Anchorage Cemetery

The Anchorage Cemetery is associated with the settlement and development of Anchorage. The period of significance begins in 1915 with the founding of Anchorage and the first six burials in the cemetery. It ends in 1943, fifty years ago, when another cemetery in the Anchorage area opened. Original settlers, merchants, miners, entrepreneurs, politicians, doctors, educators, engineers, laborers, contractors, and sailors are buried in the Anchorage Cemetery. Because burial in the cemetery is open to everyone, different ethnic and religious groups are represented in the cemetery. With very few early Anchorage properties still standing on their original sites and used for their original purposes, the cemetery assumes greater significance. (The Kimball Building, a commercial property, listed in the National Register, is the only documented property from 1915 that is on its original site and used for its original purpose.) The Anchorage Cemetery, where over seven thousand individuals from all walks of life are buried, is significant as the only property in existence that is associated with many of Anchorage's pioneers.

When the Alaska Engineering Commission, a federal board created to construct the government-funded Alaska Railroad, announced that construction would proceed north and south from a camp at the mouth of Ship Creek in 1914, over a thousand people rushed to the site. A tent city grew overnight. Those interested in opening businesses appealed to the Alaska Engineering Commission to survey and plat a townsite and sell lots. The government conducted the survey of the Anchorage townsite in the spring of 1915 and held a lot sales in July. In August, an executive order added an east addition to the townsite and reserved land for a cemetery in the new addition. There were six burials in the new cemetery that year.

The fact that the Cemetery Reserve was nearly seventeen acres and much larger than the spaces reserved for parks elicited the comment that "Anchorage has been figured to be a place to die in, but not much of a place to live in" (J. Horace McFarland, "How Not to Plan cities," National Municipal Review, January 1917, p. 58). A second executive order, in 1918, permitted the sale of cemetery tracts to qualified religious and fraternal organizations, but reserved at least half of the tracts for public ownership and stipulated that those tracts be open to anyone. Patent 873718, issued on July 27, 1922, identified a 5.96-acre reserve for the cemetery on the south and east sides.

The city of Anchorage was incorporated in 1920, and the Alaska Engineering Commission turned over designated public property in the Anchorage townsite to the new local government. The city of Anchorage received a patent for its tracts in the cemetery in 1922. The Anchorage Cemetery was the only burial ground in Anchorage until the 1940s when the military opened Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Field and established a National Cemetery. Another cemetery, Angelus Memorial Park, originally south of the city but now part of the municipality, opened in the early 1950s.

In 1947 the city used a portion of the Cemetery Reserve for a utility substation. Desperate for land to build housing for the thousands of people who moved to Anchorage following World War II, the Territory of Alaska bought the remainder of the cemetery reserve from the city in 1952 for a housing project. To sell the land, the city determined that the
ent to the reserve was unrestricted. In 1975 the city of Anchorage merged with the Greater Anchorage Area Borough to form the Municipality of Anchorage. At that time, the city transferred the Anchorage Cemetery to the new Municipality. When the Alaska State Housing Authority demolished the housing project in 1991, the land reverted to the Municipality of Anchorage. It has been incorporated into the cemetery. The State transferred the housing office and garage on the southeast corner of the property to the Municipality as well, and they have been remodeled to be used for cemetery administration.

As early as 1917, Anchorage residents held memorial ceremonies at the cemetery and continue to do so today. Until the mid-1970s private tract owners, friends, and relatives of the deceased maintained the cemetery. Then a group of community residents took an interest in beautifying the cemetery, organizing the records, and getting the Municipality to take a more active role in maintaining the cemetery. In 1975 the Municipality declared the cemetery a Memorial Park and renamed it the Anchorage Memo Park Cemetery. Today, the combined efforts of the Municipality, private tract owners, and friends and relatives have made the cemetery a place of peace, tranquility, and beauty.

A diverse group of people founded and built Anchorage. Original settlers, merchants, miners, entrepreneurs, politicians, doctors, educators, engineers, laborers, contractors, and sailors are buried in the Anchorage Cemetery. People from many different ethnic groups, including Alaskan Native groups, are buried in the cemetery. To mention a few:
Baldwin, William A. "Lucky." 1863-1942. Baldwin arrived in Anchorage in the late 1920s from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, where he had served with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. A colorful character who was crippled by polio, Baldwin went around town in an electric three-wheel cart. He established the first self-service cash grocery store in Anchorage and constantly worked to cut food prices for residents. His motto was "In God we trust, all others pay cash." He was brash, irascible and sarcastic, but loved by his customers. He kept his tombstone beneath his bed for many years prior to his death.

