and more homesteads had been located but not yet filed (Johnson and Stanton 1955:22). Homesteads were spread throughout the Matanuska Valley, “from Lazy Mountain on the east, Knik Village on the

20 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 west, Matanuska village on the south, and the coal mines on Moose Creek and the gold mines in the Little Susitna Valley on the North” (Snodgrass (1985:161). Georgeson (1916:28) reported that by the middle of 1915, nearly all of the prime agricultural land had been settled in the Matanuska Valley. He surmised that even more land would be settled once the railroad pushed through. In 1916, the U. S. Deputy Commissioner’s Office was closed in Knik, and the records were moved to Anchorage (Irwin 1968:29).

The majority of the homesteaders filing entries in 1915 planned on farming their land. Home- stead entries peaked in 1916, when “111 entries were recorded” (Johnson and Stanton 1955:28, 29). From 1915 to 1930, nearly 350 homestead entries were made in the Matanuska Valley, but not many filers received their land title (Irwin 1968:20). According to Irwin (1968:20), “[m]any of the entries were relinquished, [and] many more did not do sufficient work to qualify for patent on their filings.” During World War I, some homesteaders abandoned their land after they en- listed or were drafted and never returned to the Valley (Irwin 1968:20). According to Johnson and Stanton (1955:33), “the influx of men interested in farming ended after 1918.”

In 1920, the economic outlook for Alaska was declining. The population had decreased, and the people who were still living on their farms were not fulltime farmers (Johnson and Stanton 1955:37). Many of them worked in the mines, for the railroad, or for the ARC to supplement their incomes (Johnson and Stanton 1955:37). By 1923, 72 homesteaders out of the 172 patented homesteads in the Matanuska Valley were living on their land, and the other 100 were elsewhere in Alaska.

Starting in 1929, the Alaska Railroad began promoting farming in the Matanuska Valley through a “revitalized agricultural development program” that lasted until 1933 (Snodgrass 1985:161). In 1929, through the efforts of M. D. Snodgrass, who was the promotional agent for the Alaska Railroad, 55 homesteaders arrived in the Matanuska Valley (Irwin 1968:111). By the beginning of 1930, most of the best land had already been homesteaded; what was still available “was either infertile or inaccessible” (Johnson and Stanton 1955:37). By the summer of 1935 when the Matanuska colonists reached the valley, “old settler” farms (as they were known) numbered about 75 (USDA 1949:50).

Of the land chosen for homesteading by World War II veterans, most was unfit for producing “prosperous farms” (Johnson and Stanton 1955:93). The difficulties of homesteading prompted some to leave after only a year (Johnson Stanton 1955:93). Most veterans did not have the experience needed for farming (Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 1954:15). Out of the 110 homestead entries made between 1945 and 1950, only 11 homesteaders were farming full time, 42 depended on supplemental employment, and 57 were either unaccounted for or had left the area (Johnson and Stanton 1955:93). The homesteaders farming full-time had the advantage of being close to development and had “large portions of tillable land.” Besides supporting their families, the part-time farmers were using some of their supplemental income to make improvements to their farms. The homesteaders who left—many of whom were single men— had “poor land” and were further away from developed areas (Johnson and Stanton 1955:94).

21 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 By 1950, bulldozers made clearing the land more expedient, but land clearing was still “the most expensive and hardest problem of the new settler in Alaska” (USDA 1949:50, 126). A booklet put out by the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation in 1955 entitled 20 Years of Progress in the Matanuska Valley Alaska offered the following advice to potential homesteaders,

There is very little good agricultural land available for homesteading within short dis tances of roads and electricity in Alaska. The best procedure to follow if you want to homestead in Alaska is to first come to the Territory with a round trip ticket, look over the country, and if you find an area that you wish to homestead, mark the area and file an entry with the nearest office of the BLM. You then have 6 months to establish residence during which time you can return to your home and gather up your belongings and pre pare for a three year siege with the elements. The number of homesteads that have been developed into going farms is very small. This has been due to a great extent to the lack of adequate financing and lack of available market for farm products. There is plenty of good farm land still open in Alaska, but it may be a while before you can drive there (Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation 1955:34).

The BLM (1954:15) declared, “Alaska is no place to develop a farm on a shoestring. It takes money, a lot of money.” The potentially successful homesteader or farmer in Alaska had a rural background, was physically fit for the strenuous work, and resourceful (BLM 1954:15).

Homesteads at Moose Creek Johnson Homestead. On November 7, 1921, Gust William Johnson received the title to Block 17 in the Moose Townsite, U. S. Survey 1152, located adjacent to the current route of the Station Road (BLM 2009b) (Figure 9). Johnson was appointed as the Moose Creek postmaster on De- cember 6, 1917; this post office closed on March 31, 1922 (Irwin 1968:143). There is a William G. Johnson listed in the 1920 U. S. Census at Moose Creek (U. S. Bureau of the Census (USBC) 1920a). He was a roadhouse proprietor, and his wife Anna was the roadhouse cook. A search of the 1920 census did not yield a Gust William Johnson. It is possible that William G. Johnson and Gust William Johnson are one and the same. In addition, in the 1920 census, the William T. Leroy family is recorded on the same census page right after the Johnsons which indicates that the Leroys and Johnsons lived near each other. (The Leroys owned the homestead north of the Moose Townsite; see below.)

Born in Sweden in 1864, William immigrated to the U. S. in about 1881; his wife Anna, born in Norway in about 1866, immigrated to the U. S. in 1884. They were married in about 1890 (USBC 1910a). The Johnsons were living in Nome in 1910 where William was employed as a miner (USBC 1910a). The 1910 census lists a daughter that was born in 1895 in Washington. According to the 1930 U. S. Census for the Moose Creek Coal Mine, Johnson was still employed as a roadhouse proprietor, and Anna was a housewife (USBC 1930a). To date, no further information about William G. or Gust William Johnson has been found.

In 1988, U. S. Survey 1152 (including the Johnson property) was deeded to Cook Inlet Region, Inc. by the BLM (Alaska State Recorder’s Office 2009).

22 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 9. The locations of homesteads in the Moose Creek area, in relation to the railroad reserve and Moose Townsite.

23 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Kleinsmith Homestead. John Julius Kleinsmith (or Kleinschmidt) received the title for 38 acres east of the Moose Townsite in Section 1, Lot 5, on July 21, 1949 (BLM 2009c). Kleinsmith was born in Minnesota on October 19, 1897, to John Julius and Emma Kleinschmidt (Social Security Death Index 2009; Miller Squared Family Tree 2009). In the 1905 Minnesota census (Census of Minnesota 1905) and 1910 U. S. Census (USBC 1910b), the Kleinschmidt family was living in the town of Morgan in Redwood County, Minnesota, where John’s father was a farmer. By the late 1910s, John was in Montana. A World War I draft card issued in 1918 in Union, Dawson County, Montana, notes that John was a laborer for Fred Fishhouse (Ancestry.com 2009a). In 1920, John was still living in Dawson, Montana, and was working as a farmhand for the Buttleman family with whom he lived (USBC 1920b). By 1930, he had his own farm in Prairie County, Montana (USBC 1930b). His World War II draft card, issued in 1942, notes that he was single with no dependents, was living in Minnesota, and worked in an “unskilled transportation occupation” (Ancestry.com 2009b).

Kleinsmith moved to the Moose Creek area sometime after World War II. According to Charlene Schmidtkunz (personal communication 2009), Kleinsmith lived alone and worked at the Moose Creek Mine. His cabin, now fallen down and covered over with forest debris, overlooked a bluff; a road ran from his cabin to the Station Road. Katie Wade, who lived on the 40-acre cabin site to the east, looked after Kleinsmith during his later years. He left his property to the American Red Cross (Charlene Schmidtkunz, personal communication 2009). Kleinsmith died in January 1980 (Social Security Death Index 2009); the American Red Cross received the deed for this property on October 6, 1980 (Alaska State Recorder’s Office 2009). In 1997, the American Red Cross deeded this property to the CVTC (Alaska State Recorder’s Office 2009). In 2005, Lawrence Wade and Teresa Holbrook were deeded Parcel 1 (Lot C11) on this lot and are the current owners (Alaska State Recorder’s Office 2009; MSB 2009). The Usibelli Coal Mine is the owner of the northern portion of the former Kleinsmith homestead that is located north of the Glenn Highway (Lot C9; MSB 2009).

Leroy Homestead. William T. Leroy received the title to 160 acres in Section 2, S1/2NE, SENW, NESW, on the eastern side of Moose Creek and north and west of Moose Townsite on September 9, 1921 (BLM 2009d). William was born in Michigan on April 23, 1865; his wife Inez (nee Calvert) was born in Oregon on January 12, 1883 (California Death Index 2009). By the time of the 1910 Federal census, the Leorys had only been married a few months and were living in Chehalis County, Washington, where William owned a saloon (USBC 1910c). By 1920, the Leroys were farming at Moose Creek (USBC 1920a). They must have been at Moose Creek at least by 1918 since the homesteading residency requirement at this time was three years. He apparently served as the Recorder of the General Land Office for a while, as his signature is on several patents from the 1920s including his own.

At the time of the 1930 census, the Leroy family was living in Humboldt, California. William’s occupation is listed as a dairy farmer, and his son David worked in a lumber mill (USBC 1930c). Inez died on July 28, 1950, and William died on January 4, 1959, both in Humboldt County, California (California Death Index 2009). Their son David died in Humboldt, California, on January 9, 1971 (California Death Index 2009). In 1973, William E. and Katherine M. Long purchased the Moose Creek property from David’s estate (Alaska State Recorder’s Office 2009)

24 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 and are the current owners. James and Paula Fowler became part owners of Lots A7 and A8 in 2008 (Alaska State Recorder’s Office 2009; MSB 2009).

Opsahl Homestead. Another homestead in the Moose Creek area was that of Ole Opsahl, west of Moose Creek on the northern side of the Glenn Highway. Born in 1858 in Norway, Opsahl immigrated to the U. S. in 1881 and became a U. S. citizen in 1888 (USBC 1920c). In the early 1900s, he was living in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, where he worked as a miner (USBC 1900 and 1910d). At the time of the 1920 census, he was in Anchorage; his occupation is listed as a farmer (USBC 1920c). On November 15, 1921, he received the title to 157 acres west of Moose Creek in Section 3, N1/2SE, SWSE (BLM 2009e). Since the homestead requirement at this time was a residency of three years in order to receive a land title, Opsahl would have been living on his land at Moose Creek at least by 1918. Since homesteaders were allowed leaves of absence, he may have been working in Anchorage for extra money in 1920. Most of the other Anchorage residents listed on the same census page worked for the railroad. Opsahl was nearly 70 years old when he died June 11, 1927, “at the government hospital” (Anchorage Weekly Times 17 June 1927:1). The Anchorage Weekly Times (1927:1) notes that Opsahl had been “ranching on Moose Creek for the past ten years” and was a member of the Masonic lodge in Helena, Montana. The newspaper gives his first name as “Olof.” “Ole” may have been a nick- name for Olof.

The entire southeast quarter of Section 3, which includes Opsahl’s property, is marked on a 1937 map as belonging to W. Ervin, Sr. (USDI 1937). The document number on the map (3469) is the same one given to Opsahl’s patent. The only patent records found for Ervin are for property in Anchorage. Winfield Ervin, Sr., was a banker and one of the founders of the First National Bank of Anchorage in 1922 (Cook Inlet Historical Society (CIHS) 2009). Ervin was born in Lebanon, Oregon, in 1869. He met his wife Theora in Bellingham, Washington, where he worked as a candy maker (CIHS 2009). He moved to Alaska in 1909 and worked for the Brown and Hawkins Company in Seward before moving to Knik. He moved to Anchorage in 1915; his family joined him in Anchorage in 1917. He worked at the Bank of Anchorage until 1922 when he established the First National Bank. Theora, who was very active in the First Presbyterian Church, died in 1957; Winfield died in 1961 (CIHS 2009).

