Carlson, Edward
1881-1969 | Hotel Proprietor
Edward "Ed" Carlson was born in Annenburg, Sweden on August 15, 1881. He immigrated to the United States sometime between 1895[1] and 1905[2], and lived in Colorado prior to coming to Valdez, Alaska, in 1908 as a prospector.
After two years in the Valdez area, he returned to Colorado. In 1910, Carlson met and married Jenne “Jenny” Vike. She was born in Molde, Norway in 1892. In 1910, she left her home in Norway, at the age of eighteen, and sailed from Norway to Liverpool, England, aboard the steamship Empress of Britain. She arrived on May 27, 1910 probably at Megantic, Quebec, Canada, and entered the United States at St. Albans, Vermont, and then traveled to Denver, Colorado, to work as a servant.[3]
Carlson returned to Alaska in 1915 with his wife, Jenne “Jenny,” and their two children, Ruth (born in Colorado, 1912) and Robert (born in Montana, 1914). They landed at "Tent City," which was later described as “a collection of ragged, unsanitary, tents and temporary wooden buildings,“[4] located mainly on the north side of Ship Creek.
On April 10, 1915, a public announcement had been issued in Washington, D.C., by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Franklin Lane, that Ship Creek would be the field headquarters for construction of the Alaska Railroad. This announcement set off the largest land rush that had occurred at Ship Creek, with more than two thousand stampeders arriving in the area. The U.S. General Land Office, which had authority to dispose of the land around Ship Creek, quickly had the area that became Anchorage surveyed, cleared, platted and then auctioned off, and people moved off the flats so that construction on the Alaska Railroad could begin. In 1909, the landing at Ship Creek had been included within the boundaries of Chugach National Forest.[5]
On July 10-14, 1915, the area of the original Anchorage townsite was auctioned off. On July 13-14, 1915, Carlson bought four lots at auction, Lot 10 in Block 37 for $280;[6] Lot 6, Block 38 for $515[7]; and Lot 12, Block 65 for $130[8]; and Lot 12 of Block 66[9] for a price that was not indicated in the records.[10] Carlson bought several lots in the area of Fourth Avenue and K Street, where he operated the Inlet Hotel from 1918 to 1936.[11]
On two lots, Carlson built a log cabin home on Lot 6, Block 36, which was located on L Street between 4th and 5th Avenues, and within a few years erected a “modest one-and-a-half story frame cottage” on another lot. The house, now known as the Carlson-Kuvara House, still stands at 419 L Street.[12] Their third child, Thelma, was born on January 20, 1916, in Anchorage.[13]
Carlson worked as a carpenter for the Alaskan Engineering Commission (AEC), the temporary federal agency in charge of building the Alaska Railroad. He was later credited for building the original, temporary dock, designated Dock No. 1, on the north bank of Ship Creek near the mouth. In order to facilitate the unloading of freight to supply the AEC and the city’s merchants, the front of the dock was constructed a gridiron, over which barges were floated at high tide and on which they safely rested at low tide, avoiding any difficulty in unloading. The dock had a fifteen-ton derrick, operated by a hoisting engine, for unloading barges.[14]
Carlson continued to work for the Alaska Railroad until he and his wife purchased the Inlet Hotel, which was located at 4th Avenue and K Street, now partially occupied by the Hotel Captain Cook parking garage.[15] During this period, most of Anchorage’s hotels catered to a certain clientele. The Inlet Hotel was the home of most of the Scandinavian immigrants who arrived in Alaska to work in the mines, fish, or work on the Alaska Railroad.[16]
The Carlson family’s living quarters were located in the Inlet Hotel. They raised Ruth and Robert, and her younger sibling, Thelma, in the comfort and hospitality of one of Anchorage’s favorite hotels. One of Thelma’s favorite jobs as a child was to feed and kennel the dogs of guests who arrived by dog team. Edward and Jenne “Jenny” Carlson operated the hotel until 1937, when they sold it and went into semi-retirement.[17] The Carlsons enjoyed gardening, fishing, hunting, and prospecting.
