A. E. C. Cottage No. 23

A.E.C. Cottage No. 23 is an example of Anchorage's early residential structures and is a reminder of the community's railroad roots. The Alaska Engineering Commission (A.E.C.), created by the Federal Government to build a railroad (today's Alaska Railroad--ARR) from a year-round port to interior Alaska, built a number of houses, among them Cottage No. 23, in 1915 and 1916 to provide housing for its employees in the new town of Anchorage. The new community's future. The previous year, the A.E.C. had surveyed the Anchorage townsite and held an auction to sell lots. Because housing was in very short supply in the boom town, the A.E.C. determined that it needed to provide accommodations for its employees. In 1915 the A.E.C. built thirteen houses on Government Hill (which is located across the railroad yards and Ship Creek to the north of the townsite) for employees, and in 1916 it built nineteen houses on the Anchorage Townsite. Eight of the houses (called cottages) still stand on Government Hill, eight still stand on the Anchorage Townsite, and another seven exist but have been moved from their original locations. Cottage No. 23 is one of two (the other is on Government Hill; the owner is not interested in nominating the property at this time) that have been minimally altered. Although changed quite a
Site No. ANC-330), has been determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1912, the U.S. Congress passed the Second Organic Act for Alaska that, among other provisions, created an Alaska Railroad Commission. The commission studied the railroad situation in the territory of Alaska and recommended that the government buy the Copper River and Northwestern Railway that began at Cordova and penetrated the interior about 160 miles to Chitina and build a trunk line from Chitina to Fairbanks. This would cost less, they argued, than buying the Alaska Northern Railway that went from Seward to Turnagain Arm and extending the road to Fairbanks. The commission found Cordova's harbor better than Seward's. The copper River railroad, however, was associated with the east coast Guggenheim and J.P. Morgan families and many people considered the "Guggs" Alaskan mining, shipping, fishing, and railroad operations a monopoly.

Democrat Woodrow Wilson replaced Republican William Howard Taft as U.S. President before the commission's report was adopted. Shortly after taking office, Wilson appointed a new three-person commission. Members included William C. Edes, Thomas Riggs, and Lt. Frederick Mears. Sensitive to political concerns, the new Alaska Engineering Commission (A.E.C.) also saw long-range benefits in opening the Matanuska and Susitna river valleys to develop agriculture and tap coal resources. This second commission recommended the Seward to Fairbanks route for a government railroad. On March 12, 1914, the President signed a bill that authorized government construction of a railroad in Alaska. That summer the commission members established a field headquarters at the mouth of Ship Creek. On April 9, 1915, President Wilson announced the selection of the route his commission recommended.

That spring, word spread rapidly through the communities of southcentral Alaska about a major construction camp to be established at the mouth of Ship Creek. Folks from Cordova, Valdez, Knik, Kodiak, and Seward headed for the camp. There would be construction jobs and a need for restaurants, entertainment, clothing and supply stores. Quickly, stampeders put up tents and opened businesses. The A.E.C. contracted with independent construction firms to build 100-foot sections of the railroad north and south of Ship Creek. This arrangement enticed contractors to move to Anchorage who, in turn, hired local laborers.

One of the purposes of the government-built railroad was to encourage the settlement of land adjacent to the route. in addition to building the railroad, the commission surveyed several townsites and held auctions to sell lots at Anchorage, Matanuska, Wasilla, Talkeetna, and Nenana. The auction at Anchorage--by far the largest--took place on July 10, 1915. That day, 655 lots in the townsite were sold for almost $150,000.

By the spring of 1916, as many as 6,000 people had come to Anchorage. That year the A.E.C. moved its administrative operations from Seward to Anchorage.

Because housing was in extremely short supply, the commission had built thirteen residences on Government Hill for its employees in 1915, and the second set of nineteen houses, including Cottage No. 23, on the original townsite in 1916. The commission designed the cottages, and local contractors constructed the houses. Apparently, there were nine different building plans. Walter DeLong, A.E.C. general storekeeper, moved into Cottage No. 23 in early 1917. During the first five years of Anchorage's existence, the town was managed by the Alaska Engineering Commission. The federal government, new to the railroad business, had inadvertently become involved in local government. The federal role in town management ended when Anchorage officially incorporated on November 23, 1920, but the railroad's continuing presence remained critical to the town's prosperity and growth.

A.E.C. Cottage No. 23 was a rental unit for railroad personnel until 1930 when it was sold. It continued to be used as a residence until its conversion to a law office in the late 1970s. The cottage is an example of Anchorage's first residential structures and is a reminder of the community's railroad roots.