Dyea in Skagway, Alaska — Northwest (North America)

The Emergence of a Domesticated Landscape: The Homestead Becomes an Urban Residence

Historic Moore Homestead

— Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park —

The Emergence of a Domesticated Landscape: The Homestead Becomes an Urban Residence Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 24, 2024

1. The Emergence of a Domesticated Landscape: The Homestead Becomes an Urban Residence Marker

Inscription.
After 1901, the homestead was rapidly transformed from a pioneer homestead to a domestic landscape reflecting late Victorian style. By 1904. Ben Moore, his Tlingit wife, Minnie, and their three children, Bernard Jr., Edith, and Francis lived in a residence characterized more by urban, rather than frontier, features. The shift to a picket-style fence, an interior boardwalk connecting the house to the street, the planting of ornamental trees, (a stylish mix of deciduous and evergreens found in landscape plans throughout the Victorian period), and accents such as stone borders and a cupola on one of the outbuildings show a sensibility far removed from frontier Alaska and the log cabin era. Similar to other town homes of the age, a more refined landscape reflected its role as a status symbol. Photographs of the house interior, now restored, reveal a carefully assembled Victorian décor.

Construction began in 1898 on Captain Moore's three-story mansion in "Moore's Park," named by Ben Moore on a family photograph. The term "Park" in describing this new landscape is intriguing, and alludes to the landed estates of English

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nobility. The Moore's [sic] sense of importance was that of a prosperous leading family of Skagway, illustrated by the tasteful rendering of their residential landscape. Moore's mansion, sold to Harriet Pullen in 1905, became the legendary Pullen Hotel. Today, only the stone fireplace remains. The Moore Office Building was originally constructed on the cast side of State Street in 1898, and moved to its current location in 1903. It was destroyed by fire in June, 2002.

By 1906, the Moore family no longer resided in Skagway. Captain Moore departed in 1904, Ben Moore and his family in 1906, renting their home to the local Kirmse family until 1914. Hazel Kirmse purchased the Moore property in 1914, and the family maintained the residence until its sale to the National Park Service in 1977. Her son, Jack, restored parts s of the exterior of the Moore cabin, echoing the sentiments of Ben Moore in 1901: "Mr. Moore... intends to preserve the building and its contents in their entirety as a memento of the city. In time it will probably grow into a museum...that tourists will be glad to visit."

[Photo/illustration captions, counterclockwise from top left, read]

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 24, 2024

2. The Emergence of a Domesticated Landscape: The Homestead Becomes an Urban Residence Marker

Right marker

• Moore Homestead 1901-1914 Site Evolution

• Late Victorian taste reflected in the Moore's landscape, 1904

• "Moore's Park," annex building, c. 1904 (Captain Moore on right by "x")

• Moore property as Kirmse rental in 1910 showing relationship of street grid to fence line on 5th Ave.

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, 1914

Erected by National Park Service.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Horticulture & Forestry • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1904.

Location. 59° 27.302′ N, 135° 18.845′ W. Marker is in Skagway, Alaska. It is in Dyea. It is on 5th Avenue east of Broadway, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 400 Spring St, Skagway AK 99840, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Alaska,

in Tlingit and Haida & Tsimshian Region.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Inside Passage,

the Pacific Rim,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what

Captain Moore's House image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 24, 2024

3. Captain Moore's House

was once the Russian Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Captain Moore's Vision: The Gateway to the Klondike Goldfields (here, next to this marker); A War of Wills: Skagway as a Frontier Town and the Demise of "Mooresville" (here, next to this marker); Restoring the Past: Historic Preservation at the Moore Homestead (within shouting distance of this marker); Perceptions and Misconceptions (within shouting distance of this marker); Peniel Mission (within shouting distance of this marker); Harsh Realities (within shouting distance of this marker); "Necessary Evil" (within shouting distance of this marker); Goldberg Cigar Shop (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Skagway.

Also see . . . The Moore Homestead (National Park Service). (Submitted on September 29, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)

Moore Homestead image. Click for full size.

Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 24, 2024

4. Moore Homestead

Credits. This page was last revised on September 29, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 29, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 152 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 29, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.