Stamp Collecting on the Last Frontier

Anchorage Philatelic Society

51st Alaska Philatelic Exhibition

Commemorating the 100th Anniversaries of the cities of Seward and Fairbanks.

Cachet by Jon Van Zyle

Product Summary

Please send payment and a legal size SASE to:

 

Anchorage Philatelic Society

P.O. Box 10-2214

Anchorage, AK 99510

Price: $2.00

Celebrating Alaska’s Centennial Cities, Seward and Fairbanks, 1903 - 2003

 

Within the short history of Alaska as a state and territory of the US, two of the major population centers will celebrate their centennials in 2003. Both towns, Seward and Fairbanks, have played major roles in establishing trade and commerce for the Last Frontier.

 

Seward, sitting on the edge of Resurrection Bay was named in 1792 by Russian fur trader and explorer Alexander Baranof, who while sailing from Kodiak to Yakutat, found the shelter in the bay to he a safe respite for a storm he was struggling against.  William Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State (186169), was the namesake for the young city.  Seward played the role of the ocean terminus and supply center, the Alaska Railroad underwent construction between 1915 and 1923.  Because of its ice free nature, Seward’s harbor has continued to be an important supply center for the rest of Alaska.

 

Neatly 500 miles to the north, Fairbanks developed from colorful history. The city was founded on the banks of the Chena River  E.T. Barnette stated a trading post in 1901.  In 1902, miners Felix Pedro and Thomas Gil more, discovered gold just to the north and Fairbanks was on its way to becoming a gold rush town.  Barnette had plotted a town site and build a stockade.  Today, after several fires and a major floods, Fairbanks has take it its place as the economic and cultural centerpiece for the states interior.

 

In modern Alaska, Seward and Fairbanks, together represent the critical end of the north to south economic backbone of the state.

To contact us:

Contact:

 

Eric Knapp

Phone: 907-563-4210

E-mail: eknapp@gci.net