McKinley Trail Cabin

1917
McKinley Trail Cabin is the only remaining structure in the historic town of Alaganik. It is also the last intact log cabin along the Copper River and Northwestern Railway route. It was built during the period when the railroad was the primary mode of transportation for the Copper River Delta. The log construction, sphagnum moss chinking, and V-notching are all unique when compared to the other cabins in the area, which are more recent, have aluminum siding, or are made from dimensional lumber. Visit Recreation.gov to reserve a night at McKinley Trail Cabin.

McKinley Trail Cabin

Location

The McKinley Trail Cabin (COR-462), also known as the Mile 22 Cabin, and its related Cabin Dump (COR-178), are located on National Forest System Lands about 22 miles east of Cordova, 0.3 miles northeast of the Copper River Highway, the original route of the Copper River and Northwest Railway, along the McKinley Lake Trail (COR-532), and within the Chugach Alaska Corporation selection for the town of Alaganik. The cabin sits adjacent to and uphill 100 feet southeast of the McKinley Lake Trail (Figure 3), which heads at Mile 22.4 of the Copper River Highway, 22.4 miles east of Cordova, Alaska. The cabin is located on the USGS Cordova Quad, B-4 (1:63 360), Section 33, T16S, R1E, Copper River Meridian (Figure 2). ) The cabin, built in 1918, and the dump were considered one site, COR-178, until 2000, when the cabin was given a separate number.

Physical Description

The McKinley Trail Cabin is a one-story residence in good condition (Boraas 2002), with a horizontal round log construction, medium gable roof and V-notching on the corners (Figure 14).  The cabin is rectangular, measuring 16 feet by 14 feet, exclusive of the porch (Figure 4). The cabin rests on a creosoted timber foundation.  The cabin faces northwest and is surrounded by a hemlock forest on all sides except to the southwest where a small open area holds a picnic table and a metal fire grate (Figure 6).

The cabin has a tin, medium gabled, ridgepole roof with a 3 ft overhang on all sides.  Originally, the roof was sheathed with corrugated metal (Figure 10).  The tin exterior and the plank boards to which it is attached were installed by the Forest Service in 1981 (the ridgepoles are original).

The sides of the structure are nine courses high, with 15 courses on the front and rear.  All the logs are hand hewn hemlock harvested from local timbers. The cabin is still chinked with the original sphagnum moss (Figure 13).  In 1960, the bottom 3 logs on all 4 sides were replaced due to rot.  The replaced logs are from local timber and were notched to match the existing materials (Grove 1958; 2003).

There is small amount of graffiti on the walls.  Some of the carvings on the cabin walls are historic and help to date the cabin. One such carving is “Dave Ludwig Sept.30, 1951” (Figure 15).  Bullet casings have been pushed into the logs in the corners.  The cabin was painted a dark brown, both inside and out, by the Forest Service at an unknown time (Figure 13).

There is a covered veranda/gallery porch on the northwest exterior. A photo from 1981 shows the overhang of the roof, but no decking (Figure 10). The floor and railings of the porch were added in 1981 (Figure 11). The addition of the railings and decking was not permanently attached to the cabin and could be reversed (Boraas 2002).

The interior is a single room consisting of four built-in bunks: two in the south corner (Figure 17) and two in the east corner (Figure 16).  The bunks were installed by the Forest Service in 1960 (Grove 2003). There is a built-in counter in the north corner.  A rusted, heavy cast iron wood stove from 1960 is in the west corner (Figure 18).  The stove was replaced due to theft of the original.  The older stove has been located in a private cabin near Cordova (Kritchen 2003a). The floor is of a heavy plank construction, an in-kind replacement installed by the Forest Service in 1960 (Grove 2003).

There are two 3-pane rectangular windows, on the southwest and southeast walls.  Neither window opens.  In 1981, vandals shattered all the window panes. The window panes were replaced with in-kind panes by the Forest Service that same year.  The door, on the northwest wall, has been replaced in a plain horizontal construction (design of the original door is unknown). The door opening measures 77 1/2 inches high, the width measures 31” with the existing door jamb and 37” wide from log wall to log wall. (Hall: April 2004).

There is a single outbuilding, a plywood outhouse to the east of the cabin, construction date unknown, but it is not the original outhouse (Figures 19 & 20). A single picnic table and fire grate are located in an open area between the cabin and the dump (Figure 6).  Both were added by the Forest Service in 1981.

