The Cornerstone's Origin

The Cornerstone's Origin. . , On a June day in 1915, Alaska's territorial delegate to Congress, James Wickersham, and six companions cut a rough road to this hilltop site, set up a concrete pour and laid down a cornerstone., The cornerstone's inscription, "A.A.C.S.M., July 4, 1915" declared that this hill, called Troth Yeddha' by indigenous Dene people, would become the home of the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines., "As we looked out to the south over a valley of varying shades of green through which wound the Tanana, we beheld the Alaska Range, snow-capped and gleaming white," wrote Harriet Hess, who had first marked the site with a handkerchief and later became the institution's longest-serving regent. "Surely this was a wonderful place for our college!", One hundred years later, their vision exists in this wonderful place as the University of Alaska and its flagship campus in Fairbanks., [Photo captions, counterclockwise from top left, read] , . ABOVE James Wickersham and volunteers preparing the site for the cornerstone, June 28, 1915., . BELOW When part of the molded word "cornerstone" crumbled during its construction, Wickersham filled the remaining letters and, legend has it, said "if they're smart enough to come to college, they'll be smart enough to know this is a cornerstone" Seen here with the mold, from left: unknown, A.J. "Tony" Nordale, Frances Carpenter, J.L. McPherson, Dr. R.R. Myers, Harry E. St. George, and Berkley Manford, . RIGHT James Wickersham delivers his 5,000-word speech at the ceremony. In his diary, he admitted the dedication lacked "the authority of law." Although Wickersham had convinced Congress to set aside land for a college, the Alaska legislature waited until 1917 to create the Institution., . LEFT Grand Master John J. Buckley (in top hat, to right of cornerstone), acting as master of ceremonies for Tanana Lodge No. 162 of the Free and Accepted Masons, dedicates the cornerstone as Lodge members look on.,