Series: Denali History Nuggets

Little-known episodes from Denali's history!

• Article 1: “Rigging” History: Mount McKinley National Park’s Origin Story

  

  Letters from over 100 years ago reveal some interesting twists to the question of who first proposed a national park in the area of Mount McKinley (Denali) and an apparent attempt at some revisionist history by then-Alaska Governor Thomas Riggs. Read more

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  Article 2: Back in Time: A Watch and the Story of an Early McKinley Station Resident

  

  In summer of 2017, Denali archaeologists working on a Section 106 compliance survey close to the historic McKinley Park Station site discovered a piece of history: a two-inch pocket watch with the inscription “WM ALLMAN MCPARK ALASKA.” Who was WM ALLMAN? Read more

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  Article 3: The Ultimate Triumph and Tragedy: Remembering Walter Harper 100 Years Later

  In October, 1918, in a tragedy sometimes referred to as “The Unknown Titanic of the West Coast,” the Princess Sophia sank en route from Skagway to Vancouver. All 350-plus people on board perished, including one of the most significant figures in Denali history. Read more

• Article 4: World War One in Interior Alaska: The Story of Claude Harrison

  The epic journey of an Alaskan answering the call of duty, as America entered World War I, caught the nation's attention. Read more

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  Article 5: Nine Point Two: Denali and the 1964 Earthquake

  

  A 2018 earthquake brought back memories of the historically devastating 1964 earthquake that rocked Alaska. Read more

• Article 6: Started from the Bottom: A Mission from Death Valley to Denali on Horseback

  In 1958, Stanley Upton of Riverside, California hatched an ambitious plan. He was determined to trek from the lowest point in North America, in Death Valley, to the highest point on Denali’s summit. Read more

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  Article 7: Disaster and Scandal: the 1939 Superintendent’s Residence Fire

  

  On the morning of October 23rd, 1939, the Superintendent’s Residence caught on fire and was destroyed. Not long after the flames expired, criminal accusations of arson, insurance fraud, and narcotics possession were leveled against Lorraine Been by the park clerk’s wife. The Department of the Interior opened an investigation. Read more

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  Article 8: Johnnie Busia: “Mayor of Kantishna”

  

  Although many miners came and went, Johnnie and Fannie Quigley became the only two who stayed year-round. He mined, trapped, and hunted to survive but became locally famous because of his hospitality, character, and ability to endure in remote Alaska. Read more

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  Article 9: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: So Many Sheldons

  

  Perhaps the most famous surname in Denali's modern history! Read more

• Article 10: “Do You Know Who I Am?” That Time Tolstoy’s Grandson Worked in the Park

  Beginning in the summer of 1930, Count Ilya Tolstoy (1903-1970), grandson of famed Russian author Leo Tolstoy, worked at least two seasons in Mount McKinley National Park. Tolstoy’s presence in the park was reported in the news and created a stir among park employees and visitors. Read more

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  Article 11: The Original Pipeline Controversy: Morino versus Karstens

  

  If you thought pipeline disputes were just a modern issue affecting land management agencies, you would be mistaken. In 1923, Mount McKinley National Park Superintendent Harry Karstens grappled with a pipeline controversy in just the third year of the park’s administration. Read more

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  Article 12: Fannie Quigley—Not Just Blueberries and Bluster

  

  While most who visit and live in Alaska know of Fannie as the legendary pioneer who arrived in the Kantishna Hills during the 1905-06 gold rush, there is another side to Fannie’s extraordinary life that is not as well known—notably, her contributions to science and the local community. Read more

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  Article 13: The Mystery of Ansel Adams’ Denali Photo

  

  An answer to the mystery of just when Ansel Adams took this iconic photograph of North America's tallest peak! (Denali and Wonder Lake, Denali National Park, Alaska, 1947, 1948. Photograph by Ansel Adams Collection Center for Creative Photography © 2016 The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust) Read more

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  Article 14: Alaska's Golden Spike

  

  Alaska's own "Golden Spike" moment signaled a turning point in the ability of the public to easily visit Mount McKinley National Park (which was the name of Denali National Park and Preserve at the time). Read more

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  Article 15: John Rumohr and His Very Good Boy Tige: Denali Legends

  

  A story of World War I veteran and park ranger John Rumohr being saved by his beloved sled dog Tige during a winter patrol in Mount McKinely National Park (now known as Denali National Park & Preserve). Read more

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  Article 16: Remembering the Three Cs of C Camp: The Legacy of the CCC in Denali

  

  A short history of Denali's seasonal housing, "C Camp." Built by the CCC during the 1930s, it is emblematic of that program, which brought workers to improve infrastructure in America’s national parks. Read more