The dump associated with the cabin is located directly west of the cabin, along the edge of the steep bluff (figure 6).  Its maximum north-south extent is approximately 35 feet (11 meters), and its east-west extent is approximately 23 feet (7 meters), for an approximate area of 150 square feet (46 square meters).  Artifacts visible in the midden include railroad ties, railroad car axles and wheels, old stove pieces, tin cans, glass bottles, rusted cans, rifle cartridges, railroad spikes, and glass bottle stoppers.  The dump has not been tested, and may have considerable depth (Mattson 1981).

Historic Context

The Eyak village of Alaganik was established about 1825, when fighting between the Eyak-Yakutat Tlingit and the Sugpiaq/Chugach resulted in the Sugpiaq/Chugach giving up Controller Bay (de Laguna 1990:195).  A trading post (COR-00176), with related residences, was established at Alaganik in 1889 by Charles Rosenburg, where many gold rush prospectors stopped before traveling upstream on the Copper River. The villagers experienced a severe epidemic of a Western disease in 1892 or 1893, after which many of the inhabitants of Alaganik moved to the isthmus area between Eyak Lake and Cordova Bay (now Orca Bay) (Birket-Smith and de Laguna 1938:18-19, 21). The Abercrombie expedition stopped at the trading post in 1898, and reported that there were only two Native men and a handful of children living in the houses near Rosenburg’s still operating trading post (Powell 1907).

In 1899, a brother of the Ahtna Chief Nicolai lead Edward Gates and his mining party to the Nicolai Prospect, the first of the many rich copper deposits in the Kennicott Glacier Valley. This event started a rush of miners to the area to stake claims.  In 1900, Clarence Warner and “Tarantula” Jack Smith staked the Bonanza claim by the Kennicott Glacier. This turned out to be the richest deposit of high grade copper in the Kennicott Valley (Simpson 2001).

Soon after, an engineer named Stephan Birch purchased a controlling interest in the Bonanza claim and many others from the surrounding region and established the Alaska Copper and Coal Company (Bleakley 1999). That ownership was then transferred to the Alaska Syndicate, financially backed by the Guggenheim family and the Kennecott copper enterprise was born.

It soon became apparent to the Syndicate that a railroad would be required to transport the copper ore to the shipping docks of Cordova, Valdez, or Katalla. In 1905, the Syndicate began railroad construction out of Valdez, but that was soon halted and construction was transferred to Katalla in 1907.  Both endeavors to construct the railroad from these points failed and in 1908 construction for the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad began out of Cordova, and continued until March 28, 1911 (Steel 1911).

The railroad opened up the entire Copper River Valley to settlers, and buildings and homes began to pop up along the tracks.  Alaganik is an original railroad stop, and stops were scheduled from the opening day of the line (Steel 1911).   The Copper River and Northwestern Railroad ran regularly from 1911 until November 11, 1938 when the Kennecott Copper Mine closed down. The entire 195-mile route of the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad was reopened by the Army during World War II.  The railway was permanently decommissioned following the completion of the war, when the 713th Railway Operating Battalion was transferred (US Army 1972).

Access to the Mile 18-22 area along the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad allowed settlement and development of the site of the earlier village of Alaganik.  Farms for fox and other fur bearers were permitted by the Chugach National Forest, which was established in 1906 (Chugach National Forest files).  Track walkers and tie hackers for the railroad also lived intermittently in the area.  The U.S. Federal census of 1910 lists 11 residents in this area between miles 21 and 23 on the Copper River and Northwest Railway.  A 1922 Cordova quadrangle map shows four buildings (unlabeled) near the railroad in the vicinity of the cabin (Figure 1).  A The McKinley Lake Mine Trail and the connecting Pipeline Lakes Trail, which may have been used by the Native villagers of Alaganik in the nineteenth century, were part of the Forest’s system of maintained trails by at least 1926, when Forest records exist that discuss widening the existing trail.

Significance

The McKinley Trail Cabin is significant as the only remaining structure in the historic town of Alaganik.  It is also the last intact log cabin along the Copper River and Northwestern Railway route (AHRS 2003). It was built during the period when the railroad was the primary mode of transportation for the Copper River Delta. The log construction, sphagnum moss chinking, and V- notching are all unique when considered in relation to the other cabins in the area, all of which are more recent, and most of which have aluminum siding, or are constructed of dimensional lumber (AHRS 2003). Stabilization of the cabin was undertaken in 1960 by the Forest Service, which resulted in extending the useful life of the building. The major structural components of the building retain their integrity.

