REFERENCE CODE: AkAMH

REPOSITORY NAME:
Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center
Bob and Evangeline Atwood Alaska Resource Center
625 C Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: 907-929-9235
Fax: 907-929-9233
Email: resourcecenter@anchoragemuseum.org

Guide prepared by: Sara Piasecki, Photo Archivist, and Tim Troll

TITLE: Charles W. Wray Negatives

COLLECTION NUMBER: B2014.012

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Dates: 1910

Extent: 2 boxes; 0.6 linear feet

Language and Scripts: The collection is in English.

Name of creator(s): Charles W. Wray

Administrative/Biographical History:
Charles W. Wray was born in 1888. He was assigned to a teaching post in Nushagak in 1910,
coming to Alaska from a post in North Dakota. He was posted to Shishmaref in 1912. Nothing
else was known about Wray at the time of processing.

Scope and Content Description:
The collection consists of 95 3.25” x 5.5” nitrate negatives taken in 1910 by schoolteacher
Charles W. Wray in and around Nushagak, including scenes of Kulukak, Dillingham, and
Kanulik, as well as Seward, and images of school children, residents, churches, canneries,
government facilities, ships, dog teams, the Alaska Central Railway, and scenery. For more
information, see Detailed Description of Collection.

Arrangement: Seller’s numbering maintained.


CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS AND USE


Restrictions on Access: The collection is open for research use. Access to the original nitrate
negatives is restricted.

Physical Access: Original items in fair condition.

Technical Access: No special equipment is needed to access the materials.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use:
The Anchorage Museum is the owner of the materials and makes available reproductions for
research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the
Anchorage Museum before any reproduction use. The Anchorage Museum does not
necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission
for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation:
Charles W. Wray Negatives, Anchorage Museum, B2014.012

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Acquisition and Appraisal Information
Purchased from Tim Troll in May 2014. Troll purchased the collection from Sandra Beeler on
eBay.

Processing Note
Fifty-five of the negatives were scanned by the seller prior to purchase by Museum. All
negatives rescanned and moved to freezer at time of processing. Original negative album
retained for manuscript note on inside front cover. Descriptions of photographs include
information provided by seller.


SUBJECTS
Wray, Charles W., b. 1888
Alaska Central Railway Company
Nuten (Ship)
Nushagak (Ship)
Rush (Ship : 1885)
Canneries—Alaska—Nushagak Bay
Canneries – Alaska – Bristol Bay Region
Fishery processing – Alaska
Nushagak (Alaska)
Dillingham (Alaska)
Kanulik (Alaska)
Carmel (Alaska)
Kanakanak (Alaska)


