Ketchikan in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
Ketchikan Shingle Mill
1904-1918
— Men worked on the Creek too … for a while! —
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 4, 2021
1. Ketchikan Shingle Mill Marker
Inman and his partner, Charles Borch, first used the mill as a cooperage, making barrels for salted salmon. Within a year, they began to produce cedar shingles to supply Ketchikan's building boom.
The two made a good part of the mill's machinery themselves: an intricate system of hardwood cogs and gears, timber shafts and wheels, belts, levers, pulleys and saws — all powered by the huge waterwheel. They could cut 10,000 shingles in a day's work!
By 1918, this location was too confined for the growing enterprise and it was relocated. At about the same time, Prohibition began and Creek Street boomed with bootlegged booze and other entertainment. The mill site lots were purchased by enterprising madams and, before long, virtually all the workers on the Creek were women.
Captions (top to bottom)
• Low tide at the Ketchikan shingle Mill, circa 1910.
• In full operation, 1905.
• Ott Inman at work in his cooperage, 1904.
Erected by Ketchikan Historic Commission.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Horticulture & Forestry
this page online
Location. 55° 20.537′ N, 131° 38.518′ W. Marker is in Ketchikan, Alaska, in Ketchikan Gateway Borough. Marker can be reached from Creek Street. Creek Street is pedestrian-only. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10 Creek Street, Ketchikan AK 99901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Star House (within shouting distance of this marker); In Defiance of the Dry Squad (within shouting distance of this marker); 'Cat' Houses & Sporting Women (within shouting distance of this marker); Chief Johnson Totem Pole (within shouting distance of this marker); 20 Creek Street (within shouting distance of this marker); Dolly's House (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Sea and Skyline (about 400 feet away); Carving a Place in History (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ketchikan.
Also see . . . Ott Inman: One of the builders of Ketchikan. By Dave Kiffer in online news site Stories in the News, posted April 21, 2020. (Submitted on September 17, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)
Photographed By Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 4, 2021
2. Ketchikan Shingle Mill Marker
via Creek Street Historic Property Survey / public domain, circa 1915
3. Ketchikan Shingle Mill
After the mill relocated elsewhere, it was dismantled and replaced with several new buildings housing brothels, saloons and other businesses.
via Creek Street Historic Property Survey / public domain
4. Austin "Ott" Inman, Ketchikan Shingle Mill co-founder
Credits. This page was last revised on September 17, 2021. It was originally submitted on September 17, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 221 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 17, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