The cabin is about 100 feet from, and historically associated with, the McKinley Lake Trail (COR-00532). The trail was the main access route from the railroad to the McKinley Lake Gold Mining District, which consisted of the McKinley Lake Mine (COR-00449), the Lucky Strike Mine, the Pioneer Mine, and the Bear Creek Mine (Buzzel 2001). The prospecting and development of hard rock mines occurred in the McKinley Lake Gold Mining District from 1898 to World War II. The McKinley Lake Mine was reopened in 1944, with work occurring there until 1960. Once the Copper River and Northwestern Railroad arrived, the McKinley Lake Trail was more widely used by people wanting to visit, or work at the mines.  The McKinley Lake Gold Mining District (COR-00449) was formed in 1900 by M.J. Heney, but it was never fully developed, despite numerous attempts over 80 years. Currently, several hundred people hike up the McKinley Lake Trail each year to visit McKinley Lake and the mines.

The cabin is associated with M. L. McAllister, a locally significant individual who lived in it year-round for about a decade. The cabin was originally constructed as a residence by John Gillis in 1918, and used by him until 1931 (Figure 24), when he transferred it to McAllister (Gillis 1918; McAllister 1931). The cabin was used as a primary residence by McAllister until his death in 1943 (Figure 25). References to McAllister have labeled him as the mayor of the village Alaganik and the owner of the Lucky Strike Mine (Rocham 1939).  He was also known as the main rum-runner in the area. He provided homemade whiskey to the Navy men at the Mile 16 radio station (Kritchen 2003a).  The remains of a still location were found by Assistant Forest Archaeologist Heather Hall near a historic midden located at Mile 21.4 (COR-00179). Since McAllister was the only rum-runner in the area, it is possible that the still was his. Cordova resident Larry Kritchen reportedly discovered McAllister’s old 25 gallon whiskey still which he found about 300 yards downstream from the McKinley Trail Cabin in Alaganik Slough (Kritchen 2003a).

Use of the McKinley Trail Cabin was subsequently transferred to William C. O’Brien, who held it from 1945 to 1949 (O’Brien 1945).  This time period saw a shift in use of the cabin from a residence to a trapping cabin for residents of Cordova (Figure 26). Trapping was often a way life when gold mining was not very profitable.  Game was plentiful in the area, and trapping for mink, beaver, and otter still occurs.   Glen Williams also used it as a trapper’s cabin from 1949 to 1951 (Figure 27; Williams 1949).  Lloyd H. Loomis had the cabin for a year from 1951 to 1952 (Figure 28; Loomis 1951).  Leonard E. Wheeler was the last private citizen to use the cabin from 1952 to 1953 (Figure 29; Wheeler 1952).  The transfer of the cabin SUP is documented in Clyde P. Maycock’s 1952 Ranger diary, “Leonard Wheeler/ ‘Buck’ Loomis’s S.U. Permit for F.S. cabin Alaganik.  Permit to Wheeler on 1 yr. basis.”

The U.S. Forest Service did basic maintenance on the cabin starting in 1940 (Goldblum 1940).  Minor unspecified improvements were made to the cabin by the Forest Service starting in 1952, while the cabin was under Lloyd Loomis’s SUP (Estes & Harrison 1952).  The cabin was acquired by the Forest Service in 1960 for use as a public-use cabin through the Cordova Ranger Station.  In 1981, the cabin was placed on the National Cabin Reservation system as a public-use rental cabin for hunting and fishing.  The McKinley Trail Cabin is the only building still standing in Alaganik, and one of the few structures in the region that is still in use (AHRS 2003).

Artifacts evident in the Cabin Dump include a wide variety of items, as noted above. These include objects from the Copper River and Northwest Railroad, in addition to items deposited by residents and visitors. Former Cordova resident Linda Hill, whose father used the cabin for trapping, noted that not until the 1970s did cabin users started hauling out their trash (Hill 2003).  The dump appears to contain remains from a variety of activities between 1918 and 1970, which would provide insight into daily residential life in the town of Alaganik during its later years, as well as later trapping and recreational activities.

Integrity

Location.  The cabin has been in the same location since 1918.  There is no evidence of it being moved.  The associated midden is vast and undisturbed.

Design.  The layout of the main cabin and its interior is similar to what it was in 1918, with minor exceptions.  The exterior layout has been altered due to the roof extension and decking installation, both of which are reversible (Boraas 2002).  The cabin’s proportions and window patterns are still expressive of its original design and function.

Setting.  The cabin has not been moved away from its original location, so the setting of the cabin in association with the topography and cabin dump is still intact.  The cabin dump setting is similar to what it was in 1918, with the only differences being the increase of vegetation in the area and the continued addition of material to the cabin dump.

