Ben Franklin Five and Dime

Ben Franklin Five and Dime. Historic Sitka Alaska. , Hans Andersen started his first business in Hadley, Alaska in 1903. He built the Hotel Hadley in the mining town of Hadley on Prince of Wales Island. Several years later, copper prices plummeted and the town was soon abandoned. Hans moved to Ketchikan for several years and then onward to Sitka., In 1913, he purchased the Witz Saloon and Bowling Alley one block east (left) of here. Within a year Sitka voted to become a 'dry town' and Hans moved into other retail ventures. Hans' son, Neill Andersen arrived in 1925 to run the store. He and his wife Dorothy purchased the business from Hans in the early 1930's., To further expand his business, Neill built the Ben Franklin Store on this site in 1965. It was one of the first brick buildings in the downtown area., During the January 2, 1966 fire, the brick foundation was credited with stopping the westward advancing fire, and subsequently saved many of the historic structures still standing today. In all, 2 churches and 17 stores were lost in the fire., In 1986, the business was passed onto Neill's son Wake who in 1997, sold his interest to his son Steve and his wife, Linda. The Andersen family is the longest running merchants in Sitka.