Fort Liscum
Fort Liscum was a
History
In 1899, Captain
Construction and operation
In May 1900, 100 soldiers arrived to establish the post and begin construction. The completed installation numbered 37 buildings, including two-story quarters for officers and civilians, a hospital, a stable, and a bakery. A
On August 24, 1902, the
In 1903, Captain Eugene T. Wilson, commander at Fort Liscum, reported that the 1901 law banning the sale of alcohol on army bases was having an adverse effect on his command. "The object of a company commander," wrote Wilson, "is to promote temperance, to make his men sober, and keep them in good physical and moral health. I cannot do it now when Tom, Dick and Harry are calling to them to leave the garrison and get drunk."[4]
In 1914, soldiers from Fort Liscum helped to construct a dike around the town Valdez, which had been subject to annual floods due to seasonal runoff from the Valdez Glacier.
Fort Liscum was closed in 1922, one of many military facilities closed in the years following World War I. The population of Valdez, which had peaked at 7,000 during the gold rush years, fell below 500 people after the Army departed.
Legacy
In 1925, the land was transferred to the
A field gun from Fort Liscum is displayed in the Valdez Museum.
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1910 | 162 | — | |
1920 | 153 | −5.6% |
Fort Liscum appeared on the 1910[5] and 1920[6] U.S. Censuses as an unincorporated military installation. It would later become the village of Dayville on the 1940[7] U.S. Census and is presently located within the city of Valdez.
See also
References
- General
- Interview with James Perry, Curator of the Valdez Museum (Audio)
- History of Fort Liscum by Valdez Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Specific
- ^ Abercrombie, William R. (1900). Alaska 1889 Copper River Exploring Expedition. Government Printing Office. p. 33.
- ^ Annual Report of the War Department for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1903. Government Printing Office. 1903. p. 45.
- ^
Webb, Melody (1993). Yukon: The Last Frontier. UBC Press. p. 162. ISBN 0-7748-0441-6.
- ^ "Canteen Law A Failure: Capt. Wilson, Writing from Fort Liscum, Alaska, Says It Promotes Drunkenness". The New York Times. March 23, 1903. p. 5.
- ^ "Supplement for Alaska. Population" (PDF). US Census Bureau.
- ^ "Population of counties" (PDF). US Census Bureau.
- ^ "Alaska" (PDF). US Census Bureau.