On a 1955 map, only SESE Lot 1 is noted as belonging to Ervin, but no owner is indicated for the N1/2SE and SWSE aliquots (USDAEAES 1955). In 1972, the N1/2SE and SWSE aliquots are owned by Phyllis M. Long, and there is no owner indicated for the SESE aliquot (Mapping Service Inc. 1968), but Phyllis and Merritt Long are noted in the Alaska State Recorder’s Office online records as the owners of Lot 1 in 1972 as well as the N1/2SE and SWSE. In 1994, the NESE aliquot (Lot D4) was deeded to John and Jane Huschle who are the current owners. In 1995, the NWSE aliquot (Lot D6) was deeded to Mark David Hall who is the current owner, and the SWSE aliquot (Lot D8) was deeded to Donovan P. Taylor, Jr., the current owner. In 2003, Lot 1 was deeded to Lillian and Alan Laybourn. Alan Laybourn and Laurie Magiera are the current owners (Alaska State Recorder’s Office 2009; MSB 2009).

Scott Homestead. James S. Scott was issued a patent on May 5, 1954, for just over 12 acres in Section 2, Lots 18 and 20 (BLM 2009f). In 1971, he received the patent to Lot 19 (BLM 2009g).

25 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 In 1978, Lots 19 and 20 (C7 and C3, respectively) were deeded to Glenda Scott who is the current owner. In 1972, J. L. Sommers was the owner of lot 18 (Mapping Service Inc. 1968). The western side of Lot 18 (C5) was deeded to Judith Ann and Charles Hessler in 1978 and then to Robert and Dorothy Dalton in 1979. Donald and Carol Dubois bought the property 1981, and then sold it in 1994 to Richard and Vivian Gregg who are the current owners. In 1979, the eastern side of Lot 18 (C6) was deeded to Patrick and Sharon McEntee, and in 1985, it was deeded to Richard Pierce who is the current owner (Alaska State Recorder’s Office 2009; MSB 2009).

Wade Homestead/Cabin Site. On April 6, 1949, Richard W. Wade received the title for his homestead of nearly 47 acres in Section 1, Lot 3, east of Kleinsmith’s homestead (BLM 2009h). Born March 14, 1922, in Idaho, Richard was living in Kelso, Washington, with his parents and younger sister at the time of the 1930 census (Social Security Death Index 2009; USCB 1930d). As a young adult, he came to the Glennallen area with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC; Yarborough and Morrison 2010:7). Through the CCC, work on the Alaska Railroad brought Richard to Moose Creek where he met his future wife Katherine (Katie) Mae Wickersham in 1941; they were married the following year (Yarborough and Morrison 2010:7). Katie was born on December 15, 1922, to Jesse Wickersham, a non-Native prospector, and Annie Nicoli, a Chickaloon Ahtna (Yarborough and Morrison 2010:5).

Katie Wade, well-known and respected as the “Clan Grandmother” of the Chickaloon Tribe, operated the Moose Creek Drive Inn on her and Richard’s homestead property from 1956 to 1976, and Richard was employed at a local coal mine (Disher 2009). Everyone was welcome at the Drive Inn (Disher 2009), which was also a gathering place where Ahtna traditional culture was passed down (Yarborough and Morrison 2010:8). The Wades separated in 1960, and Richard moved across the highway (Yarborough and Morrison 2010:8). He passed away on April 1, 1980 (Social Security Death Index 2009).

After the Moose Creek Drive Inn closed, Katie made it into her residence for several years. Her nephew Alan Larson and his family then lived in the residence until the late 1980s. The property also includes a rock garden called “Katie’s Rock Wall” which is an important part of the cultural landscape. Katie donated the Moose Creek Drive Inn and the land it is on to the Chickaloon Tribe in 1989 for use as administrative offices.

Katie Wade died March 22, 2009 (Disher 2009) after many years of working to keep the Ahtna language and traditions alive. In part through her efforts, the Chickaloon Tribe was identified as a federally recognized tribe in 1974 (Yarborough and Morrison 2010:10). The Ya Ne Dah Ah School opened in the Moose Creek Drive Inn building in 1993, after a very successful trial summer school in 1992, as a result of Katie Wade’s insistence and hard work. The school’s curriculum is designed to teach the Chickaloon Ahtna language, and Ahtna and Dena’ina culture, to the younger generation, along with typical public school subjects (Yarborough and Morrison 2010:9). The school was moved into a different building on the lot in 1999 and still operates today, in a new building constructed nearby in 2004 (Yarborough and Morrison 2010:9). Among several awards Katie received in her lifetime are the Living Cultural Treasures Award in 2000, the CIRI Stakeholder of the Year award in 2002, and the Governor’s Award for Native Arts and

26 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Languages in 2007 (Disher 2009).

The Katie Wade Home Site (ANC-3080) is on the northwestern portion of Lot C7 (part of the Wade homestead, Lot 3) and on the northeastern portion of Lot C12 (formerly part of the Klein- smith homestead, Lot 5). On the former Wade homestead, the CVTC owns Lot C7, Douglas Wade and Carol Green are the owners of lot C6, and Lisa Wade owns Lot C8 (Alaska State Recorder’s Office 2009; MSB 2009).

Previous Cultural Resource Work in the Moose Creek Area

The area around the mouth of Moose Creek has been examined for cultural resources before, usually as part of a larger project. In 1988, Susan Lee and Fran Seager-Boss researched and surveyed permitted areas in the vicinity of the Matanuska Coal Field (MSBCRD 1989). Their work produced considerable information about many of the mines and other early 1900s features. They were unable to find any physical traces of the Doherty Mine (MSBCRD 1989:163-167), but they found traces of the Railroad bridge that crossed Moose Creek as well as the settlement that was nearby (MSBCRD 1989:46).

Charles Holmes and Douglas McAllister of the Alaska State Office of History and Archaeology (OHA) conducted a survey in the Moose Creek drainage area in preparation for the possible re-alignment of the Glenn Highway between MP 53.5 and MP 54.5 (Dale et al. 1991:26). This survey encountered numerous cultural materials utilizing a “zig-zag pattern” through the proposed right-of-way. Materials or sites found include a trash scatter on the west side of Moose Creek (ANC-0740), an old railroad bridge (ANC-0097), the Matanuska Branch railroad grade, noted in the report as the Chickaloon spur; the Moose Creek town site (ANC-0126), and several potentially historic buildings, trails, and roads (Dale et al. 1991:26-27). The survey crew also looked for, but did not find, evidence of a cemetery and physical remains of the platted town site of Moose (Dale et al. 1991:26). Most of the properties found on this survey were described as either “too recent” to be worth documentation (Dale et al. 1991:2626-27, 36) or were found outside of the proposed right-of way.

In 1994 Fran Seager-Boss of the MSB Cultural Resources Division surveyed along sections of the Carle Wagon Road and the Chickaloon-Knik-Nelchina trail. She found few sites along both routes but was not able to survey all of the trails due to massive development or lack of permission (Seager-Boss 1994).

In 2007, Dan Stone and Fran Seager-Boss conducted a limited survey of the east side of the Moose Creek Valley near its mouth. Depressions identified as Athapaskan cache pits were found, and were given numbers ANC-2868 and ANC-2869. They also found what may be the historic site of a roadhouse from the 1920s but did not request an AHRS number for it (but see below).

27 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Previously Known Cultural Resources within the Project Vicinity

The Alaska Heritage Resource Survey (AHRS) had eleven sites in the project area documented in its database. Two additional sites have been documented by the MSB, one of which has since been recorded in the AHRS. Several as-yet unverified sites were also mentioned by Chickaloon elders during interviews with cultural anthropologists.

Moose Creek R.R. Station (Moose Creek Section House & Storage Shed) (ANC-0015) Originally located at the Alaska Railroad’s Moose Creek Section, this small one story building with a gable roof was moved to the Wade property in the late 1950s or early 1960s, where it was located between Katie Wade’s residence and the Genn Highway (Yarborough and Morrison 2010). Katie Wade, who had lived at the Moose Creek Section in the late 1940s after her marriage to Richard Wade, called it the “bunkhouse” (Larry Wade, personal communication 2008). Mary Shaginoff, Katie Wade’s aunt, lived in it for several years after it was moved to the Wade property. The building was moved to the Alpine Historical Park in Sutton a number of years ago. It may be the only building remaining from the Moose Creek Section (Dale, Holmes, and Ostrogorsky 1991:27).

Moose Creek Railroad Bridge (ANC-0097) A 60-foot long steel railroad bridge was located at this site during the first half of the twentieth century; its removal date is currently unknown. Only pilings are present (Figure 10).

Moose Creek Town site (ANC-0126) and Moose Town site (ANC-1826) There is some confusion in the AHRS cards between the names “Moose” and “Moose Creek” for two U.S. Surveys for townsites in the Moose Creek valley. The Moose Townsite was established in 1916 by U.S. Survey 1152, and comprises a large area encompassing almost the entire lower Moose Creek valley, including the bluffs on either side. It was surveyed between 1913 and 1915, prior to the construction of the Matanuska Branch, the Moose Creek Spur, and the Doherty Mine (U.S. Surveyor’s Office 1916) (Figure 8, above). It is, in fact, the area later set aside as a Railroad Reserve for the Alaska Engineering Commission Railway, later the Alaska Railroad. This survey also encompasses the areas shown in later maps as a cemetery reserve (ANC-3328), and the Alaska Railroad’s Moose Creek Section. This is the townsite described in the Alaska Historic Resource Survey information for ANC-0126, which is incorrectly named, on the card, “Moose Creek Town site”. Field notes for the final survey completed October 16, 1916 by V.H. Wilhelm, Otis Ross and A.J. Bradford are titled “Moose Townsite in Sections 1 and 2, Township 18 North, Range 2 East” (Wilhelm 1916). The lands around the 1916 Moose Townsite area were homesteaded beginning with William T. Leroy in 1921 (see Homestead section above). The 1916 Moose Townsite is also shown correctly on a 1968 land status map, revised in 1972 (Mapping Service Inc. 1968).

The northeastern part of the 1916 Moose Townsite was surveyed prior to 1937 and subdivided. It is entirely within Section 2 of Township 18 North, Range 2 East. On a hand lettered 1937 map produced by the ARC, this subdivided portion of the 1916 Moose Townsite is shown with a perpendicular label to its east that reads “Moose Creek” (Figure 11). However the accurate name of this subdivided portion of the earlier Moose Townsite is also recorded as “Moose” (MSB 2009,

28 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Figure 10. Six previously known sites in the project area.

29 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 11. Detail of 1937 ARC map, “General Situation, Matanuska Valley Alaska”, showing the two Moose Townsite locations, one within the other. USDI 1937). This second, later, Moose Townsite is U.S. Survey 3492 (Figure 12). This is the correctly named townsite indicated by the AHRS card for ANC-1826. Although it was subdivided and lots were sold, which are still individually owned today, it appears that no construction has ever occurred on the lots. Current research has not yet yielded the original survey record.

Moose Creek Garbage Dump (ANC-0740) “A scatter of recent (probably 1950s garbage remains and trash” was reported on the west side of the Moose Creek valley (Dale et al. 1991:26).

Doherty Mine, Pioneer Mine (ANC-1319) This mine was opened in 1916 by R. G. Doherty and closed by 1918 (MSBCRD 1989: 74, 161, 164), likely due to financial problems and poor coal quality (MSBCRD 1989:161). This mine was the first to ship coal out on the Chickaloon Spur (MSBCRD 1989:161). It is located ¾ mi up Moose Creek from railroad right-of-way (MSBCRD 1989:74). In 1918 John S. Ball applied to use the mine to gather fuel to cook hog food for his pig farm; it is unclear whether he actually worked the mine or not (MSBCRD 1989:164). In 1925, the mine was re-opened as the Pioneer Mine and was worked for a few years, although never at full capacity (MSBCRD 1989:165).

