Gakona in Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
Gakona Roadhouse
Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, July 2012
1. Gakona Roadhouse Marker
Providing food and lodging for travellers, roadhouses are and have been essential in Alaska's transportation history. As travel to the Interior, beginning in 1900 over trails to Fairbanks and Eagle from Valdez and later from Cordova increased, roadhouses profited. Gakona Roadhouse, first called Doyle's Ranch, opened in 1905 near the junction of the Eagle and Fairbanks cut-offs.
The original lodge, exhibiting saddle-corner log construction and a floor of whipsawn lumber, was one of the more elaborate stops along the trail. After the route to Fairbanks was improved for wagon travel in 1910, the station became a stop for the Orr Stage. A barn for 12 horses and a blacksmith shop were built. Business was active enough that in 1929 a larger lodge, the one in use, replaced the original roadhouse.
Today, two main overland routes in Alaska, the Glenn Highway and the Richardson Highway, intersect near here. Gakona Lodge continues to operate and serve travellers.
On December 7, 1977 the roadhouse was entered in the National Register of Historic Places>
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1929.
Location. 62° 18.135′ N, 145° 18.195′
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Alaska’s Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) Region, specifically in the Athabascan Region, in the Prince William Sound, and in Southcentral Alaska. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, the Pacific Rim, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Russian Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 5 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Telegraph Links (approx. 0.9 miles away); Ggax Kucae'e (approx. 0.9 miles away); Welcome to the Site of the Old Gulkana Village (approx. 3.6 miles away); Gulkana (approx. 3.6 miles away); Honoring Our Elders (approx. 3.6 miles away).
Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, July 2012
2. Gakona Roadhouse and Marker
Marker is to the left.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 18, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 7, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. This page has been viewed 19 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 7, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