Bagoy, John. 1869-1940. A participant in the Klondike gold rush, Bagoy arrived in Alaska in 1897. He stampeded to Fairbanks in 1908, Iditarod in 1910, and Otter Creek (near Flat) in 1913. He established the first commercial nursery and greenhouse at Flat in 1915, and then at Anchorage in 1921.

David, Leopold. 1878-1924. David arrived in Alaska in 1904. He worked for the Alaska Central Railway and later practiced law in partnership with L.V. Ray in Seward. He moved to Anchorage in 1915. Anchorage residents elected Judge David, as he was known, the first mayor of Anchorage in 1921 and reelected him in 1922. Asked many times to run for Territorial office, he declined on all occasions, preferring to serve his local community.

Dorbrandt, Frank. 1890-1935. Dorbrandt was a well-known American aviator and Alaskan bush pilot. He brought the first tri-motored aircraft to Alaska, the famed Ford Tin-Goose. He made many daring rescue missions, among them the nationally-recognized Jochinson rescue in Siberia.

Ezi, Chief. Died 1935. Chief Ezi was a leader of the Eklutna people (Tanaina Indians). He was highly respected as a man of his word. Dedicated to the unity of all people, Chief Ezi sought to bring all races together in mutual understanding. Gill, Oscar S. 1880-1947. Gill arrived in Seward in 1907. In 1909 he operated a sawmill at Susitna Station. After relocating to Knik, Gill
carried mail by dog team along the Iditarod Trail. In 1915 he worked for the Alaska Railroad at Ship Creek. In 1923 he opened an auto garage at Fourth and I Streets. He served two terms in the Territorial Legislature and was Speaker of the House, three terms as Anchorage city Councilman, and three terms as Mayor.

Hoffman, Frank. 1871-1937. Hoffman came to Alaska during the Klondike gold rush in 1898. He served as a law officer for thirty years and was the personal bodyguard of President Harding when he visited Alaska in 1923. From Police Chief in Valdez to U.S. Marshal in Anchorage and Chisana, Hoffman's reputation for fairness was known far and wide. The high esteem in which people held him was evidenced by the fact that year after year, with changing administrations, he was retained as U.S. Marshal--reputedly the finest Alaska has ever seen.

Koslosky, Isaac. 1872-1940. Koslosky came North with the Klondike gold rush in 1898. Koslosky became the most prominent fur buyer and trader in the Territory in his day. His expertise in the business brought fur buyers from all over the U.s. to Anchorage, making the town the fur trading hub of Alaska.

Laurence, Sydney. 1865-1940. An internationally famous artist, Laurence came to Alaska to prospect for gold. He painted Mt. Mckinley in its every mood and commanded the highest prices of any Alaskan artist. His paintings hang in the National Art Gallery and the Louvre. He was twice offered a title by King Edward VII and twice he declined. His profession took him to almost every country in the world, but his greatest love was Alaska and its mountain.

McCutcheon, Herbert H. 1887-1945. McCutcheon arrived in Alaska in 1899 and came to Anchorage in 1915. He was a contractor and built sections of the railroad between Whitney and Birchwood, then worked as a yard foreman for the railroad until 1938. He was elected to the Territorial House of Representatives in 1931 and served as Speaker of the House in 1941, moving to the Territorial Senate in 1943. He was one of the first members of the Elks Lodge in 1919 and served as exalted ruler in 1920, and was president of the Pioneers of Alaska, Igloo 15 in 1944-1945.

Watson, Charles. 1867-1940. Watson came north to the Klondike in 1897 where he was a prospector, miner, and stage driver and owner. He established the first passenger and freight stage service on the DawsonWhitehorse Trail. Later, he expanded his service to Valdez and Fairbanks. Watson moved to Anchorage in 1915. He owned and operated freight and stage services until the early 1930s when he became a U.S. Deputy Marshal under Frank Hoffman.

Wendler, Anton J. 1868-1935. Wendler came to Alaska in 1909. He was one of the first residents of Anchorage in 1915 and is considered one of the fathers of Anchorage. He was a member of the Townsite Selection Commission, a member of the first school board, the first President of the Chamber of Commerce, and a charter member of the Elks Lodge. He was very interested in the development of schools and quality education. Wendler Junior High School is named in his honor.