Austin “Cap” Lathrop, widely known as “Alaska’s first home-grown millionaire,” established his presence in the territory of Alaska when he purchased the steamship, L.J. Perry. He would use that vessel to transport goods to Alaska first, then, after the Gold Rush began, prospectors and the goods they needed. He made his home in Valdez and […]
The Wellesley and the Northland arrived in Anchorage on October 5th, 1915. The two steamers sailed from the Lower 48 for the Alaska Engineering Commission, carrying 1.5 million feet of lumber. The lumber was for the construction of the Alaska Railroad. Construction was taking place in Anchorage and the Matanuska Valley at that point in […]
On the morning of September 18th, 1915, a tremendous explosion took place in Prince William Sound. The explosion originated at the Granite Mine in Hobo Bay. A ton and a half of dynamite was deemed to have been set off by a disgruntled employee who had been fired the day before. Despite the massive explosion […]
