Alaska Communications System Photograph Collection, 1904-1963
Content Description
Communication stations, equipment and personnel in Alaska, 1904-1963.
Dates
- 1904-1963
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is unrestricted.
Conditions Governing Use
Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be discussed with the Librarian. Photocopying does not constitute permission to publish.
Biographical / Historical
The Alaska Communications System (ACS) operated as a military telegraph line in Alaska from 1900-1969. General Adolphus Greeley, became an early advocate for a reliable Alaska communication system after returning from an 1882 Arctic exploration expedition during which he discovered that it took an intolerable length of time for messages to reach Washington, D.C.
The need to police the Alaskan gold rush (1898-1900) also focused attention on Alaska's communication needs. In 1900, Congress allocated funds to link Alaska's army posts by a system of military telegraph and cable lines known as Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS) under the U.S. Army Signal Corps. General Greeley was designated Chief Signal Officer. Lt. Billy Mitchell mapped 2,000 miles of the route that ran south along the Pacific Coast at Valdez and west from the Tanana and Yukon to Nome.
By 1903 there were six telegraph circuits including 559 miles of line between Fort Gibbon at Tanana and Fort Egbert at Eagle City. Also at this time, headquarters at Fort St. Michael began telegraphic communication over 2,500 miles to the United States. By 1915 there were 55 WAMCAT stations.
The depression caused the closing of a number of stations. Expansion had increased largely to serve the civilian population. WAMCATS remained under control of the Signal Corps, but in 1936 the name was changed to Alaska Communications System.
The original ACS group numbered about 100 men, but by World War II it had grown to more than 2000 as it expanded again for military communications. It linked military posts in the Aleutians to main headquarters at Adak, Kodiak, and Anchorage. Lines composed of 72,000 poles covering 2,020 miles along the Alcan Highway were constructed. By the 1950's ACS had 33 combination military-commercial installations and 7 branch offices in Alaska.
In 1969 Congress authorized the Air Force to transfer authority to private industry. RCA Alascom purchased the system for $28 million. In 1970, the state began to regulate the industry and created the Alaska Public Utilities Commission and the Office of Telecommunications in the governor’s office.
Extent
8 Volumes (7 boxes ) : 8 volumes
Language of Materials
English
Existence and Location of Copies
Some photographs in this collection have been digitized and are available to view via Alaska's Digital Archives.
Processing Information
Much of the material in this collection has been placed in acid free folders and then into archival boxes.
INDEX
VOLUME 1
Early History WAMCATS--Ft. Egbert, Fairbanks and Valdez. Includes photographs and statistical information about the following stations:
Ft. Egbert -- 1 Fairbanks -- 2-10, 17, 18 Hot Springs -- 10 A Nulato -- 10 B St. Michael -- 11 Seward -- 12 Valdez -- 13-16, 19 Beal's Cache(relief cabin) -- 20 Beaver Dam -- 21-24 Copper Center -- 25-32 Donnelly -- 34 McCarthy -- 37 Gulkana -- 38, 39 Haggard --40, 41 McCullum -- 42-44 Paxsons –- 45 - 48 Mile 69(relief cabin) -- 49 Richardson -- 50-52 Salcha -- 53-56 Shaw Creek -- 57 Stewart Creek -- 58 Summit (relief cabin) -- 59 Teikhell -- 60-64 Thompson Pass(relief cabin) -- 65 Tonsina -- 66-69 Wortman's -- 70-74
VOLUME 2
Anchorage -- 75-193
VOLUME 3
Seattle -- 194-395
VOLUME 4
Adak -- 396-456 Alcan -- 457-511 Anchorage -- 512-705 Annette Island-- 706-711 Barrow-- 712-809 Bethel -- 810-842 Big Delta -- 843-908 Biorka -- 909-938 Cathedral Bluffs -- 939-984
VOLUME 5
Cold Bay -- 987-1046 Cordova -- 1047-1088 Craig -- 1089-1131 Curry -- 1132-1135 Fairbanks -- 1136-1231 Flat -- 1232-1241 Fort Greeley -- 1242-1245 Galena -- 1246 Glennallen -- 1247-1254 Haines -- 1255-1262 Harding Lake -- 1263-1264 Healy -- 1265-1277 Japonski Island -- 1278-1282 Juneau -- 1283-1359
VOLUME 6
Ketchikan -- 1360-1395 King Cove -- 986 King Salmon -- 1397 Kodiak -- 1398-1477 Kotzebue -- 1478-1492 Naknek -- 1497-1538 Nome -- 1539-1560 Northway -- 1563-1620 Palmer -- 1621-1623 Petersburg -- 1624-1633 Seward -- 1637-1658 Sheep Mountain -- 1659-1664
VOLUME 7
Shugak -- 1665-1669 Sitka -- 1670-1681 Skagway -- 1689-1701 Tanacross -- 1711-1712 Tok -- 1713-1724 Unalaska -- 1736-1741 Valdez -- 1748-1753 Wrangell -- 1754-1758 Whittier -- 1759-1789 Yakutat -- 1790-1794
Washington State -- 1795-1816 Korea -- 1817 U.S. Army Signal Corp. -- 1818-1824 Portraits and Groups -- 1836-1885 Machinery and Equipment -- 1886-1939
Attu Island -- 1940-1945 Dutch Harbor -- 1946-1959b Fort Gibbon -- 1960
VOLUME 8 (Located in PCA Oversize – PCA 64)
Cable laying ships, equipment and personnel.
Portraits -- 1961-1979:
Col. Fred P. Andrews -- 1961 Capt. Fred Kerr -- 1963 Major Lawrence Westweller -- 1964 Lt. Col. Dellvon K. Fall -- 1965 Major Fred Kerr -- 1966 T. Sgt. Walter Brown -- 1970 M. Sgt. Gissberg -- 1971 Capt. Connelly -- 1976-1977
Cable laying equipment -- 1980-1986 New Cable Machine -- 1987-2011 Auxiliary Equipment -- 2012-2067 Cable ship GLASSFORD -- 2068-2083 Cable ship SILVERADO -- 2084-2123 Cable ship RESTORER -- 2124-2154 Cable ship DELLWOOD -- 2155-2186 Cable ship NOTTINGHAM -- 2187-2192
Newspaper clipping - launching of GLASSFORD -- 2193 Cable laying activities - DELLWOOD -- 2194-2198
Lt. Col. Barr M. Snyder and three unidentified people -- 2199
- Title
- Finding aid for the Alaska Communications System Photograph Collection, 1904-1963
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Staff ; ArchivesSpace Finding Aid by: Sandy Johnston, May 2019 ; Revised by: Sandy Johnston, October 2024 ; ArchivesSpace Index added by: Connie Hamann
- Date
- 2024 October
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Alaska State Library - Historical Collections Finding Aids Repository
PO Box 110571
Juneau AK 99811-0571 US
907-465-2920
907-465-2925
907-465-2151 (Fax)
asl.historical@alaska.gov