Detailed Description of the Collection
1 — [dog team stopped on winter trail, man wearing long coat and hat seated on sled; man tentatively identified by Troll as Charles Wray]
2 — Native dog team, Nushagak, Alaska [two Alaska Native men sitting on sled, dog team stopped along shore, cannery buildings in background, one man wearing fur hat and parka, other man wearing Western-style clothes and fur-lined hat now popular in rural Alaska]
3 — Nushagak, Alaska, 1910 [five men wearing Western-style clothing sitting on sled, dog team stopped on shore line]
4 — [dog team stopped near open water, man wearing high lace-up boots and hat seated on sled]
5 — Launch Nuten, Nushagak, Alaska [man standing on deck of boat resting on mud flats at low tide. The 22-ton wooden gas screw Nuten was destroyed by fire at Nushagak on July 3, 1927. Cf. .93]
6 — Salmon cannery, Nushagak, Alaska [building complex, boats on shore include double-ender fishing boats, although the boat in the foreground looks unusually long]
7 — "Scandinavian" Salmon Cannery, Nushagak, Alaska [building complex as seen from water. This was the second cannery built in Bristol Bay, dating to 1885. The cannery ceased operation in the 1950s. Two buildings survive as of 2014, but may not date to 1910. The cannery was also known as the PHJ Cannery after its superintendent, P.H. Johnson. The Yupik name for this cannery was Atanaqavik, or, “place with a big boss.”]
8 — A.P.P.A. Salmon Cannery, Snag Point, Alaska, Aug. 10, 1910 [distant view of Alaska Portland Packer’s Association Cannery complex, with smoke from fire that destroyed building. The cannery was built in 1901 and survives as the Peter Pan Cannery in Dillingham. The cannery survived the fire of 1910 and allegedly started up again in 1911. The cannery claims to be the oldest continuously operating cannery in Alaska. On the bluffs behind the cannery is the village of Choggiung or Curyung. Most of the bluffs and the old village have since eroded into Nushagak Bay. Cf. .23, .48-.49]
9 — [four men and dog team with large sled stopped outside building, two men wearing full- length arctic squirrel fur coats, one man wearing short fur parka, one man wearing Western- style clothes and mukluks]
10 — U.S. Gov't School, Nushagak, Alaska [group portrait of school children outside of school building, some wearing fur parkas and others wearing Western-style clothing, boat dry-docked at left. Probably Wray’s students; the boat may be the Nuten]
11 — [group portrait of Alaska Native men, women, and children, most wearing Western-style clothing, two women and one child wearing fur parkas, barabaras and cache in background, probably Nushagak]
12 — U.S. Jail, Nushagak, Alaska [man standing on porch of wood-plank building with bell tower. This was a combined jail and courthouse. The site has long since fallen into the river. It was located near what is currently known as Kanakanak. Judge Wickersham had a lot surveyed for the jail and gave the area the name Dillingham after the senator from Vermont.]
13 — [four men standing on ice ridge, one man smoking pipe, dog in foreground]
14 — [glacier and mountains, unidentified location]
15 — [two men standing outside cannery building]
16 — Native family, Nushagak, Alaska [man, woman, and child standing near fish drying rack, wooden barrels, buckets, and fish on ground, man and woman wearing Western-style dress, child wearing fur parka]
17 — [dog team stopped in front of buildings, three men sitting on sled, man standing in doorway above, under sign reading "General Merchandise, Furs, A.H. Mittendorff," Nushagak. The famous photographs by Thwaites of a shaman with big hands were taken on the porch of the building at right.]
18 — [priest standing on snow bank, buildings and picket fences in background, possibly Andrew P. Kashevaroff]
19 — Russian Mission Church, Nushagak, Alaska [view up long flight of wooden steps to church, young boy standing near entrance, flagpole at right. The church survived into the 1980s when it burned down during a grass fire. A large 40 ft. Russian cross was erected on the site in 1998.]
20 — Salmon cannery of Alaska Fishermens Packing Co., Nushagak, Alaska [building complex as seen from water line]
21 — [man and dog team stopped at base of bluff, probably bluffs between Nushagak and Clark’s Point]
22 — [man and three children on sled with dog team stopped on ice. Cf. .89]
23 — APPA Cannery, Aug. 10, 1910, Snag Point, Alaska, [view down dock to smoking ruins of building destroyed by fire. Cf. .8, .48-.49]
24 — [Caucasian man and four Alaska Native women wearing fur parkas standing outside on steps of Mittendorf’s store in Nushagak]
25 — Knuluk, Alaska, 1910 [Kanulik village scene, with barabaras, caches, church in background. caption written on negative emulsion. Cf. 90. The buildings in the background are Carmel Mission buildings. The mission was established by the Moravians in 1886, and it remained a mission until 1906. The buildings were leased in 1911 by the federal government from Dr. Joseph Romig, and became the first government hospital facility in Bristol Bay under the direction of Dr. Linus Hiram French. The hospital was moved to Kanakanak, across the Nushagak River, in 1913.]
26 — "Whalers" Cannery, Nushagak, Alaska [building complex seen from water line, barge on mud flats at left, dories at right]
27 — Alaska Fishermens Packing Co., Nushagak Alaska [building complex seen from water line, boat Ren on mud flats in foreground]
28 — [man sitting on sled, dog team stopped next to cannery and other buildings, building and cache on bluff above, Nushagak. The house at the top of the hill is the Russian priest’s house; the small building behind the two dogs in the center might be a steam bath.]
29 — [Whaler’s Cannery complex as seen from water. Part of panorama; cf. .33, .35]
30 — [Scandinavian Cannery complex at Choggiung, as seen from water]
31 — U.S. Govt. Indian School, Chogiung, Alaska [exterior of school building. The school is one of four nearly identical schools built in Bristol Bay under the supervision of Dr. Joseph Romig, then superintendent of schools for Southwest Alaska. Schools were built at Choggiung (or Snag Point), Kanakanak, Koggiung, and Naknek.]
32 — [woman wearing fur parka standing with young girl also wearing fur parka outside building. Woman identified by Tim Troll as priest's wife]
