Lost History Of The Copper Valley, Alaska: Copper Center & Gakona 30 Years Ago

THE JOURNAL ARCHIVES

LOST HISTORY 

Copper Center home in 1996. (Journal archives) 

Thirty Years Ago, The Country Journal Catalogued Some Of The "Old Buildings" In The Central Copper Valley 

Here's What We Saw... 

In the past 30 years, most of these buildings have collapsed or disappeared.

REPRINTED FROM THE AUGUST 1st, 1996 
COPPER RIVER COUNTRY JOURNAL 

The McCrary Barn in 1996 in downtown Copper Center behind the old Copper River Cash Store. (Journal archives)

NINETY YEARS of standing in the hot summer sun and enduring tons of snow is taking its toll on the old Copper Center homestead barn. Long a picturesque landmark, the barn was built between 1904 and 1912, by John McCrary, after he moved to Copper Center from California. The barn passed on to his son, Nelson McCrary, around 1940. Nelson McCrary was an enterprising man, who had a fox farm at Dry Creek, ran Yost's Roadhouse near Black Rapids Glacier, north of Paxson, hauled freight, worked as a trainman, and even lived on an island in Prince William Sound, on a fox farm. In 1925, he and his wife lived at "Pleasant Lake" in what is now Kenny Lake, where he had a blue fox farm. In 1929, he moved to Cordova, where he was chief of police and fire chief. When he returned to Copper Center, he fenced off 60 acres of his homestead, stocking them with South American beavers.

Copper Center Jail in 1996. (Journal archives)

THIS IS the old Copper Center Jail. It’s beside the Copper River Cash, a little distance from the highway. In 1941, Nelson McCrary was the U.S. Deputy Marshal in this region, with sole responsibility for law and order, from Valdez to Tok. He worked on rescues also. His wife, Mary, cooked for the prisoners, and as a result was known far and wide for her culinary abilities. The McCrary homestead is posted against trespassing because of the condition of the buildings, but on the homestead there's still a barn, chicken coop, rabbit hutches, shop, fox pens, the jail, the post office, wire fencing from the 60-acre beaver pen, and even remnants of underwater beaver dams. The McCrary grandchildren, who lived in Glennallen, used to visit their grandparents and spend weekends in the jail when they were kids. Sue Becker, one of the McCrary clan. wants to make the little jail into a coffee shop or other working business.

The 'Red Cabin' near the Richardson in Gakona, in 1996. (Journal archives) 

THE "RED CABIN" near Gakona Lodge was originally built as a garage in 1927 or 1928. It was later converted to a home. The structure, which is well-protected by a solid roof, is in excellent condition, and is now being operated as a private home and B&B. There were three major building periods at Gakona Lodge.

The first was in the early 1900's. The riverfront site was homesteaded by Jim Doyle in 1902, who cleared about 80 acres and raised horse feed, potatoes and vegetables. The ice house and storage shed were built during that time, in 1904. And, according to Suzy Strang, so were the old lodge and barn. Then, from 1927-1928, the carriage house (now a dining room) and large lodge were built. Several of the small cabins near the lodge were built in the early 30's. Then, in 1942, when the Alaska Highway crews came through, the big white garage was built. So was the bunkhouse for the road crews that is now Trapper's Den. All of these buildings are still there, in some form.

The old Copper Center Post Office, which is now almost completely collapsed,
as seen in 1996. (Journal archives) 

IN THE PAST, post offices were tied to lodges. This is the original Copper Center Post Office, across from the Copper Cash Store. John McCrary, who owned the homestead that still surrounds Copper Center, arrived here in 1902 - just as Jim Doyle did in Gakona. He got a contract for the first overland postal run, from Valdez to Fairbanks. The run was a 130 mile stretch from Upper Tonsina to the head of the Delta River.

Aside from having a mail contract, John McCrary also had a farm, with cows, chickens, and pigs - and he hauled freight from Valdez up the Richardson. In later years, he built a 2-story hotel, near where the old jailhouse is now, next to the Copper Cash. (During the same years, the original Gakona Lodge also had a post office, in the lodge.) John McCrary has five descendents, still living in the area, and all siblings: Mary McCrary, Gret Olson, Judy Becker, Sue Becker, and Mike McCrary. They still own the 230 acres left of the homestead.

The George Ashby Museum in 1996 still looks almost exactly the same today. (Journal archives) 

THE COPPER CENTER MUSEUM, which is known as the George I. Ashby Memorial Museum, used to be known as "The Annex", and was a bunkhouse that housed overflow at the lodge. Now the museum holds artifacts from the entire Copper River Valley. This is Connie Sackett, a volunteer at the museum.

Chief Jim McKinley's Copper Center roadside cabin, in 1996. In the past 30 years, the cabin has been heavily vandalized and partially burned down. (Journal archives)

COPPER CENTER'S historic buildings will soon include many private homes, including this cabin, which was the home of Jim McKinley.