Materials.  All of the courses of logs in the main structure are original, with the exception of the bottom three sill logs that were replaced due to rot.  The replacement was completed with the same materials and methods employed in 1918 (Grove 2003).  The gable logs are original, and the chinking is the original sphagnum moss (Boraas 2002).  All modern materials that have been added to the cabin (decking, roof extension, tin roof, table and brown paint) are reversible (Boraas 2002).

Workmanship.  The workmanship of the cabin is in keeping with the workmanship of the early twentieth century.  However, the V- notching is unique in comparison with other cabins in the area (AHRS 2003).  The moss chinking indicates a use of native vegetation which was often lost once modern replacements, i.e. cloth chinking, became available.  The use of hand-hewn logs is indicative of its early construction date.

Feeling.  The feeling of the site is that of a pioneering lifestyle.  The cabin portrays the rural living and pioneering spirit of the early trappers and miners.  When taken in association with the cabin dump, the feeling is that of unspoken history and the continued use of the area over a century of time.

Association.  The cabin and dump are associated with the historic town of Alaganik and the McKinley Lake Trail.

Determination of Eligibility

Criterion A (Association with significant events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history).   The cabin and nearby dump is associated with pre-World War II mining in McKinley Lake Gold Mining District.  McAllister resided in the cabin during the 10 years that he held the Lucky Strike Claims and used the trail to access the cabin and the claims.  As the last remaining structure in the village, the cabin is associated with the later history of both the Native village and non-Native settlement of Alaganik.

Criterion B (Association with the lives of persons significant in our past). The second owner of the cabin, M.L. McAllister, is important to the local history of the area.  McAllister was considered famous by the residents of Cordova as the mayor of the train depot town and village of Alaganik. He was also the owner of the Lucky Strike Gold Mine in the McKinley Lake Gold Mining District.

Criterion C (Embodiment of the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or representation of the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction).   The cabin’s basic design is typical of pioneer construction techniques in the Copper River Valley.  Although there may have been other cabins with similar construction techniques in the vicinity at one time, as the only remaining cabin from its period of significance, its hand-hewn, V-notched logs, are unique in this area.  Because of its maintenance by the U.S. Forest Service, the cabin is in excellent condition.

Criterion D (Has yielded or may be likely to yield information important in prehistory or history).

Although the cabin itself may not provide additional information about life in the early twentieth century, the associated dump and potential archeological deposits around the cabin can provide information about the lifestyles of the early settlers in the Copper River Valley.

This site contains important information for understanding both the community history of Alaganik and important elements of early twentieth century history of southcentral Alaska.  There are a significant number of artifacts present in the large dump.  Numerous tin cans and glass bottles offer insight into what types of subsistence products were imported into the area, information that has the potential to detail the emerging incorporation of rural Alaska into a larger national and global economic system.  Considering that the cabin was a residence between ca. 1918 and 1943, the dump is expected to contain remains of a variety of activities representing daily life prior to World War II.  This site offers a view of the lifestyle of Alaska’s early independent gold miners, as well as the trappers and recreational visitors who later used the site. There are also railroad remains in the cabin dump that would provide insight into the cabin’s association with the railroad.

Conclusions

The cabin and associated cabin dump together provide an excellent example of life in the Copper River Valley during the first half of the twentieth century.  The cabin retains its integrity of location, design, workmanship, setting, feeling, and association.  It is the only remaining structure in the village of Alaganik, is associated with M.L. McAllister, and visibly represents a time that has almost completely been erased from the area. The dump can yield valuable information about life in Alaganik during the early years of the twentieth century.  The McKinley Trail Cabin and Cabin Dump are determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under eligibility criteria A, B, C, and D.

Historic Function:   Domestic- single dwelling residence
                Other/ Midden- Cabin dump

Current Function:    Other- Rental cabin
         Other/ Midden- Cabin dump

Cultural Affiliation:  Euro-American

Area(s) of Significance:   Architecture
                Archeology/ Historic- Non-Aboriginal

Periods of Significance:      1918-1943 Town of Alaganik
    1918-1938 Copper River and Northwestern Railroad
    1932-1943 M.L. McAllister’s primary residence (the last mayor of 
    Alaganik).
    1944-1953 Trapping Cabin

References

Alaska Heritage Resource Survey [AHRS]
  2003  On file: CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK.

Birket-Smith, Kaj & Frederica de Laguna
  1938    The Eyak Indians of the Copper River Delta, Alaska. Levin & Munksgaard: Kobenhaven.