The Carlsons' son, Robert, was killed in an airplane crash on September 13, 1936.[18] Daughter Thelma married Earl Bell, and they had three children, Jesse, Jenny Earl, and Rodney, who died in 1980. Daughter Ruth Carlson married Harold Libbey, and they had two children, son Carl and daughter Helen, who is deceased.[19]
Edward Carlson died on August 6, 1969, at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington. Jenne “Jenny” Vike Carlson died in 1970. They were survived by two daughters, Ruth Carlson Libbey (1912-1988)[20] and Thelma Carlson Bell (1916-2008)[21], both of Anchorage; five grandchildren; and twelve great-grandchildren.[22]
Edward Carlson and Ruth Carlson were buried at Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery, along with son Robert E. Carlson, daughter Ruth Carlson Libbey, and grandson Rodney Robert Bell.[23]
Legacy
The Municipality of Anchorage named Carlson Park, located west of Lake Otis Parkway, between Northern Lights Boulevard and 36th Avenue, in honor of the family. The land (2.37 acres) was donated to the City of Anchorage in 1959 to be used as a park.[24]
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Endnotes
[1] Edward Carlson, 1920 U.S. Census, Anchorage, Third Judicial District, Alaska, ED 11, stamped page 49, National Archives Microfilm Publication T625, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920, Roll 2031, 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed November 18, 2016).
[2] Edward Carlson, 1930 U.S. Census, Anchorage, Third Judicial District, Alaska, ED 3-14, stamped page 197, National Archives Microfilm Publication T626, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Roll 2627, 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed November 18, 2016).
[3] Jenny Vike, List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the United States, S.S. Empress of Britain, May 27, 1910, National Archives Microfilm Publication M1464, Manifests of Passengers Arriving at St. Albans, VT, District through Canadian Pacific and Atlantic Ports, 1895-1954, Roll 123, U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1956 [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed November 19, 2016); and Jenne [Jenny] Carlson, 1930 U.S. Census, Anchorage, Third Judicial District, Alaska, ED 3-14, stamped page 197, National Archives Microfilm Publication T626, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, Roll 2627, 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed November 18, 2016).
[4] Alfred Mongan, An Evaluation of “Anchorage Cultural Historic District: A Proposal” to Determine Eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places (Anchorage: Office of History and Archaeology, Division of Parks, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 1974): Historical Background, item no. 8, page 8.
[5] Alfred Mongan, An Evaluation of “Anchorage Cultural Historic District: A Proposal” to Determine Eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places: Historical Background, item no. 8, page 9.
[6] [Original Bids for Lots, Anchorage Townsite, July 9-10, 12-14, 1915], [Title on cover: “Mining Transit Book 422”] [Juneau: Alaska Field Office, General Land Office, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1915], 37, B1967.011, Anchorage Townsite Records, Cook Inlet Historical Society, Stella Lee, donor, Atwood Resource Center, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Anchorage, AK.
[7] Ibid., 37.
[8] Ibid., 65.
[9] Ibid., 65.
[10] See, Patent No. 819482, Ed Carlson, Lot 10, Block 37, Townsite of Anchorage, August 17, 1921, Alaska Case Retrieval Enterprise System (ACRES) [database on-line], U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, Anchorage, AK, http://sdms.ak.blm.gov/acres/abstract/do_abstract_full (accessed November 18, 2016); Patent No. 836096, Ed Carlson, Lot 6, Block 38, Townsite of Anchorage, December 1, 1921, Alaska Case Retrieval Enterprise System (ACRES) [database on-line], U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, Anchorage, AK, http://sdms.ak.blm.gov/acres/abstract/do_abstract_full (accessed November 18, 2016); Patent No. 865062, Ed Carlson, Lot 12, Block 65, Townsite of Anchorage, May 29, 1922, Alaska Case Retrieval Enterprise System (ACRES) [database on-line], U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, Anchorage, AK, http://sdms.ak.blm.gov/acres/abstract/do_abstract_full (accessed November 18, 2016); and Patent No. 84448, Ed Carlson, Lot 12, Block 66, Townsite of Anchorage, AK, January 21, 1922, Alaska Case Retrieval Enterprise System (ACRES) [database on-line], U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Alaska State Office, Anchorage, AK, http://sdms.ak.blm.gov/acres/abstract/do_abstract_full (accessed November 18, 2016).
