Guide to the Fred Carlyon Photographs
ca. 1898-1903

Man wearing Chilkat blanket, between 1898 and 1903. Special Collections, UW Libraries, NA2572

Historical Background

The period during which these photographs were taken coincides with the Klondike Gold Rush (roughly 1896-1900) and the ensuing boundary dispute between the United States and Canada. There is one photo concerning the Alaska boundary dispute which involved the border between British Columbia and the Alaska Panhandle. After the United States had purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, the boundary line was established, at least from the US perspective, in accordance with Russian maps of the time. However, these maps were not entirely accurate, and because no official survey had been conducted, the issue was ignored until gold was discovered in the Klondike and the hordes of prospectors pouring into the region highlighted the need for a resolution to the problem. For instance, one point of contention was that prospectors were establishing settlements on land the Canadians considered to be within Canada. In 1903, the matter was settled by a tribunal of three Americans, two Canadians, and one British jurist, Lord Alverstone, who voted in favor of the Americans, thereby resolving the dispute.

Biographical Note

Fred W. Carlyon was born June 6, 1865, in Union Grove, Wisconsin. After settling in Olympia, Washington, in 1883, Carlyon moved to Wrangell, Alaska, where he operated a jewlery/watchmaking shop from 1898 to 1906. He practiced photography as a hobby and probably to earn extra money. He was primarily active in the Stikine River District, B.C, and Wrangell, Alaska. After living on a ranch near Yelm, Washington, following his return from Alaska, he settled permanently in Olympia in 1923. He died on March 3, 1956, in Olympia.

Scope and Content

The collection contains photographs depicting Tlingit ritual dance costumes, as well as views of specific locations in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia, one of which is the disputed boundary line on the Stikene River.

Alternate Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format

Processing Info

Processed by Gene Polhamus, 2002.

Inventory

Folder	Item															Date
			Tlingit People
1	1			Man wearing Chilkat blanket
2	2			Men wearing dance costumes, Wrangell, Alaska
	3			Women wearing dance costumes, Wrangell, Alaska
	4			Man wearing shirt with frog design, Wrangell, Alaska												ca. 1898-1903
3	5			Go Ken Sha Cla, Wrangell, Alaska												ca. 1898-1903
4	6			Chief Shake's totem poles, Wrangell, Alaska												ca. 1898-1903
	7			Chief Kahlteen's frog totem, Wrangell, Alaska												ca. 1898-1903
Folder	Item															Date
			Southeast Alaska
5	8			Wrangell panorama
6	9			Fort Wrangell Hotel
7	10			Lincoln Street showing Sitka Trading Co., Cathedral of St. Michael, Millmore Hotel, and native merchants
	11			Cathedral of St. Michael, Sitka, Alaska
8	12			City Brewery, Juneau
						Formerly the Northern Light Presbyterian Church.
9	13			Icy Bay, Alaska
	14			Boat on river with ice floes, possibly Icy Bay, Alaska
10	15			Scene across bay from Muir Glacier												July 19, 1899
11	16			Skagway wharves
Folder	Item															Date
			Boundary Dispute
12	17			Disputed boundary line between United States and Canada on the Stikene River
13	18			Scene at Glenora, B.C., showing railroad grade												July 3, 1899
Subject Terms
	Personal Names:
		Carlyon, Fred W.
	Subjects:
		Tlingit Indians--Costume--Alaska--Photographs.
		Totem poles--Alaska--Photographs.
	Geographic Names:
		Alaska Panhandle (Alaska)--Photographs.
		Wrangell (Alaska)--Photographs.