No trace of the mining operation was found on the west side of the creek during the 1988 survey by Seager-Boss and Lee, attributed to severe flooding on Moose Creek throughout the years, as well as construction of the Glenn Highway and the nearby way station (MSBCRD 1989). However, a map in USGS Bulletin 1016 shows tailings piles on the east side of the creek, rather than only on the west side (Barnes and Payne 1956). Local residents suggest that adits or their

30 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 12. 2009 map showing the later Moose Townsite (3492) and the original Moose Town- site, U.S.S. 1152, now a Railroad Reserve. remnants still exist in the bluff on the west side of Moose Creek northwest of the current Glenn Highway bridge at Moose Creek (Charlene Schmidtkunz, personal communication 2009).

Moose Creek Bridge (ANC-1998) The original Glenn Highway bridge over Moose Creek at MP 54.8 was a 150-foot steel Howe Truss with a 22-foot wood trestle for a total length of 176 feet, a width of 12 feet 9 inches, and a clearance of 14 feet at 5 feet 6 inches. It was constructed in 1942 and was considered inadequate due to its width and clearance (Noyes 1951: Table 6, 1). The current bridge,

is a 3-span steel continuous I-beam bridge...designed by John Lowell and John K. Perry of the Bridge Section at the Bureau of Public Roads in Juneau in June and July of 1956...In 8/11/1971 flood waters took out the center span of the bridge. The bridge span was replaced. In 1973, flood waters eroded the rip rap from the abutments. Additional rip rap was placed around the abutments [during August 1975] (AHRS 2009).

ANC-2868 This number was given to a string of cache pits paralleling the Matanuska River on the east side of the Moose Creek valley, following their location by Dan Stone in 2007.

Moose Creek Caches (ANC-2869) This AHRS number was given to 7 cache pits located on the east side of Moose Creek, following

31 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 their location by Dan Stone in 2007. These cache pits are near ANC-2868.

ANC-3010 This number was given to an upper section of the Moose Creek railroad spur that includes a “450 foot stretch of railbed which lacks ties and tracks and is pitted with shallow depressions”, and also a “large wooden culvert constructed under the railbed” that “allowed waters from the abandoned creek meander to drain into the channelized creek” (Corbett 2005).

Katie Wade Homesite (ANC-3080) The site was the home of Chickaloon Clan Grandmother Katie Wade from 1950 to 2008. The site is important because of its connection with Katie Wade, and also because it was used by members of the Chickaloon Tribe for traditional cultural activities and gatherings and continues to be used in this way today. Katie Wade’s home, built in 1950, was occupied first by Katie Wade and her husband Richard, then by Richard Wade, then again by Katie Wade. The second building was originally a restaurant called the Moose Creek Drive Inn, or the Drive Inn, constructed in the mid-1950s. It was later used as a residence, first by Katie Wade, then by one of her family members. It was also the location of the Ya Ne Dah Ah (“long time ago”) Tribal school and a Tribal office. This building was used continuously as a cultural gathering place. The open areas near the two buildings were used for traditional subsistence activities such as smoking meat and fish, and tanning hides, and for family and Tribal gatherings. The rock garden known as Katie Wade’s Rock Wall near the Glenn Highway was a family project that became a local landmark. Building and maintaining the rock garden provided a way to teach Ahtna mores regarding hard work to the next generation.

The Katie Wade Home Site (ANC-3080) is immediately adjacent to, and south of, the east side of the project, but outside of the proposed direct effect area as shown on Figure 10, above. The three-acre site, with is two buildings, is currently being evaluated for its NRHP eligibility under a separate DOT&PF project, which is being processed under SAFETEA-LU 6004.

Moose Creek Spur Line/Baxter Mine Car Track Information about this rail line in Moose Creek was found in a 1988 literature search by Seager- Boss and Lee, however, their survey did not encounter it, so it did not receive an AHRS number (MSBCRD 1989:74). Their 1989 report describes the narrow-gauge rail that ran from the Baxter Mine to the coal chute above the standard gauge Alaska Railroad Spur at Moose Creek, its upgrade to standard gauge in 1926 as far as the Premier Mine, and the flooding that permanently damaged it in 1942, after which trucks were used to haul the coal to the chute. ANC-3010 is a segment of this linear site.

Cemetery (ANC-3328) The 1918 Alaska Engineering Commission map of Township 18 North, Range 2 East, Seward Meridian shows the cemetery location west of Moose Creek in the northwest corner of the railroad reserve surveyed in 1915 (Figure 6, above). William Long developed a farm field in the vicinity of this cemetery in the mid-1970s (see below). He filled in the depressions of the grave locations on the western side of the cemetery with field debris and manure, and tilled over them (Charlene Schmidtkunz, personal communication 2009). The location of the cemetery was

32 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 verified by MSB archaeologist Dan Stone in spring of 2010, at which time the cemetery was given an AHRS number.

Other Reported Sites Several additional sites in the area have been reported by Chickaloon elders. James Kari and James Fall (2003:296-297) note in Shem Pete’s Alaska that a long bluff, called C’ek’aali Cene’ in Ahtna, is located on the north side of the Matanuska River west of Moose Creek, and that “Johnny Shaginoff reported that a village site was located on this bluff near the mouth of Moose Creek.” Both Johnny Shaginoff and Katie Wade reported to Kari and Fall that burials are present on both sides of Moose Creek, several of which may be associated with the 1918 flu epidemic.

2009 Survey Results

The following sub-sections describe the variety of cultural resources documented during the course of both the reconnaissance and intensive survey for the proposed project. Cultural resources within the intensive survey area include four of the Moose Creek Depressions/Cache Pit sites (ANC-3329 through ANC-3332), the Moose Creek Spur (ANC-3272), the Moose Creek Coal Chute (ANC-3273), the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway (ANC-3274), the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-3275), Isolated Artifact Point 37, and historic depression ANC-3373. The Gregg House (ANC-3370) is less than 100 feet north of the intensive survey area, and a portion of the upper field of the Long Farm is in the intensive survey area.

Moose Creek Depressions/Cache Pits ANC-2868, ANC-3329 through ANC-3333 Numerous prehistoric or early historic period excavated depressions, most of which are interpreted as likely Dena’ina or Ahtna related features, were found during reconnaissance surveys of the project area (Table 1, Figures 13 and 14). Most of the depressions are near old channels of Moose Creek. No birch bark or other datable material was found during testing, with the exception of some small wood chips found in a shovel test in the Y-shaped depression near Depression 15 (see below). Most of the depressions are either rectangular or circular in shape. Several depressions were found during the reconnaissance survey and were not measured, and GPS coordinates were not taken on some, but they were noted in relation to nearby waypoints. The rectangular depressions that were measured ranged from 230 by 200 centimeters (cm) and 50 cm deep to 80 by 90 cm and 40 cm deep. One depression was 82 cm deep (Depression 15). The circular depressions that were measured ranged from 140 cm wide and 35 cm deep to 100 cm wide and 50 cm deep. All were vegetated with either grass or other understory plants.

ANC-2868. Depressions 1 through 12 comprise ANC-2868. Depressions 1 through 8 were previously recorded by Dan Stone in 2007. At the toe of a bluff, Depression 1 is a large circular feature with a possible entryway, recorded by Stone as ANC-2868. Depressions 2 through 8 were given the AHRS number ANC-2869 by Stone. However, ANC-2869 is now the designation for two linear depressions/possible prospect pits to the north (Depression 20) and outside of the intensive survey area that were found while tracing the course of the railroad bed. ANC-2868 now designates Depressions 1 through 12.

33 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Table 1. Locations and measurements of cache pits/depressions.

Depression cluster 9 is made up of several small depressions approximately 2 m in diameter that may have also already been recorded by Stone in 2007. Depression 10 is approximately 12 m west of a gravel road. A shovel test along the edge of the depression was negative. A layer of dark brown humus overlay a yellowish tan, sandy silt. This was underlain with fine, gray sand, and then a layer of dark brown sandy silt which overlay reddish brown, sandy silt. Depression clusters 11 and 12 were found immediately north and south, respectively, of the Roadhouse Site (ANC-3278). The possibility exists that they might be associated with that site.

ANC-3329. Depression location 13 consists of two depressions: one rectangular depression and another depression about 15 paces to the northeast. Depression 14 is possibly cultural and is about 35 paces east of a major prior channel of Moose Creek.

ANC-3330. Depression 15 is part of a cluster of depressions that are southeast of the powerline. There are dry stream channels to the east and west of this area, running roughly north-south. A white PVC pipe is located in this area with orange flagging around it. Pink flagging was noted on a birch tree about 3 m west of the pipe. Three are definite cultural depressions and two others are possible cultural depressions. A Y-shaped depression sits about 10 paces due south of Depression 15, and a large, squarish depression is about 10 paces almost due east of Depression 15. A shovel test in the Y-shaped depression had a 20-cm thick root mat of dark silt. The silt continued for about 5 to 10 cm to a light gray sand layer. In the western side of the test were wood chips mixed in the humus and sand. The wood chips continued for at least another 10 cm. The wood chips were in the west, south, east, and bottom of the test. It appeared to be more like a wood beam rather than cache pit lining. A shovel test dug west of the Y-shaped depression had a root mat of dark brown silt over fine, gray sand. This was underlain with light coarse sand. Wood was found at 80 cm below surface. A third test was dug north of the Y-shaped depression and west of Depression 15: 10 cm humus layer over sand.

34 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Figure 13. Locations of depressions that comprise ANC-2868, ANC-3329 through ANC-3333. ANC-3329 through ANC-2868, Figure 13. Locations of depressions that comprise

35 Figure14_old13_surveyresults_overall:Figure 8 Glenn Hwy 8/26/10 2:02 PM Page 1

Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 14. Locations of cultural resources found in 2009 survey, and previously known sites in the project area.

36 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 ANC-3331. Depression 16 is approximately 2.5 m northeast of a dry creek channel. A shovel test was dug in the center of this depression. The organic layer increased in thickness in the middle of the test. The eastern wall of the test had a thick brown humus layer over coarse, grayish-tan sand and pebbles. In the north wall, a gray, medium grained, gravel-free sand underlay the thick humus layer. No evidence of birch bark was found.

ANC-3332. Depressions 17 and 18 are in the vicinity of the coal chute. Depression 17 had a glacial cobble visible on the surface on the western side. The walls of Depression 18 are nearly straight up and down.

ANC-3333. Depression 19, a circular depression, was noted during the reconnaissance survey. A GPS point was taken, but no measurements were made.

Moose Creek Roadhouse Site (ANC-3278) A number of surface artifacts were documented at what appears likely to be the site of a historic roadhouse north of the Matanuska River, east of Moose Creek, and west of the Station Road (Figure 14). Local residents expressed the belief that this was the location of a roadhouse from the early twentieth century that had served the railroad and the mines. Artifacts noted on the surface in the area included a boiler, a modified 55-gallon drum, and glass bottles (Figure 15). No testing was done at the site, as it was outside the intensive survey area for this project. This

Figure 15. Modified 55-gallon drum in the vicinity of ANC-3278.

37 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 site is within the boundaries of the Johnson homestead (Figure 9, above), and may be the location of the roadhouse of which Gust William Johnson was proprietor in the 1920s.

Isolated Artifacts (no AHRS numbers) During the survey, eight artifacts were recorded which did not seem to be associated with any other particular cultural resources. None of these isolates were collected, or were given AHRS numbers. The “point” numbers below refer to the numbers on Figure 16.

Point 20. A piece of dimensional lumber that may be a railroad tie was found at N 61.67463521 W -149.0369416.

Point 21. A large piece of dimensional lumber which may be a railroad tie was found at N 61.67463521 W 149.03694157.

Point 22. At N 61.674857 W 149.037231 a large log with flattened faces was found near Moose Creek. The log had two railroad spikes in one of the flattened faces (Figure 17).

