KNIK, ALASKA 1912
[email protected]
There is
very little left of the (once thriving) town of Knik, except for two buildings
(the museum and a small cabin). In it's heyday, which was from 1905 to 1915,
Knik had dozens of businesses serving the mining districts.
All that changed when the railroad tracks bypassed Knik when they came through the Matanuska Valley in 1917; Knik became a ghost town in less than six months. All, but a handful of buildings were dismantled and moved to Anchorage or Wasilla, leaving no hint of the little boom town.
G. Stanley Herning lived in Knik from 1904 until his family moved to Wasilla in 1917, then he continued to go back to Knik to fish and to visit the Ellexson family for the next 25+ years. In 1978, Stanley drew a map of Knik, as he remembered it, in 1912. It is no doubt, the most accurate
account of Knik, in its prime, that exists.
To help decipher the names of some of these map entries, I've made up a map key (below) including brief descriptions of what I've gleaned from the Herning diaries about each business.
All that changed when the railroad tracks bypassed Knik when they came through the Matanuska Valley in 1917; Knik became a ghost town in less than six months. All, but a handful of buildings were dismantled and moved to Anchorage or Wasilla, leaving no hint of the little boom town.
G. Stanley Herning lived in Knik from 1904 until his family moved to Wasilla in 1917, then he continued to go back to Knik to fish and to visit the Ellexson family for the next 25+ years. In 1978, Stanley drew a map of Knik, as he remembered it, in 1912. It is no doubt, the most accurate
account of Knik, in its prime, that exists.
To help decipher the names of some of these map entries, I've made up a map key (below) including brief descriptions of what I've gleaned from the Herning diaries about each business.
| NUMBER AND STANLEY's LABEL |
OWNER |
NOTES |
|
| 1. OLD SWIMMING HOLE |
ON KNIK LAKE |
||
| 2. B & H STORE |
CHARLES E. BROWN and T.W. HAWKINS |
||
| 3. WC MINES BARN |
KLONDIKE & BOSTON GOLD MINING & MANUFACTURING CO. |
ORVILLE HERNING WAS HEAD OF THIS EXPLORATION TEAM |
|
| 4. HUGHES BARN |
WILLIAM HUGHES (1856-1923) |
BOUGHT A DENA'INA WIFE FROM AFFANASSA IN
1908 |
|
| 5. HERNING BLACKSMITH SHOP |
ORVILLE G. HERNING |
||
| 6. BAR |
|||
| 7. McSLARTY HOUSE |
THIS IS ACTUALLY BERT McCLARTY |
CABIN STILL STANDING IN KNIK |
|
| 8. JAP HOUSE |
JAPANESE FAMILY LAST NAME WADA |
||
| 9. CANNON's DOG KENNELS |
FRANK CANNON |
||
| 10. CANNON's HOTEL |
FRANK CANNON |
PIONEER HOTEL |
|
| 11. OFFICE |
|||
| 12. JAIL |
|||
| 13. HOWARD BLDG RENTAL AND CHURCH |
REV. T. P. HOWARD |
WASN'T OPEN IN 1912, DIDN'T OPEN FOR BUSINESS UNTIL 12/1914 -- DISMANTELED AND SOLD TO DON S. RAE IN 1917 |
|
| 14. KELLY TIN SHOP |
FRANK KELLY |
||
| 15. BARBER SHOP |
|||
| 16. CAFE |
|||
| 17. PALMER WAREHOUSE |
GEORGE W. PALMER |
||
| 18. PALMER STORE |
GEORGE W. PALMER |
||
| 19. PALMER DOCK |
GEORGE W. PALMER |
||
| 20. DOWS SALOON |
THIS IS ACTUALLY THE DAVIS SALOON OWNED BY AL DAVIS |
||
| 21. HERNING DOCK |
ORVILLE G. HERNING |
||
| 22. HERNING WAREHOUSE |
ORVILLE G. HERNING |
||
| 23. B & H DOCK |
CHARLES E. BROWN and T. W. HAWKINS |
||
| 24. HOUSE |
ORVILLE G. HERNING |
||
| 25. STORE |
ORVILLE G. HERNING |
||
| 26. HOUSE |
ORVILLE G. HERNING |
||
| 27. BARBER |
|||
| 28. HERNING BARN |
ORVILLE G. HERNING |
||
| 29. WAREHOUSE |
|||
| 30. CAFE |
|||
| 31. PATCHELL ASSAY OFFICE |
JAMES PATCHELL |
||
| 32. STORE |
|||
| 33. KNIK ROADHOUSE |
FRANK CANNON |
||
| 34. JIMMONS |
ACTUALLY SIMMONS |
BOUGHT NAKEETA's HOUSE FROM GEORGE PALMER FOR $150 |
|
| 35. FARRINGTON DELIVERY |
F. F. FARRINGTON |
||
| 36. KNIK SCHOOL |
FIRST DAY OPEN WAS 12/12/1912 |
||
| 37. INDIAN CHIEF STEPHAN's HOME |
BIG JOHN STEPHAN (1860-1916) |
DENA'INA NAME STEPANKDA -- FATHER OF RUF STEPHAN |
|
| 38. MORRISON HOTEL CAFE |
MRS. MORRISON BAKERY/HOTEL |
||
| 39. MORRISON DOG KENNELS |
MRS. MORRISON |
||
| 40. PRICE BOAT SHOP |
|||
| 41. POOL HALL |
GEORGE HERSHEY and TOM FULTON |
(WASN'T OPEN IN 1912) DIDN'T OPEN UNTIL THE SPRING OF 1913 BUILDING STILL IN KNIK/IT IS THE MUSEUM |
|
| 42. MADSON LAUNDRY |
HARRY MADSON |
||
| 43. HUGHES HORSE FIELD AND HAY FIELD |
WILLIAM HUGHES |
||
| 44. CANNON HOTEL GARDEN FIELD |
FRANK CANNON |
||
| 45. FARRINGTON HAY FIELD |
F. F. FARRINGTON |
||
| 46. BARTHOLF HOMES ON THIS FIELD |
BYRON S., WILLIAM EARL AND CHARLES BARTHOLF |
||
| 47. HERNING's FENCED HORSE FIELD |
ORVILLE G. HERNING |
||
| CLICK
HERE TO TO BACK TO MY MAIN ALASKA RESEARCH WEB PAGE |
|||
| [email protected] |