Fort William H. Seward

Fort William H. Seward. A National Historic Landmark. Fort Seward was the first permanent military base in Alaska. Completed in 1904 on 100 acres of land donated by the Presbyterian Church, it remained active until 1944. Named for William H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State who arranged the purchase of Alaska from Russia. The Fort was renamed Chilkoot Barracks in the 1920’s to avoid confusion with Seward, Alaska., (Inscription under the photo on the bottom left) : , 1918-1921 , Continuing up the hill on the right side, you will pass the long white quartermaster supply building, where furnishings and basic supplies were distributed. The cold storage room was located in the basement. In the 1960’s a large walk-in cooler served as a temporary morgue when the Haines facility closed., (Inscription under the photo in the bottom center) : 1930 , Up the dock on the right side, the small red building housed an underwater communication cable linking Haines to the continental U.S. Messages were commonly sent in Morse code., (Inscription under the photo in the upper right): , July 1920 , The Port of Chilkoot dock is the original Army dock. Notice the pullout for mule wagons to pass each other midway down the right side. Mules played an important role both in the construction of the Fort and as a mode of transportation. , (Inscription under the photo in the lower right) 1920’s