Point 32. Two 55-gallon drums were found on the west side of Moose Creek at N 61.674862 W 149.038737. The drums have three raised ribs around the circumference. One of the drums was

severely battered. Another 55-gallon drum was found on the east side of Moose Creek at 34 N 61.676883 W 149.038964.

Point 33. A piece of corrugated steel culvert was found at N 61.675487 W 149.038088.

Point 35. An old power line cable was found on a slope at N 61.678970 W 149.041744 during survey for the Moose Creek Spur and the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Rail south of the existing road. Point 36. Numerous items of what appear to be abandoned farm debris, including large tires, random metal pieces, and old vehicles, were found at N 61.67318322 W 149.04970310. These items appear to line the southwestern edge of the nearby agricultural field.

Point 37. A wooden frame, possibly from a house wall, was found at N 61.674263 W 149.061943 within the intensive survey area. The wall frame is 8 feet .25 inches by five feet.

Gregg House (ANC-3370) This one story house is located on the north side of the Glenn Highway east of Buffalo Mine Road, and less than 100 feet north of the intensive survey area of the proposed project. The house is irregularly shaped in plan with a side gable roof (Figure 18). A shed-roofed addition has been made to the west elevation of the house and a rectangular gable roof addition has been made to the north elevation (Figure 19). The house sits on a poured concrete foundation. It has a relatively new metal roof and is clad in both T1/11 and plywood siding.

On July 16, 2009, Linda Yarborough and Aubrey Morrison met with the property owner, Vivian Gregg, to discuss the age of the house. Discussions with the Mrs. Gregg revealed that originally

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Figure 16. Locations of isolates and individual artifacts.

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Figure 17. Log with flattened faces and railroad spikes.

the house was a small homestead cabin. As noted above, James Scott was granted patent to his homestead in 1954, and held the property until 1972. Mrs. Gregg reported that she had been told that the homestead cabin was built in the 1960s and that a kit house was assembled around the original cabin in the 1970s. She was unsure of the specific date of construction of the kit house. A portion of the original cabin is visible only from the interior of the residence. The 1970s kit house completely encapsulated the original homestead cabin (Vivian Gregg, personal communication 2009).

The main entrance to the house is located in a recessed porch at the southwest corner of the house. There are two wide oriel windows on the south elevation as well as a secondary entrance to the house (Figure 20). The east elevation (gable end) shows evidence of an alteration to the original 1970s roofline (Figure 21). It appears that the original roof was a low-pitched gable and later a steeper pitched gable roof was added above. The north elevation has three metal frame sliding windows and one metal frame fixed window. The small rectangular addition on the north elevation contains a rear entrance and four metal sliding windows. The shed roof addition on the west elevation is clad in plywood and partially encapsulates the remnants of the original homestead cabin.

Although it appears that the kit house was constructed in the 1970s, the MSB Assessor’s website (MSB 2009) did not indicate a date of construction. Although the original cabin was constructed

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Figure 18. Gregg house, south and west elevations.

Figure 19. Gregg house, north elevation.

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Figure 20. Gregg house, oriel windows and secondary entrance.

Figure 21. Gregg house, east elevation, showing roof modifications.

in the 1950s or 1960s, it is no longer visible. Elements of the cabin have been incorporated into the 1970s structure.

Long Farm Fields (no AHRS number) The intensive survey area runs through the southern portion of a large field (the upper field) on the former homestead of William T. Leroy, which has been divided and portions of which are now owned by William and Katherine Long and James and Paula Fowler (see discussion of this homestead above). The field is visible as a large open area on Figure 14 (above), immediately north of the Moose Creek Coal Chute, and west of ANC-0740. An approximately 10-m wide vegetated area at the edge of the field appears to have fairly recent growth of grass, alders, putchki, elderberry, and poplar. The field itself is grassy, with only a grass root layer and very little humus (Figure 22). Cobbles—15 to 25 cm in diameter—are immediately under the surface

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Figure 22. Long Farm upper field.

in some areas. The plow zone appears to be 30 to 45 cm deep and has a mottled appearance: dark or reddish brown, light brown, and grayish brown. Below the plow zone is an orangey- brown or reddish-brown layer of silt/fine sand that is underlain by a darker brown layer of sand over glacial gravels. A burned layer was encountered in some of the shovel tests at about 16 to 25 cm below the surface. The cemetery reserve (ANC-3328) of the Moose Townsite is on the edge of the bluff northeast of the upper field. According to his step-daughter, Long extended his upper field over much of the cemetery, and he filled in the burial depressions with manure and field debris (Charlene Schmidtkunz, personal communication 2009). Although she believed that these burial depressions were outside of the cemetery boundary, Figure 9, above, shows that Long’s upper field actually extended east of the property boundary into the cemetery.

At the southwestern end of the upper field is a dirt road going down to the lower field. The upper 125 feet or so of the road is within the area of disturbance. The bank is steep and has been cut in for the road. Heading south out of the upper field, the road is about 17 feet wide; then it narrows to about 16 feet wide. The edges are covered in alder with small spruce growing in the middle. The bank is unstable, with slides coming down from the hillside above. Slopes that have slumped and slid as a result of the road cut extend to about 20 to 25 m up the hill from the road surface. Only a few feet of the original road surface, towards the hillside edge, are visible. This is the case along most of the upper half of the road. The lower road curves to the south into the lower field. The uphill slope along the lower one-third of the road appears to be more natural, and less unstable than the slope along the upper two-thirds of the road. There is some evidence of a berm but not a cut-bank.

43 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Road Segments (ANC-3371 and ANC-3372) As a result of the intensive survey, two segments of old dirt roads were located. One segment, ANC-3371, is located east of Moose Creek and southwest of the Glenn Highway, and the second segment, ANC-3372, is located north of the Glenn Highway on the west side of Moose Creek (Figure 14, above).

The Kleinsmith homestead road (ANC-3371), on the eastern side of Moose Creek, connected the Kleinsmith homestead cabin to the Station Road (see below) in the early twentieth century. The road bed varies in width from approximately 12 to 18 feet. It is apparent east of the driveway on Lawrence Wade and Teresa Holbrook’s property (parcel C11 in Township 18 North Range 1 East) although the eastern portion of the road was not documented in this survey. The road crosses the driveway north of the Wade/Holbrook house and shop, and continues west through birch forest along the flat terrace above Moose Creek for approximately 350 feet (Figure 23). There it turns to the northwest and continues at a slight grade down into the Moose Creek Valley, cutting down across a 45-50° degree slope. The road in this location is overgrown with alders. The road continues to the northwest, again through birch forest, for approximately 900 to 1,000 feet to where there is a switchback. The road then continues downhill for approximately 450 feet to the south-southwest where it intersects with the old, still used, dirt and gravel Station Road that provides access to the Matanuska River and Moose Creek. The Kleinsmith homestead road does not appear to continue west of the Station Road.

Figure 23. Kleinsmith homestead road (ANC-3372), east side of Moose Creek.

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Figure 24. Road segment ANC-3372, west side of Moose Creek.

ANC-3372 is on the west side of Moose Creek. It is located on the north side of the Glenn Highway just west of where the highway curves to the north and descends into the Moose Creek valley. This segment of road begins approximately 100 feet north of the Glenn Highway, just beyond disturbed area from the previous highway construction. The road goes north from the Glenn Highway and makes a wide U-shaped arch around a low-lying marshy area and then intersects the Glenn Highway again. This section of road is approximately 12 feet in width and is overgrown with alders and devils club (Figure 24). The road grade is flat and is cut into the surrounding slope. It appears that construction of the Glenn Highway in this area likely destroyed the remainder of this old road.

Historic Depression ANC-3373 A large 18- by 18-foot square depression was found between the disturbance from the Glenn Highway construction to the north and the power line to the south. Designated “GH2” during survey, the depression was given the AHRS number ANC-3373 (Figure 14). The interior of the depression is mostly vegetated with grasses and shrubs, while outside of the depression birch, devil’s club, and alder grow in abundance. Several relatively large trees were also growing out of the side walls. The depression appears to have been dug into a bench that slopes to the south. The north wall is highest, roughly 7 feet 7 inches, while the east and west walls decrease in height towards the south. The south wall resembles a berm or bench, as it is only a few feet wide and 6 feet 3 inches tall. The depression has what looks like an elongate entrance in the southeast corner (Figure 25). This possible entrance is 8 feet long and 5 feet 7 inches wide. The interior of the depression is marked by an earthen bench extending out of the north wall 12 feet in the west and center, but decreasing in width towards the east wall. The bench may have been caused by

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Figure 25. Historic Depression ANC-3373, entrance, view south.

erosion of the north wall, based on the relative slope of the side walls. At its deepest, the depression is over seven feet deep, but in the bench-area it is only three feet three inches deep.

A circular test was conducted in the depression near its deepest point, roughly two feet from the south wall and 9 feet from the west wall. Two wood beams were uncovered approximately 30 cm below the surface, with their grain running east-west. A metal-on-metal noise was heard when the shovel uncovered the wood, however, no nail or other metal was found after a brief in- spection.

Two cans were found just under the top of the soil in the depression using the metal detector. One is a Pepsi-Cola can, red on the bottom half and white on the top, with the red and blue Pepsi-Cola circular logo at the top in block letters. The script text on Pepsi-Cola labels was dropped in 1962 to display a more contemporary look (Pepsico Inc. 2009). The ingredients list visible on this can reads “…carbonated water, sugar, caramel color, phosphoric acid, caffeine…” Pepsi and Coca-cola started using high fructose corn syrup in the early 1980s (Consumer Reports 2009). It is likely that this Pepsi-Cola can dates from between 1963 and the early 1980s. The other can is an aluminum 12 ounce Olympia beer can. The text on the label includes the words “GOODLUCK” inside a horseshoe at the toe end, and the word “TUMWATER” is shown in the water at the base of a waterfall.

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Figure 26. Communications Line and Posts (ANC-3374), view northwest.

Communications Line and Posts (ANC-3374) Two creosoted posts, one north of the other, rubber insulators nailed to trees to the north and numerous feet of communications line were found on the east side of Moose Creek, about 250 feet north of the intensive survey area and the power line corridor (Figure 14). Both creosote posts stand four feet above the ground (Figure 26). The line is no longer in place but is tangled in the surrounding trees that have grown up since its original installment. The line consists of green, blue, white, and yellow smaller wires sheathed in black plastic. The color coding system for telephone wires was developed in the 1940s. These colors are indicative of a standard telephone wire used for what was originally called “Post Office Telephone Service” or Post Office Telephone System,” and is now called “Plain Old Telephone Service” (POTS) (Oliver 2008, We Energies 2009). Although now hanging from tree branches as much as 20 feet or more in the air, neither the poles nor the wires show signs of decay. This suggests that, while not modern, they may have been installed during the past 40 to 50 years.

Railroad and Mine Related Features Alaska Railroad Matanuska Branch/Moose Creek Railroad Bridge (ANC-0097) Three remnants of the Alaska Railroad Matanuska Branch were documented during the survey. During the reconnaissance portion of the survey, pilings from the Moose Creek Railroad Bridge (ANC-0097) were found on the east and west banks of Moose Creek. This property has been described in other publications (AHRS 2009; MSBCRD 1989:46). Leading away from the

47 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 pilings to both the east and west is the Matanuska Branch rail bed. On the west side, this bed is approximately 20 ft above the surrounding land and the top flat surface is 18 ft across. The bed is currently vegetated with grass and alder. During the course of following out the route of the Moose Creek Spur, its intersection with the Matanuska Branch was documented. The survey crew swept the Matanuska Branch bed surface in this area with a metal detector, resulting in the location of railroad debris, such as spikes and plates, buried within a few centimeters of the ground surface, however, no rails or ties were found. Fewer metal items were documented on and in the Matanuska bed than in a similar-sized area nearby on the Moose Creek Spur.