Bleakley, Geoffrey 
  1999    The Copper River and Northwestern: Alaska’s Bonanza Railway. Prince William Sound Community College. 

Boraas, Erik 
  2002    McKinley Trail Cabin Assessment. Report on file with the Chugach Forest Service (CNF) Heritage Department. Anchorage, Alaska.

Buzzell, Rolfe 
  2001    Cultural Resources Evaluation of the McKinley Lake Mine Site, Near Cordova, Alaska, 1999. Alaska: Office of History and Archaeology, Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, Alaska Department of Natural Resources. 

Estes & Harrison 
  1952    CNF Ranger Diaries. On file: National Archives, Anchorage, Alaska.

Gillis, John 
  1918    Cabin Site Permit. Special Use Permit file 1918-1931: payment history card on file: CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK.

Goldblum, Rudolph 
  1940    CNF Ranger Diaries. On file: National Archives, Anchorage, Alaska.

Grove, John 
  1958  CNF Ranger Diaries. On file: National Archives, Anchorage, Alaska.

  2003    Letter to Melissa Workmon, August 11, 2003.  On file: CNF Heritage Department, Anchorage, AK. 

Hill, Linda Wheeler
 2003   Interviewed on July 2nd and 15th, 2003 at the CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK, by Melissa Workmon and Helen Lindemuth.  On file: CNF Heritage Department, Anchorage, AK. 

 Holbrook, Ken & Linda Wheeler Hill 
  2003  Interviewed on 8 July 2003 at CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK, by Helen Lindemuth & Melissa Workmon. Transcript on file: CNF Heritage Department, Anchorage, AK.

Knox, Allan R 
  1959  CNF Ranger Diaries. On file: National Archives, Anchorage, Alaska. 1959.

Kritchen, Larry 
  2003a Interviewed on 5 August 2003 in Cordova, Alaska., by Helen Lindemuth & Melissa Workmon. Transcript on file with the CNF Heritage Department, Anchorage, AK.
  
  2003b Letter dated September 01, 2003 from Larry Kritchen to Melissa Workmon. On File: 
             CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK.

de Laguna, Frederica. 1990.  “Eyak” In Northwest Coast, vol. 7, Handbook of North 
American Indians, pp. 189-196.  Smithsonian Institution.

Loomis, Lloyd H. 
  1951    Trapper’s Cabin Permit payment history card. Special Use Permit file 1951-1952. On file: CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK.

Mattson, John
  1982  COR-00178 Site Inventory Form.  On File: CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK.
 
Maycock, Clyde P. 
  1952    CNF Ranger Diaries. On file: National Archives, Anchorage, Alaska.

McAllister, M.L. 
  1932  Residence Permit payment history card, 1932-1943.  On file: CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK.

O’Brien, William C. 
  1945    Trapper’s Cabin Permit. Special Use Permit file 1945-1949: payment history card on file, CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK.

Powell, Addison M
1907  Trailing and Camping in Alaska: Tales of the Valdez and Copper River Gold Rush.
         Newold Publishing Company,  New York.

Pratt, L.C. 
  1922  CNF Ranger Diaries. On file: National Archives, Anchorage, Alaska.

Pritchard, J.S.  1939.  “Interstate Commerce Commission Gives Report on Closing of Copper River & Northwestern Railroad”, The Cordova Daily Times, March 20, 1939.

Rocham 
  1939    Letter to B.D. Stewart, Territorial Department of Mines.  On file: CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK.

Simpson, Ronald N. 
  2001    Legacy of the Chief. Copper Rail Histories, Inc. Publication Consultants.
        
Schrank, Randy
  2001  Site Survey of McKinley Cabin Site and Access Trail. Map. Alaska: CNF, 2001.

Steel, Will A.
  1911    “April 1, 1911 Railroad Completed to the Copper Belt: Copper Spike is Driven at Mine.” The Chitina Leader. .

United States Army, Alaska [US Army]
  1972  The U.S. Army in Alaska, 5th edition.  USARAL Pamphlet 360-5.  Department of the Army, Seattle, Washington.

United States
  1910  Federal Population Census, Alaska, 1910, Microfilm publication. National Archives, Anchorage.

Wheeler, Leonard E. 
  1952    Trapper’s Cabin Permit payment history card 1952-1953. On file: CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK.

Williams, Glen 
  1949    Trapper’s Cabin Permit payment history card, 1949-1951. On file: CNF Supervisor’s Office, Anchorage, AK.

More information:

• McKinley Trail Cabin recreation information on the Chugach National Forest website