Big Delta in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska — Northwest (North America)

Message in a Wire

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 16, 2024

1. Message in a Wire Marker

Inscription.
Standing for over a century, the Telegraph Building is the oldest in the Delta area and all that remains of the original McCarty Telegraph Station.

Communication Building
Local builder C. Schultz hand-hewed the logs "on three sides as smooth as though they had been planed" reported the Fairbanks Daily News on September 14^th, 1907. The completion of this site was news because it linked residents in the area to gold fields and the rest of the nation. The white paint on the ends of the logs marked the buildings as a telegraph station Everyone knew this was where messages could be sent to or received from friends and loved ones.

Telegraph to Telephone
The Army Signal Corps that operated WAMCATS* turned the telegraph system over to the Alaska Road Commission (ARC) in 1925. A year later the War Department installed a 50-watt radio, soon to be replaced with telephone lines. The telegraph station officially closed in 1929, but the ARC continued using the buildings while maintaining local roads and telephone lines.

* Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System

War and Peace
During World War II, the Army reclaimed

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McCarty Telegraph Station for military crews constructing the Big Delta Army Air Field, the Alcan Highway, and the wooden bridge across the Tanana River. After World War II many agencies used this site, each serving the community in a variety of ways[:]

• The Telegraph Building served as the Big Delta Post Office from 1947 through 1948.

• The 1950s brought the Boy Scouts of America who used these buildings during campouts. At one of these events the Cookhouse/mess hall burned down.

• The U.S. Army Cold Weather and Mountain Training School used the Telegraph Building as a base camp and storage facility.

• Alaska State Parks obtained the site in 1991.

After the Telegraph Building's restoration in 1994 the Delta Historical Society created the displays you see today.

Background picture: Earl Clark (white hat) and Henry "Butch" Stock drive cattle from Valdez to the meat market in Fairbanks stopping at the McCarty Army Signal Corps buildings.

[Photo captions, clockwise from top left, read]
• The Telegraph Building is on the far right.

• Army Signal Corps government houses, from far left the Telegraph Building and Soldiers'

Message in a Wire Marker and Telegraph Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 16, 2024

2. Message in a Wire Marker and Telegraph Building

Barracks, Cookhouses/mess hall with lean-to, and Corporal Ralph Mitchell Cabin.

• The Telegraph Building and Soldiers' Barracks

The Telegraph Building originally housed the telegraph office and served as soldiers barracks.
The Daily Ripsaw, a publication of the Army Signal Corps, was printed in the Telegraph Building in 1911.

Erected by Alaska State Parks and Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Military. A significant historical date for this entry is September 14, 1907.

Location. 64° 9.301′ N, 145° 50.32′ W. Marker is in Big Delta in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska. It can be reached from Richardson Highway. Marker and building are on the Big Delta State Historical Park grounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 274.5 Richardson Highway (State Hwy 2), Delta Junction AK 99737, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Athabascan Region

and in Interior Alaska.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Pacific Rim,

the Western Hemisphere,

U.S. Signal Corps McCarty Station Telegraph Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 16, 2024

3. U.S. Signal Corps McCarty Station Telegraph Building

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Russian Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Telegraph Building (here, next to this marker); Mess Hall (a few steps from this marker); Alaska Road Commission Outbuilding (within shouting distance of this marker); WAMCATS (within shouting distance of this marker); Jack of all Trades (within shouting distance of this marker); Windmill (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Alaska Road Commission Garage (about 300 feet away); Alaska Road Commission (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Big Delta.

Also see . . .
1. WAMCATS linked Fairbanks to the rest of the world. (Submitted on September 2, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
2. Big Delta State Historical Park. (Submitted on September 2, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 2, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 2, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 151 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 2, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.