Possible Prospect Pits (ANC-2869) Two linear depressions that may be prospect pits were encountered while tracing the course of the railroad alignment between the Glenn Highway near the bridge and the intensive survey area to the south (Figures 13, 27). Both are approximately 20 feet east of the railroad alignment. The southernmost of the two depressions is perpendicular to the rail bed, while the other, to the north, is parallel to the rail bed. Both have fairly vertical sides and are of similar size: roughly 2 to 3 feet deep, 5 feet wide, and 10 to 13 feet long. It was difficult to tell if there are berms along the edges of the depressions due to the tall, dense vegetation.

Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-3275) District ANC-3275 is composed of three large linear sites, a feature labeled GH3, and related surface and subsurface artifacts, generally located on the west side of Moose Creek adjacent to or on the 200-foot bluff that forms the west Moose Creek valley wall (Figure 27). The three sites vary in both their development and their structural integrity and are described separately below for clarity. Each of these sites contributes to the others and only together is their function of moving coal from the mines to the railroad apparent and possible.

Historic maps and other documents indicate that the Moose Creek Spur extended several miles up Moose Creek from the Matanuska Railroad. As documented by Corbett (2005), in situ segments of the railroad bed are present north of the Glenn Highway. The present description of the spur was limited by the project’s parameters. Only the area between the Matanuska Branch Railroad Bed (ANC-0097) to the south and the Glenn Highway to the north was surveyed. Within this area three components of this property were identified: The Moose Creek Spur (ANC-3272) The Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Rail (ANC-3274) The Moose Creek Coal Chute (ANC-3273)

Moose Creek Spur (ANC-3272) The route of this linear site generally follows the alignment for the “Doherty Spur” shown in a 1918 AEC map (Figure 6, above). Physical evidence of this standard gauge rail includes a near- continuous prepared bed between the Matanuska Railroad bed and the Glenn Highway, spikes, rails, wooden railroad ties, coal, and a high density of metal debris scattered, at most, roughly 30 m away from the bed. The majority of the rails are no longer in place along the documented route, although roughly 400 m of the railroad appears intact near the bottom of the bluff.

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Figure 27. The Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-3275).

49 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 The prepared bed averages 12 feet across and was either cut or filled to maintain an even grade conducive to the steam locomotives known to have operated on this route (MSBCRD 1989:47). Ditches, roughly 3 to 4 feet across and 2 to 3 feet deep, were observed in places where banks had been cut or where the bed was located near the bluff bottom. The bed is currently vegetated by a dense cover of grass, moss, and shrubs with intermittent alders or cottonwoods. In some locations tree growth has shifted the rails from their original alignment. Coal, varying in density from a single 2 inch piece to deposits 6 inches deep, was found all along the rail bed, but was rarely found in other parts of the surveyed area.

In places where the rails are no longer present a metal detector was used to identify spikes, plates, and other metal debris along or near the route. These materials were found anywhere from just under the vegetation to 15 cm below the surface. Occasionally some of the spikes were found still embedded in railroad ties. The ties were found both in view on the surface and covered by vegetation and some sediment. The standard tie is 8 feet long and 7 inches wide and is coated in an unidentified material, possibly creosote or copper sulfite.

The 400 m section of visible in situ railroad presents quite a different picture from the disturbed sections of the route. The rails, and the railroad ties they rest on, are centered on the prepared bed, although sediment and vegetation are beginning to cover the rails in some locations. The standard gauge 70-pound rails are 4 feet 8 ½ inches wide, and have a are labeled “ASCE 7040 ILLINOIS G IN IIII 1916 – U.S.A.” An individual rail measures 2.1 in wide and 3.8 in tall. Spikes and plates are still in place and continue to secure the rails to the railroad ties.

The farthest southwest that the standard gauge rail of the Spur was documented was near the edge of the south field near the Matanuska Branch bed (Figure 27, above). The rail was not intact in this location; only the bed and scattered metal pieces were found. The bed and metal debris continue to the northeast and outline the south and east edges of the lower Long Farm field. This fragmented condition continued for roughly 170 m, at which point what appears to be field maintenance or construction has resulted in earth and debris pushed up to and over the rail bed’s location. For roughly 40 m the bed is indiscernible from the debris piles pushed against and onto it at the field edge and, at which point the bed becomes visible again. Approximately 30 m up the east side of the field the first actual in situ track is found; however some of the west rails are twisted to the east and are not completely secured by spikes and plates (Figure 28). Both rails are consistently in working orientation within an additional 100 m.

The rail continues north until it reaches the bottom of the bluff and turns northeast to parallel the bluff bottom. After only 65 m the rail splits at a turn switch to create two rail lines paralleling the bluff bottom, spaced at most 8 feet apart.

At the turn switch, the incoming standard gauge rail maintains its distance from the bluff bottom, while the new rail turns to the south. At the start of the turn switch the individual rails of the turning rail are tapered, but increase in width to match the dimensions of the standard rail after 5 feet 6 inches.

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Figure 28. Moose Creek Spur standard gauge 70-pound rail with portion of label.

The switch mechanism consists of a large lever, and a metal bar connecting the two rails to the lever (Figure 29). The nuts are 1 inch across, and the bolts are about 3.5 inches long. The turn switch pipe or lever is 6 feet 2 inches long and ends in an eyehole. The turn switch is anchored by three closely spaced ties; the rails are anchored to the ties via five stakes: three large (oval heads 1.3 inches diameter), and two small (circular heads .8 inches diameter). The ties on the south side of the switch were very well preserved, but to the north, the first 3 ties were not preserved to their full length. The fourth east tie was 8 feet long. The first tie was much longer to the south than the rest. The north side also had more sediment and debris covering the rails and mechanism. A large deposit of coal covers the second and third ties; the coal ranged in size from small to large chunks (1/2 inch to 4 inch across). The ties were about 4 inches down from the surface (covered in dirt and coal). Roots up to 1 ½ inches diameter grew parallel to the rails and ties.

After 20 m the rails are marked by a “frog”, “a device used where two running rails intersect and provide flangeways to permit wheels and wheel flanges on either rail to cross each other” (Yarborough 2005) (Figure 30). This piece appears to be one of those procured by the AEC from the Panama Canal railroad (Lawrence Mishkar, personal communication 2009; Yarborough 2005) (Figure 31). From this point northward, two sets of in situ tracks were documented.

The rails continue northeast and pass the bottom of the coal chute after another 40 m. The northwesternmost set of rails are 5 feet from the bottom of the bluff and the coal chute, while the second or south set of rails are 8 feet from the north set. Metal object density is highest in or near this location, partly due to the late use of the coal chute for garbage disposal. The coal chute is described below.

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Figure 29. Moose Creek Spur switch mechanism at base of bluff.

The rails continue to parallel the bottom of the bluff, but vegetation overgrowth and sediment accumulation obscure the rails. Both sets of rails still parallel the bottom of the bluff at a feature designated GH3, a wooden construction north of both sets of rails identified, approximately 47 m east of the coal chute (Figure 27, above).

GH3 is a construct of dimensional lumber, likely a coal bin or bins, north of the coal chute and between the Moose Creek Spur and the western bluff of the Moose Creek Valley. Its southern and eastern wooden walls have deteriorated and fallen over onto the bin contents (Figure 32). It appears to have been built at the bottom of the bluff wall to contain a 27 by 40 feet, by 15 feet

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Figure 30. Moose Creek Spur, Panama Canal “frog”.

high above the valley floor, area. The 27 by 40-foot raised surface is flat, and appears ledge like. The top of the wooden construction is ocurrently level with the ledge surface. The wooden eastern wall of GH3 is 35 feet in length and measures 17.6 feet diagonally up its slope. Its timbers are held together with nails. Most are 11.4 inches long with a .18 inch head, but some railroad spikes were used. It is composed of lumber of several dimensions, such as 4 by 6

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Figure 31. Materials from Panama Canal, AEC Railway Terminal yard, Anchorage, Alaska. Photograph by Phinney S. Hunt, 1917. AMRC-aec-g486 inches, 4 by 8 inches, 5 by 6 inches, and 2 by 8 inches.

GH3’s construction is not entirely discernible; however some form was observed. Support posts were planted vertically at both the west and east south corners, but how high these extended is unknown as they are broken after a few feet. Fallen to the north of these posts is a three-level platform. The platform is based on a 5 by 6 inch piece of lumber that spans the east-west length of GH3. On top of and perpendicular to the 5 by 6 inch piece are 4 by 6 inch pieces of lumber that are spaced out by 2 by 6 inch pieces. The top-most visible layer consists of 2 by 8 inch pieces of lumber laying perpendicular to the 4 by 6 inch pieces. The method of anchoring the platform into the ground remains unknown. It is likely that the platform was level with the ledge but extended out from it and was held there by support pilings. At least four timbers are potential pilings.

A test was conducted on the ledge, about 16 feet south of the bluff bank. The ledge was sparsely vegetated with cottonwoods and grass. From 0-10 cm the test yielded brown silt mixed with coal and moderate size gravel and lots of small roots, but a dense and near-solid coal deposit was encountered at 10 cm below surface. Chunks of coal popped out of the test when scraped with a shovel. The presence and density of the coal deposit is out of the ordinary for other locations either in the survey area at large, or along the rail route. The only other location with this kind of density of coal was located along the coal chute (described below), however, those deposits were loose. The presence of compacted coal in GH3 suggests that it may have been a coal bin that was not completely emptied when mine and rail operations ceased.

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Figure 32. Moose Creek Spur, feature GH3.

55 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Just north of GH3, evidence of the set of rails closest to the bluff ends. The remaining eastern set of rails continue, although vegetation and sediment accumulation made tracking difficult in this area even with a metal detector. The rail becomes obvious again on the surface within 30 to 40 feet, and continues northeast at the bottom of the bluff to near Moose Creek’s current channel. Approximately 150 m northeast from GH3, the surrounding ground surface begins to gradually slope down towards the creek. In this area, the rail and bed are at least 2 feet above the surrounding ground surface and are bordered on the north by a 3 foot deep ditch. At the same time, the ground surface to the north beyond the ledge begins to rise and becomes level with the rail bed for about 10 feet, then it continues to slope up 15 feet onto a ledge approximately 12 feet across. The ledge is wider and higher to the west and gradually narrows and decreases in elevation as it continues east until it becomes level with the valley bottom. A test was conducted on the ledge and a spike was found 4 cm below the surface. The ledge appears to be a related construction but its purpose is currently unknown.

A major disruption of the railway begins just to the west of Moose Creek, near the north edge of the intensive survey area, where the railway is closest to the bluff, and continues for roughly 300 m, making the spur difficult to trace in this area. Moose Creek’s channels have shifted numerous times over the near-century since the rails were built and appear to have undercut and washed out nearby remains. A single, dislocated rail was located in the east bank of one of the current channels. A berm was noted in this area, southeast of the railbed and near the current creek channel, which proved to be a dike constructed by nearby farm owner William Long in an attempt to curb bank erosion by Moose Creek (Charlene Schmidtkunz, personal communication 2009). Also, an east-west power line was built almost perpendicular to the railroad spur route, and the earth and vegetation within the power line right-of-way is heavily disturbed. The bluff on the west side of Moose Creek is eroding and sliding in this vicinity. Most of the trees are no taller than 30 feet and likely do not pre-date 50 years.

The standard gauge rail bed continues beyond the disturbed area, and runs north-northwest, on a nearly straight route, to approximately 15 m south of the Glenn Highway. Only a raised bed with scattered associated metal remains, such as spikes and plates, were found, but the alignment matches with that seen for the standard gauge rail in the 1918 map of this area (Figure 6, above). The evidence of the railway continues beyond the Glenn Highway and the State wayside that is located on the north side of the road in that area. The State wayside north of the highway is located roughly on top of the Doherty Mine, later renamed the Pioneer Mine, that first used the Moose Creek Railroad spur.

Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway (ANC-3274) The route of this narrow gauge rail appears to follow the “Doherty Narrow Gauge Railroad” alignment seen in a 1918 AEC map of the Baxter Line (Figure 6, above). The south end of the rail begins at the coal chute about 75 feet from the top of the bluff (Figure 27, above). It follows the curve of the bluff to the north, gradually gaining elevation as it approaches the Doherty Mine. During the 2009 survey, the rail was first noticed as a set of suspended rails eroding out of the bluff high above Moose Creek’s west bank (Figure 33). These rails were later correlated with a prepared bed to the south and north, excavated into the side of the bluff.

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Figure 33. Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway, suspended in landslide area.

The 8-foot rail bed was first identified as a break in the approximately 55° slope of the bluff on the east side of the coal chute (Figure 34). In this location, it trends northeast on a bearing parallel to the standard gauge rail at the bottom of the bluff and is vegetated largely with grass. The bed is discontinuous due to landslides along the bluff wall. Adjacent to the coal chute, a single rail is visible running northeast along the bed. The inner or north rail appears to be present but buried under landslide debris in this location. Farther to the east both rails are present, with the inner rail appearing out from under landslide debris. The rails on this alignment differ from the standard gauge rails found at the bottom of the bluff in that they do not have writing on their sides, and they are smaller, roughly 2 inches wide and 3.5 inches tall.

The rails and bed continue for roughly 40 m east of the coal chute before a landslide a few meters wide covers them completely. They are apparent again on the other side of the slide and continue again for 10 m, where another landslide occurs. This landslide is roughly 10 m wide, but the rails do not continue beyond it in this location. The bed trends northeast for 10 m before it is covered with another landslide.

The bluff beyond the third landslide is characterized by unstable slopes and the rail bed was not traced here because of safety concerns. Spot checks were conducted when possible in surveying to the north; one of the rails was re-located, partially covered by landslide debris. In this location the rail was beginning its curve to the north and west. The rail was visible for roughly 40 m

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Figure 34. Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway bed, view northeasteast from coal chute.

before it disappeared again under landslide debris. The rail was again re-located by the power line near the north side of the intensive survey area, and it continued north for roughly 50 m. Most of the exposed rail was “suspended,” as the bed beneath it had been eroded away. The slope in this area became too unstable to traverse at this point, and the rail was not relocated to the north during this survey.

According to historic maps, the rail continued around the bluff towards Doherty Mine. Today this route is located east of the eastern edge of the Long Farm upper field and, farther to the north, the Glenn Highway. According to Charlene Schmidtkunz (personal communication 2009), narrow gauge track still existed below the upper field east of the cemetery during the period when William Long was actively farming. MSB archaeologist Dan Stone has reported that a segment of the narrow gauge track is visible north of the upper field and east of the Glenn Highway (personal communication 2010). It is likely that landslides along the unstable bluff edge, and construction of the Glenn Highway, have covered, or disturbed, portions of the northern section of the narrow gauge railroad.

Moose Creek Coal Chute (ANC-3273) The coal chute extends from the flat top of the bluff at the southeast edge of the Long Farm upper field down the steep scarf past the narrow gauge rail to the railway at the bottom of the bluff (Figure 27, above). The chute is roughly 60 m in length and traverses down a steep slope of approximately 50° to 55°. It was constructed of large dimensional lumber and was topped with metal sheeting approximately 1.5 mm thick that covered its bottom and some of the sides, to a height of at least one foot. The ore chute at the top was approximately 3 m wide, and the width

58 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 may have increased as the chute approached the storage bins positioned at the bottom. The full layout is difficult to assess from surface remains, partly because not all sections have survived intact and partly because the coal bin has been largely destroyed; timbers forming the upper lip and part of a side wall are all that survive. In cross-section, the chute appears to have been supported by four posts (Figures 35, 36). At the sides, rough hewn 4 by 4 inch posts continue up the sides to support the walls. The bottom of the chute was supported additionally by two posts, which appear to measure 4 by 6 inches, each cut diagonally on top to match the angle of the chute slope. Boards nailed to either side of these posts connected all four posts and also connected each of the central posts to corresponding posts uphill and downhill, to form a rigid crib. Chute baseboards are about 8cm thick, and there is also evidence of wear and tear. One board located near the top of the chute was fashioned from two boards nailed together to the requisite thickness, and constitutes a likely replacement. A large patch of fine coal is present in the middle of the slope, and small amounts of coal extend down the entire length of the chute.

Evidence of deterioration is substantial. The chute is not well preserved, although three sections (one near the top, one close to the middle of the hillside, and the latter at the bottom) retain some integrity. The topmost section of the chute preserves the understructure and the southern wall (tipped slightly N); the middle section preserves the bottom boards and the northern wall (tipped towards the S), and the bottom section preserves sections of the ore bin. The tipping of the wall sides—together with the possibility that the chute was flared at the bottom—gives the chute a somewhat curved appearance (Figure 37). Large sections of the chute seem to be missing; especially the absence of wallboards and posts on one or both sides. At the top, the chute has separated from the uppermost retaining wall (comprised of logs), probably as a result of disturbance activities on the bluff, immediately above. Several bulldozer piles were observed on either side of the chute, on top of the bluff just north of the edge. The pieces of dimensional lumber that signal the beginning of the chute construction are partially buried by earth and shifted apart from each other, and their nails are barely in place. Nails on the topmost boards suggest there was additional construction above ground level, but it is no longer present. Many of the central posts have fallen forward to lie horizontal rather than in their original vertical position.

The next section of the chute is disconnected by roughly 3 m from the topmost segment, but is intact enough to assess the chute’s construction (Figure 38). The chute continues to be made of dimensional lumber and nails, but the inside of the chute is lined with metal sheeting, approximately 1.5 mm thick. This sheeting is nailed to the lumber and covers the entire bottom and up each of the sides at least a foot. The chute’s width is between 2 to 3 m at the top, but the chute may have widened towards the coal bins at the bottom. The chute baseboards are roughly 2 inches thick, but in at least one location two boards were stacked on top of each other to make the correct height. This may be evidence of either replacement necessitated by use or original construction material availability.

The bottom of the coal chute appears to be roughly twice its top width, and it ends in what are likely poorly preserved coal bins. The walls have fallen in on themselves, rendering only a side- wall and the bin’s upper lip identifiable. Hinges are also nailed to some of the timbers. Despite the jumble of timbers and metal sheeting, the coal chute’s design is discernible.

59 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 35. Moose Creek Coal Chute, cross section and profile.

60 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 36. Moose Creek Coal Chute, axonometric reconstruction.

61 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 37. Moose Creek Coal Chute, plan view. To the east of the most intact section of the chute bottom is a large area of disassociated timbers, covering approximately 15 square feet. Roughly 30 feet east of the chute bottom are two very decayed vertical posts abutting a mound of vegetation-covered coal, at least 3 feet tall. No other timbers were apparent to create a bin or additional chute line. These might be remnants from an earlier version of the chute.

Car parts, bicycle parts, cans, and other mid to late twentieth century trash indicate this structure ended its days as a garbage chute. The two pieces of a blue and white beach cruiser bicycle are of a style popular between the 1930s and 1950s, while a Pepsi-Cola can near the base of the chute post-dates 1963 (Crown and Coleman 1996, Pepsico Inc. 2009).

Artifacts Associated with the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-3275). A variety of artifacts were found during transects with the metal detector to determine the boundary of metal artifacts around the rails. They are listed in Table 2 and are provided with numbers that coincide with those on Figure 16. They include pieces of the railroad, where the rails have been disturbed or removed, and artifacts of daily life that were left behind by railroad and mine workers (Figures 39 and 40). These artifacts are considered associated with the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute district, ANC-3275.

62 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 38. Moose Creek Coal Chute, top section.

Table 2. Artifacts associated with the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District. See Figure 15 for locations.

63 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

Figure 39. Narrow gauge rail section in east creek bank.

Figure 40. Possible syrup can, found in area of metal distribution near Moose Creek Spur rail.

64 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Station Road The still used dirt and gravel road from the Glenn Highway to the Matanuska River may have originally connected the Alaska Railroad’s Moose Creek Station to the Chickaloon Trail. The latter was the primary foot and horse trail, and later wagon and mechanized vehicle trail, that in the early 1940s became the Glenn Highway at that location (Figures 13 and 15, above). A USGS map from a 1943-1944 survey shows the established Station Road following the same route that it does today (Figure 7, above) (Barnes and Payne 1956, plate 2).

The road departs from the Glenn Highway on the eastern side of Moose Creek about half a mile northwest of the Yah Ne Dah Ah School and about 1500 feet southeast of the entrance to the Long Farm compound. It continues south-southwest down the steep bluff for about 700 feet, onto the floor of the Moose Creek valley, then jogs to the southeast and follows the base of the bluff for about 500 feet on a constructed bed. It then turns to the southwest and continues for about another 500 feet, at which point it turns directly south, and ends at the Matanuska River. The southern end of Station Road is north of the location of the former Moose Creek Station due to the erosion that has eaten away several hundred feet of the bank to the south. The road is approximately 12 feet wide and has drainage ditches on each side on the floor of the Moose Creek valley.

Significance

In order for a particular property—a district, site, building, structure, or object—to qualify for the NRHP, it must meet one or more of the Criteria for Evaluation and retain enough historic integrity necessary to convey its significance (National Park Service 1998). The NRHP Criteria are:

A. Association with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history. B. Association with the lives of significant persons. C. Embodiment of the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or representation of the work of a master, or possession of high artistic values, or representation of a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction. D. Having yielded, or having the ability to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

In addition to significance under one or more of the above criteria, a property must retain integrity, which “is the ability of a property to convey its significance” (National Park Service (NPS) 1998:44). The seven aspects of integrity are: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association.

Location is the place where the property was constructed or the place where the event took place. Design is the combination of elements that make up the form, plan, space, structure, and style of a property.

65 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Setting is the property’s physical environment. Materials are the physical elements that were combined or deposited during a particular period of time and in a particular pattern or configuration to form a property Workmanship is the physical evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory. Feeling is the property’s expressions of the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period of time. Association is the direct link between an important historic event or period and a historic property.

NRHP Bulletin 15 Part VIII states “To retain historic integrity a property will always possess several, and usually most, of the aspects” (NPS 1998:44). Properties important under Criteria A or B ideally would “retain some features of all seven aspects of integrity: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Integrity of design and workmanship, however, might not be as important to the significance, and would not be relevant if the property were a site.” With regard to Criterion C, a property “must retain those physical features that characterize the type, period, or method of construction that the property represents. Retention of design, workmanship, and materials will usually be more important than location, setting, feeling, and association”. For properties eligible under Criterion D, integrity is based upon the property’s potential to yield specific data that addresses important research questions (NPS 1998:46). Integrity for Criterion D will mainly focus on location, design, and materials. Integrity of materials for Criterion D is based on “completeness…of feature preservation” (Hardesty and Little 2000:46). Integrity of setting and feeling may not effect whether or not a property can yield important information (NPS 1998:49). Integrity of workmanship depends on the nature of the resource and the kinds of research questions being asked (Hardesty and Little 2000:48). Integrity of association is based on “the strength of the relationship between the site’s content and the important research questions.” (Hardesty and Little 2000:48-49).

Moose Creek Depressions/Cache Pits (ANC-2868, -3329, -3330. -3331. -3332, and -3333) Criterion A: Association with significant events These depressions demonstrate traditional Dena’ina use of the Moose Creek area. However, they are not associated with any significant events and are therefore do not meet Criterion A.

Criterion B: Association with the lives of significant persons These depressions are not significant under Criterion B. While it is likely that these depressions were constructed by the Dena’ina or the Ahtna, it is not known at the present time if any of them are associated with a significant person.

Criterion C: Distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or construction These depressions are not significant under Criterion C. They are not architecturally significant and do not embody any particular style, period, or method of construction. Nor do they represent the work of a master or possess high artistic value.