[11] “Old Pioneer Dies at 87,” Anchorage Daily Times, August 7, 1969, 6; and Obituary, Thelma A. Bell, Anchorage Daily News, October 28, 2008, A-11.
[12] After Carlson became the owner of the Inlet Hotel, he leased the house, and then sold it in the late 1930s to Bob and Violet Kuvara, the owners of the Frisco Café & Bar. See, Michael Carberry and Donna Lane, Patterns of the Past: An Inventory of Anchorage’s Historic Resources (Anchorage: Community Planning Department, Municipality of Anchorage, 1986), 24-25. See also, Rae Arno, Anchorage Place Names: The Who and Why of Streets, Parks, and Places (Anchorage: Todd Communications, 2008), 18.
[13] John P. Bagoy, Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1935 (Anchorage: Publications Consultants, 2001), 88-89.
[14] “Old Pioneer Dies at 87,” Anchorage Daily Times, August 7, 1969, 6; and Michael Carberry and Donna Lane, Patterns of the Past: An Inventory of Anchorage’s Historic Resources, 120-121.
[15] Edward Carlson, 1920 U.S. Census, Anchorage, Third Judicial District, Alaska, ED 11, stamped page 49, National Archives Microfilm Publication T625, Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920, Roll 2031, 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed November 18, 2016); John P. Bagoy, Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1935, 88-89; and Obituary, Thelma A. Bell, Anchorage Daily News, October 28, 2008, A-11.
[16] Obituary, Thelma A. Bell, Anchorage Daily News, October 28, 2008, A-11.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Robert E. Carlson, U.S., Find a Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line], http://ancestry.com (accessed November 19, 2016).
[19] John P. Bagoy, Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1935, 88-89.
[20] Obituary, Ruth L. Libbey, Anchorage Daily News, December 12, 1988, C-3.
[21] Obituary, Thelma A. Bell, Anchorage Daily News, October 28, 2008, A-11.
[22] “Ed Carlson Rites Set,” Anchorage Daily Times, August 8, 1969, 2.
[23] “Old Pioneer Dies at 87,” Anchorage Daily Times, August 7, 1969, 6; and John P. Bagoy, Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1935, 88-89.
[24] Rae Arno, Anchorage Place Names: The Who and Why of Streets, Parks, and Places, 18; and Carlson Park, Parks and Recreation Department, Municipality of Anchorage, http://www.muni.org/departments/parks/pages/carlson%20park.pdf (accessed November 19, 2016).
Sources
This biographical sketch of Edward Carlson is based on an essay which originally appeared in John Bagoy's Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1935 (Anchorage, AK: Publications Consultants, 2001), 88-89. See also the Edward Carlson file in the Bagoy Family Pioneer Files (2004.11), Box 2, Atwood Resource Center, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Anchorage, AK. Photographs courtesy of the Carlson family. Edited by Mina Jacobs, 2012. Note: edited, revised, and expanded by Bruce Parham, November 23, 2016.
Preferred citation: Bruce Parham, “Carlson, Edward,” Cook Inlet Historical Society, Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1940, http://www.alaskahistory.org.
Major support for Legends & Legacies, Anchorage, 1910-1940, provided by: Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Atwood Foundation, Cook Inlet Historical Society, and the Rasmuson Foundation. This educational resource is provided by the Cook Inlet Historical Society, a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt association. Contact us at the Cook Inlet Historical Society, by mail at Cook Inlet Historical Society, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, 625 C Street, Anchorage, AK 99501 or through the Cook Inlet Historical Society website, www.cookinlethistory.org.