Criterion D: Potential to yield information important in prehistory or history Collectively, these depressions have the potential to reveal important information about

66 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 traditional use of this area of the Matanuska Valley by both the Ahtna and Dena’ina. They could be used to gain knowledge about traditional occupation and seasonal subsistence patterns. Study of these depressions could answer questions about the exploitation of local salmon resources and when and how long this area was occupied or utilized, and they could be used to examine continuity and change in Ahtna and/or Dena’ina culture. Phytolith samples could reveal if these depressions were used as cache pits, as grass was reportedly used to line the bottom of the cache pits and was used to layer the fish (see Yarborough and Mulholland 2005). Additional testing would also help determine if any of these depressions may have been used for some other purpose.

Integrity The depressions are in their original locations, dotting the landscape around the southern Moose Creek area. They retain integrity of design as the design of the depressions has not changed in terms of their overall patterning. The setting is primarily intact as this area has seen little development. The railroad that was constructed in the early 20th century cannot be seen from the depressions on the western side of Moose Creek. These depressions retain integrity of materials as they have not been disturbed. Integrity of association is intact; even though no datable material was found, the patterning and construction of these depressions suggests a link to traditional use of this area.

ANC-2868, ANC-3329 through ANC-3333 are recommended as eligible for listing on the NRHP under Criterion D for their capacity to yield information important for understanding Ahtna and Dena’ina culture and lifeways.

Moose Creek Roadhouse Site (ANC-3278) Because this site is outside the intensive survey area for the proposed project, surface artifacts associated with it were documented during the reconnaissance survey, but no subsurface testing was done. For the same reason, a minimum of research was conducted on the site. If this is the location of the road house of which Gus William Johnson was proprietor, and which served the mines and railroad in the Moose Creek Area, then it may be eligible under Criteria A or B. As no buildings are present, it is unlikely that the site would be eligible under Criterion C. If subsurface remains are present, it is possible that the site could be eligible under Criterion D. No recommendation is made at this time on the eligibility of ANC-3278 for the NRHP .

Isolated Artifacts (no AHRS numbers) In general, isolated surface artifacts such as those described above are not usually sufficiently significant to be eligible for the NRHP. Although their presence demonstrates past use of an area, they are not potential sources of important information. Some of the documented artifacts may have been associated with the railroad, or mines upstream, but they have lost their historical associations. Lacking recoverable data other than their location, these artifacts are recommended as not eligible for the NRHP under any of the four criteria of significance.

Gregg House (ANC-3370) Although the original homestead log cabin may be associated with twentieth century homesteading in the Matanuska Valley, there is no visible evidence of this 1950s or 1960s

67 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 structure from the exterior of the building as it currently appears. In addition, the 1970s kit house does not meet the 45 to 50-year age threshold, nor does it possess the level of exceptional importance required by criteria consideration G of the NRHP guidelines to be considered eligible for the NRHP. Therefore, it is recommended that the Gregg House be considered as not eligible for listing in the NRHP due to a lack of integrity.

Long Farm Fields (no AHRS number) According to Charlene Schmidtkunz (personal communication 2009), there were no fields or remnants of fields on this property when her family (the Longs) bought it in the early 1970s; the “old coal chute road” ran from the current location of the gate at the highway through the brush where the large upper field is located to the top of the coal chute. Part of the old coal chute road is still present in the east part of the field (Charlene Schmidtkunz, personal communication 2009). William Long cleared this large field as well as the smaller, lower field to the south and built the road between them.

The Leroys, the original homesteaders on this property, are recorded in the 1920 census as farming at Moose Creek. The Leroys received the patent to their Moose Creek property in 1921. According to the 1930 census records, the Leroys were living in Humboldt County, California, at that time; William’s occupation is listed as a dairy farmer. It is not known if they were living there full time or if they ever came back to their Moose Creek property after 1930. Both William and Inez Leroy passed away in the 1950s in Humboldt County. David Leroy, their son, died in 1971 in Humboldt County; the Longs bought this property in 1973 from his estate.

In order to receive the patent to their land, the Leroys would have had to cultivate a certain portion of their land for three years (see homesteading discussion above). Since there was no evidence of any fields west of Moose Creek when the Longs bought this property in 1973, it could be that any prior field cultivation done by the Leroys in the late 1910s or 1920s was on a different part of the homestead. As this field is, at most, only about 36 years old, it is not part of the Leroys’ “proving up” of their early 20th century homestead. Since this field does not meet the age requirement of 50 years for listing on the NHRP and is not of “exceptional importance,” it is recommended as not eligible for listing on the NRHP.

Road Segments (ANC-3371 and ANC-3372) Maps from as early as 1916 show the Watson-Chickaloon and Dalton Trails in the Moose Creek area, but attempts to match the two road segments documented during this survey with these maps have not been successful. Additionally, while trucks were used to transport coal from the local mines to the Moose Creek Coal Chute after the Moose Creek Spur of the Alaska Railroad was damaged by flooding in 1942, and roads in the area were improved, the USGS map depicting the truck road to the chute does not match ANC-3372. It is not possible at this time to connect ANC-3372 with a definite period or particular events.

ANC-3371, which provided access to the location of the Kleinsmith cabin (Charlene Schmidtkunz, personal communication 2009), was associated with John Kleinsmith’s homestead. However, although Kleinsmith lived on his homestead for over 40 years, there is no record of his actually having cleared and farmed acreage there, or evidence of his homestead being important

68 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 as an example of that type of land transaction. Although a long-time resident, John Kleinsmith does not appear to have been of particular importance in the history of the Moose Creek area. It is also not clear if Kleinsmith built the road himself, or if the road runs along the route of an earlier trail.

It does not appear that either ANC-3371 or ANC-3372 meet the significance requirements of Criteria A or B. These short segments of dirt road are not known to represent the work of any particular person, and do not appear to embody any outstanding feats of engineering, so they also do not appear to meet the significance requirements of Criterion C. The road segments have been mapped, and their width measured, but are unlikely to yield further information beyond that in this report, so they do not meet the requirements of significance under Criterion D. Therefore, ANC-3371 and ANC-3372 are recommended as not eligible for listing on the NRHP.

Historic Depression ANC-3373 The depression is located on the northwest portion of land homesteaded in the early twentieth century by Winfield Ervin, Sr. Ervin was a banker and one of the founders of the First National Bank of Anchorage in 1922 (Cook Inlet Historical Society (CIHS) 2009). There is a possibility that the depression had something to do with his homesteading activities, however, research did not yield additional information about its use. The abandonment of the depression likely occurred within the last 50 years based on the age and composition of vegetation within the depression; however, plant growth could have been slowed by the wood in the depression. This depression is old, as evidenced by the presence of wooden beams in the floor and possible nails or other metal objects buried well below the exposed depression surface. However, ANC- 3373 could not be connected with a particular time period or specific event or person, and does not meet the significance requirements of Criteria A or B. There are few defining characteristics for the depression. and the only remains appear to be the four walls and entrance that comprise the depression. It is unknown whether this was the cellar of an above-ground structure with a roof, or perhaps just a cellar with a ground level cover. The depression does not clearly embody a type, period, or method of construction, and does not meet the significance requirements of criterion C. Given the current knowledge of the area, it appears unlikely that the depression will yield any important information regarding the history of the area, so it does not meet the significance requirements of criterion D. It is recommended that ANC-3373 be considered as not eligible for the NRHP.

Communications Line and Posts (ANC-3374) Although the line and posts are historic in age, research did not yield any information about who installed or used them, or when. While the line might have been associated with any number of users of the Moose Creek valley - the railroad, miners, homesteaders or later local residents, or, as one local resident suggested, the military - the lack of information about the line and the posts does not allow them to be associated with a particular event or person, such that they do not meet the significance requirements for NRHP Criteria A or B. As survey to both the north and the south, including intensive survey of the proposed project’s area of disturbance, did not result in location of additional line, the design of the line is not clear, and it does not appear to embody a specific type of construction or engineering accomplishment. It does not appear to meet the requirements of Criterion C. Although identified as probably telephone wire, no additional infor-

69 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 mation is likely to be learned from these items, making the poles and associated wire not significant under Criterion D. It is recommended that the communications line and posts be considered as not eligible for the NRHP.

Railroad and Mine related Features Alaska Railroad Matanuska Branch/Moose Creek Railroad Bridge (ANC-0097) Because the Alaska Railroad Matanuska Branch bed and the Moose Creek Railroad Bridge are outside the intensive survey area for the proposed project, its location and artifacts associated with it were documented, but no subsurface testing was done. For the same reason, a minimum of research was conducted on the branch. While it was associated with the development of the Matanuska Coal Fields for over 50 years, its rail and ties have been removed, as well as the 60- foot long steel bridge. The remaining rail bed and bridge support posts indicate where the line ran, and metal artifacts are present. Further research into its possible significance under Criteria A and D, and its integrity, would be necessary for evaluation for the NRHP. No recommendation on its eligibility for the NRHP is made for ANC-0097 at this time.

Possible Prospect Pits (ANC-2869) Because these depressions are outside the intensive survey area for the proposed project, their locations were documented, but no subsurface testing was done. For the same reason, a minimum of research was conducted on them. Further research into their significance and integrity would be necessary for evaluation for the NRHP. No recommendation on its eligibility for the NRHP is made for ANC-2869 at this time.

Moose Creek Spur (ANC-3272) Criterion A: Association with significant events The Moose Creek Spur is a component of the Alaska Railroad, and is associated with the construction and use of the Alaska Railroad and the development of coal resources in the Matanuska Valley, particularly in the Moose Creek valley, from the 1910s to the 1960s. It was instrumental in facilitating transport of coal from productive mines on Moose Creek to the Matanuska Branch of the Alaska Railroad and consumers beyond. Limited information, in the form of numerous photographs and related records by AEC employee and official photographer Phinney S. Hunt, who labeled his 1916 photographs of the construction of the line as “AECRY”, the acronym for “Alaska Engineering Commission Railway”, indicates that it was the AEC that funded, built, perhaps with some assistance from the Doherty Mine, and owned the spur. In later years, after the AEC became the Alaska Railroad, it asserted its ownership, as it does today, and maintained and upgraded the spur. The Moose Creek Spur meets the significance requirements of Criterion A.

Criterion B: Association with the lives of significant persons Current research does not indicate that the Moose Creek Spur was associated with any particular person in history, therefore it does not meet the significance requirements of Criterion B.

Criterion C: Distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or construction The Moose Creek Spur is characteristic of a time period, the early twentieth century, and the type of railroad construction done at that time. The design and layout of the spur are original, and

70 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 some of its components illustrate the importance of materials from the Panama Canal in the construction of the AEC Railway. It contains a frog that appears to be from the Panama Canal and sections of early rail that were not replaced with more modern 115-pound rail during the railroad’s post World War II rehabilitation program. The Moose Creek Spur meets the significance requirements of Criterion C.

Criterion D: Potential to yield information important in prehistory or history The existing in situ rails of both the spur and related sidings, feature GH3, and the rail-related artifacts present on the rail bed of the Moose Creek Spur in those areas where the rail has been disturbed, near the south side of the lower Long Farm field and its intersection of the Matanuska Branch, and the area near Moose Creek north of the coal chute, may still yield information about the technology and methods of building of the railway, and activities related to its operation. The Moose Creek Spur meets the significance requirements of Criterion D.

Integrity The Moose Creek Spur retains its integrity of location, as its route has not changed over time. It also retains its integrity of setting, feeling, and association with early twentieth century transportation. It retains its integrity of design in the 400-m long area where the track is intact, as well as its integrity of materials and workmanship. The Moose Creek Spur retains sufficient integrity to meet the eligibility requirements of Criteria A and D. When the entire length of the spur railway bed is considered, however, the disturbed portions detract from its overall integrity of design, materials and workmanship. While the undisturbed section is a good example of a spur with siding, the spur is no longer connected to working sections of the Alaska Railroad, to the south, and it has places that are washed out to the north. The spur, overall, appears to lack the degree of integrity of design, materials, and workmanship required by Criterion C. The Moose Creek Spur is recommended eligible for the NRHP under Criteria A and D. It is also recommended eligible as a contributing element of the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District ANC-3275.

Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway (ANC-3274) Criterion A: Association with significant events The Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway is associated with the private side of development of the coal resources in the Matanuska Valley, and particularly the Moose Creek valley, in the early 1900s. It represents the first wave of rail-related coal transport in the Moose Creek valley, and it was closely tied to the building of the AEC’s Moose Creek Spur. Without the Doherty Mine and its narrow gauge railway, no coal would have been available for transport from Moose Creek. The Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway meets the significance requirements of Criterion A.

Criterion B: Association with the lives of significant persons Although the developer of the Doherty Mine, R.G. Doherty, is known, there is uncertainty concerning whether it was he and his mine, or the AEC, who constructed and maintained the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway. In addition, research has not shown that Doherty, although the owner and operator of the first mine on Moose Creek, is significant in the history of the area. Therefore, the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway does not meet the significance requirements of Criterion B.

71 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Criterion C: Distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or construction The Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway, which only operated between 1916 and 1918, and possibly for a few years after 1925, exemplified the height of coal transport technology in the late 1910s along the Matanuska Branch, so it could be considered characteristic of that time period and type of railway construction. Its design and layout are original. The Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway minimally meets the significance requirements of Criterion C.

Criterion D: Potential to yield information important in prehistory or history Because much of the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway has the potential to be intact in areas where it is covered by landslides or field debris, future testing is likely to yield information about its route and the technology involved in building it. The Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway meets the significance requirements of Criterion D.

Integrity The Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway bed, and those pieces of rail that are on it, retain their integrity of location; its design can be somewhat discerned in its southern portion, and its setting, feeling, and association are basically the same as in the early 1900s. The Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway has enough integrity to be eligible under Criteria A and D. However, its materials and workmanship have been compromised by landslides and erosion, such that it appears to lack the integrity required by Criterion C. The Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway is recommended as eligible for the NRHP under Criteria A and D. It is also recommended eligible as a contributing element of the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District ANC- 3275.

Moose Creek Coal Chute (ANC-3273) Criterion A: Association with significant events The Moose Creek Coal Chute is associated with the development of coal resources in the Moose Creek Valley from the 1910s to the 1960s. It was an important part of the transportation system that allowed coal to be delivered from productive mines on Moose Creek to the Moose Creek Spur and Matanuska Branch of the Alaska Railroad and other consumers. The coal chute represents one of the last examples of the coal-driven rail industry in the Matanuska Valley. The Moose Creek Coal Chute meets the significance requirements of Criterion A.

Criterion B: Association with the lives of significant persons Although an alternative name for the chute is the Doherty Mine coal chute, research to date has yielded no information about a particular person who is associated with it. The Moose Creek Coal Chute does not meet the significance requirements of Criterion B.

Criterion C: Distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or construction The Moose Creek Coal Chute has been modified, most likely in the later part of the first half of the twentieth century. While its dimensional lumber no longer represents the log chute of 1916, it retains distinctive characteristics of the historic technology required to transport coal from the time of its modification into the 1960s. Its design and layout is substantially the same as it was in 1916, judging from historic photographs of that period. The Moose Creek Coal Chute meets the significance requirements of Criterion C.

72 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 Criterion D: Potential to yield information important in prehistory or history The Moose Creek Coal Chute collapsed in recent decades, and some of its lumber was removed by local residents (Lawrence Wade, personal communication 2009). However, testing along the slope could identify broken timber posts and better define the course of the chute, and size and location of the ore bin or bins. It might also yield evidence of the original log construction. The Moose Creek Coal Chute meets the significance requirements of Criterion D.

Integrity The Moose Creek Coal Chute maintains its integrity of location, its forested setting, and its feeling and association with the early and mid-twentieth century enterprise of supplying coal by rail to customers outside the Matanuska valley. Its design is discernible, despite its collapsed state, but some of its materials are missing, and it lacks the integrity of workmanship that would make it eligible under Criterion C. The Moose Creek Coal Chute retains the integrity required to meet Criteria A and D and is recommended eligible under these two criteria. It is also recommended eligible as a contributing element of the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District ANC- 3275.

Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-3275) Criterion A: Association with significant events The area that comprises the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District was intensely used for over half a century as a coal transportation center and as a stop along the Matanuska Branch. The mines along Moose Creek were continuous producers of coal from the 1910s to the 1960s. This time period saw numerous changes in Alaska including the growth and development of the Alaska Railroad, the settlement of the Matanuska Valley, the improvement of the Glenn Highway, World War II, and the start of the Cold War. The coal that moved out of this area provided necessary power for many of these endeavors and much needed employment for Alaskans. The Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-3275) meets the significance requirements of Criterion A.

Criterion B: Association with the lives of significant persons Research has not shown that the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District is associated with a specific person who is significant in history. The Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District does not meet the significance requirements of Criterion B.

Criterion C: Distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or construction The Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District embodies the characteristics of Alaska’s coal-rail industrial transportation system from the early twentieth century to the 1960s. It retains its original layout and design over an area of over a mile from its intersection with the Matanuska Branch to the area just south of the Glenn Highway near the highway bridge over Moose Creek. It includes evidence of changes in technology in the historically updated materials in the Moose Creek Coal Chute. The Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District meets the significance requirements of Criterion C.

Criterion D: Potential to yield information important in prehistory or history The activities that took place at the mouth of Moose Creek yielded more material remains than

73 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 just the rails and the chute discussed above. Historic remains are scattered to either side of the rails and chute for at least 30 m and their importance as interpretive or informative properties was not fully explored during the relatively brief survey that was conducted during the summer of 2009. GH3 appears to have been associated with the coal transfer activities of the Coal Chute and the Moose Creek Spur, and is likely a contributing feature to the District. The Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District encompasses these potential properties. The metal distribution seen on Figure 27 provides a current estimation of the district’s boundaries based on the survey conducted in 2009. The actual distribution of historic remains could extend much farther to the east and likely includes the area between the north and south sections of the Moose Creek Spur. The Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District has potential to yield information important to our understanding of the development of coal industry and the movement of people and goods in the Matanuska Valley and Alaska in the early twentieth century. The Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District meets the significance requirements of Criterion D.

Integrity The three contributing sites in the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District do not retain enough integrity of workmanship and materials, overall, to be considered eligible for the NRHP under Criterion C. They, and their associated surrounding artifacts, do, however, have sufficient integrity of location, setting, materials, feeling, association, materials and workmanship to be considered eligible for the NRHP under Criteria A and D. The Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District is therefore recommended eligible for the NRHP under Criteria A and D.

Station Road (ANC-3335) Criterion A: Association with significant events The exact date when the Station Road was built is uncertain, but it was likely constructed during the pre-World War II period, and possibly as early as 1917 or 1918, when the Matanuska Branch was extended east of Moose Creek, and the Moose Creek Station, or Section, was built. Early maps of the Moose Creek area were selective in their depictions, such as the railroad map in Figure 6, above. Although the map shows the Depot, Pump House and Water Tank of the Station in 1918, it illustrates neither the Chickaloon Trail, in place for many years by that time and used as a construction road during the building of the Matanuska Branch, nor a possible connecting road or trail to the station. Likewise, the 1937 ARC map detail shown in Figure 11, above, depicts the Chickaloon Trail as a dotted line going through the LeRoy homestead, but shows neither that route as it continued through the Moose Townsite, nor the Alaska Railroad’s Moose Creek Section, or any connecting trails.

The Matanuska Branch of the railroad “was the only mechanized access into the Moose Creek area until the old railroad construction road was re-built as the Moose-Palmer wagon road”, which happened sometime prior to 1937 (Dale et al. 1991:21, USDI 1937). However, wagon haulers moved freight along the road, which became more important after 1933 when the Alaska Railroad began to remove track east of Sutton. Local residents such as Katie Wade reported traveling by foot or wagon to the Moose Creek Station in the 1930s (Wade 2004), by which time it is likely that the Station Road was in place.

74 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010 The period of significance for the Station Road is from at least the early 1940s, when truck traffic associated with the coal mines and the railroad became important, and the road was depicted on the USGS map shown in Figure 7, above, to the 1960s, when the Alaska Railroad ceased operations east of Palmer. It was the only road that connected the Moose Creek Station on the Matanuska Branch to the Glenn Highway during this time when motorized automobile and truck traffic became increasingly more important than rail traffic for commercial and personal transportation. The Station Road meets the significance requirements of Criterion A.

Criterion B: Association with the lives of significant persons Research has not shown that the Station Road is associated with a specific person who is significant in history. The Station Road does not meet the significance requirements of Criterion B.

Criterion C: Distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or construction The Station Road is not simply a bladed dirt road through the Moose Creek Valley, but is built on a constructed bed, with drainage ditches on each side. It is likely typical for the purpose and the period when it was built, in the first half of the twentieth century. However, it is not the work of a master, nor does it represent special engineering techniques. The Station Road does not appear to meet the significance requirements of Criterion C.

Criterion D: Potential to yield information important in prehistory or history It is unlikely that the Station Road itself will yield more information than its route, which is currently known. The Station Road does not appear to meet the significance requirements of Criterion D.

Integrity The Station Road retains sufficient integrity to be recommended as eligible for the NRHP under Criterion A. The road has not been moved and the setting of the Moose Creek Valley has not changed, so it retains integrity of Location and Setting. As a constructed dirt and gravel road, it still has its historic materials, its route, its proportions, and its features, and so retains integrity of Design, Materials and Workmanship. Along most of its length it also maintains its integrity of Feeling and Association. Despite erosion of the river bank and loss of the Moose Creek Station where the road originally ended, it still connects a main road–the Glenn Highway on the bluff above–with the Matanuska River near the remains of the Matanuska Branch. The Station Road retains the integrity required by Criterion A and is recommended as eligible for the NRHP.

Conclusions and Recommendations

A wide variety of cultural resources were documented during the course of the 2009 survey for the proposed Glenn Highway Reconstruction project between MP 53 and 56. Most are historic and associated with Euro-American twentieth century development of the area. Others are cache pits that appear to be prehistoric or early historic and associated with Alaska Native culture. As a result of research and evaluation, CRC recommends that at least eleven sites in the study area are eligible for the NRHP, of which nine sites are in the proposed direct impact area. The nine sites are:

75 Glenn Highway Reconstruct MP 53-59 August 2010

- Four Cache Pit sites (ANC-3329, ANC-3330, ANC-3331, and ANC-3332), recommended as eligible under Criterion D,

- the Alaska Railroad’s Moose Creek Spur (ANC-3272), recommended as eligible under Criteria A and D,

- the Moose Creek, or Doherty Mine, Coal Chute (ANC-3273), recommended as eligible under Criteria A and D,

- the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway (ANC-3274), recommended as eligible under Criteria A and D,

- the Moose Creek Railways and Coal Chute District (ANC-3275), also recommended as eligible under Criteria A and D, which includes the Moose Creek Spur, the Moose Creek Coal Chute, and the Doherty Mine Narrow Gauge Railway, and activity areas related to work at this industrial complex as defined by documented artifacts and features in the vicinity of the Moose Creek Coal Chute and the Moose Creek Spur, and

- the Station Road (ANC-3335), recommended eligible uner Criterion A.

The other two sites recommended as eligible for the NRHP at this time, both outside the proposed area of disturbance, are two Cache Pit sites: ANC-2868 and ANC-3333. No recommendations are made here for the Moose Creek Roadhouse Site (ANC-3278), or the possible prospect pits (ANC-2869), or for the Katie Wade Homesite (ANC-3080), which is being processed under a separate project.

The proposed project, to reroute the existing Glenn Highway across the Moose Creek valley, has a proposed area of disturbance close to two miles long, of which over one mile will be a 500-foot wide area of fill. All of the nine historic properties noted above within the 500-foot wide proposed direct impact area will be directly affected by the proposed construction activities. For this reason, CRC recommends a finding of “adverse effect” for this project.

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