33 — [Fishermen’s Packing Co. cannery buildings seen from water line, with church on bluff above, Nushagak. Note the footprints of the photographer in the mud. Part of a panorama of the village, this being the far right view. Cf. .29 (left) and .35 (center).]
34 — Winter at Nushagak, Alaska [ice chunks in foreground, Mittendorff store in center, church on bluff at right. Note pile driver at far left and water tank for Whaler’s Cannery on bluff to far right.]
35 — [cannery boat ramps as seen from water line, barge dry-docked at center, church on bluff above, Nushagak. Part of panorama; cf. .29 and .33]
36 — [U.S. Government Indian School, exterior of school building, possibly at Kanakanak, built in 1908]
37 — [bird's-eye view of snow drifted up against Whaler’s Cannery buildings, church on bluff above, Nushagak]
38 — Str. Nushagak, Nushagak, Alaska, 1910 [steamship and sailing ships on bay. Center sailing ship might be the Star of India. Cf. .43]
39 — [four cannery workers wearing bib overalls and hats standing on boardwalk next to building]
40 — [U.S. Government Indian School, Choggiung, exterior of school building]
41 — Building lighter, Nushagak, Alaska, 1910 [five men seated on wooden deck, buildings in background, church on bluff at right. caption written on emulsion]
42 — U.S.S. “Rush”, Nushagak, Alaska, July 1910 [ship in bay, probably U.S. Revenue Cutter Rush (1885), topsail schooner decommissioned in 1913]
43 — Str. Nushagak, Nushagak, Alaska [steamship and sailing ships on bay, low bluff at left. Cannery in background is Alaska Packer’s Association Clark’s Point.]
44 — [cannery boat ramps as seen from water line, barge dry-docked at center, church on bluff above, Nushagak. May also be part of panorama; cf. .29, .33, .35]
45 — [cannery complex seen from water, possibly Clark’s Point cannery]
46 — [building with signs reading “Nushagak Hospital” and “J.H. Romig, M.D.” Moravian Mission facilities at Carmel (Kanulik) that Romig purchased from the Moravians to start a private hospital. Romig operated the hospital from 1906 to 1909, and left Nushagak in 1909. Dr. Linus Hiram French arranged to lease the facilities from Romig on behalf of the federal government in 1911, for $300 per year. French was the cannery doctor at Koggiung in 1910 and apparently wintered over at Carmel and Nushagak, and may have provided medical services (though that is not certain). He was also engaged as a enumerator in the 1910 Census. Cf. .74]
47 — [cannery complex seen from water, possibly Clark’s Point cannery. original image blurry]
48 — A.P.P.A. Salmon Cannery, Aug. 10, 1910, C.W. Wray photographer, Nushagak, Alaska [showing aftermath of fire which destroyed cannery, buildings in background. Cf. .8, .23, .49]
49 — A.P.P.A. Salmon Cannery fire, August 10, 1910 [showing smoking ruin of building, small group of Alaska Native men standing at lower left. Cf. .8, .23, .48]
50 — U.S. Court, Dillingham, Alaska, July 1910 [men standing at right outside building, flag flying on roof]
51 — [fish drying racks, man doffing hat at left, woman crouched in grass]
52 — [men building lighter, Nushagak. Cf. .41]
53 — [Nushagak Hospital and other buildings]
54 — Bradfords Cannery, Nushagak, Alaska [bird's eye view of building complex, Dillingham jail and courthouse in distance at left, Kanakanak. Creek running next to cannery is still called Bradfords Creek. This was the third cannery built in Bristol Bay. View looking east toward Choggiung (Snag Point) and the Scandinavian and APPA canneries.]
55 — [men seated on logs outside building, Bradfords Cannery]
56 — [Columbia River style fishing boat with sails unfurled. original negative damaged]
57 — [well-dressed people roaming over hillside with flowers, snowy mountain peak in distance, Southcentral?]
58 — [fisherman in boat, holding sail line. original image blurry. Cf. .88]
59 — [unidentified glacier terminus]
60 — [unidentified glacier terminus]
61 — [unidentified glacier terminus]
62 — [wooden trestle railroad bridge, Alaska Central Railway]
63 — [woman wearing smock and holding baby standing next to shingled building with young girl, Choggiung or Kanakanak school?]
64 — [two Caucasian women standing in field with young girl and baby in stroller]
65 — [baby in stroller]
66 — [baby in stroller]
67 — [Caucasian woman standing in field with young boy and infant in stroller]
68 — [view of village from water, with Russian Orthodox church at center, Unalaska?]
69 — [two Caucasian women standing in field with young girl and baby in stroller]
70 — [man wearing vest, cravat, and brimmed hat sitting on rocky ground]
71 — [portrait of man wearing cap, striped pants, and high lace-up boots, laying on ground near mouth of river]
72 — [men on beach, more men on large canoe or umiak close in to shore, possibly a launch from a larger boat. original image blurry]
73 — [bird's eye view of village, large Russian Orthodox church at left, Unalaska?]
74 — [three men and woman wearing lace cuffs seated on couch in wallpapered room, newspaper box mounted on wall at left, map of Bristol Bay on wall at right next to door. Man at far right is Linus Hiram French. Room is probably inside one of the mission or hospital buildings at Carmel/Kanulik. Cf. .87, .92]
75 — [portrait of woman wearing fur parka standing outdoors]
76 — [unidentified glacier terminus]
77 — [unidentified glacier terminus]
78 — [man standing in front of waterfall]
79 — On A.C. Ry., Seward, Alaska. Wray [waterfall]
80 — [wooden trestle railroad bridge, Alaska Central Railway]
81 — [man leaning on railing, holding broom and making hand gesture, buildings in background, probably taken on the stairway that comes down from the hill at Nushagak]
82 — [ship Alger[ia?] at dock, Seward? original negative cropped]
83 — [man wearing suit and cravat standing on rocky beach in front of glacier terminus, association ribbon pinned to suit lapel]
84 — [men and dog teams in winter next to cannery complex]
85 — [two Caucasian women standing in field. original image blurry]
86 — [ship in harbor, small boat alongside, near Seward?]
87 — [Caucasian man and woman seated on building steps, woman holding baby. Cf. .74, .94. Possibly taken outside one of the mission or hospital buildings at Carmel/Kanulik.]
88 — [fisherman in boat, holding sail line. original image blurry. Cf. .58]
89 — [man and three children on sled with dog team stopped on ice. Cf. .22]
90 — Knuluk, Alaska, 1910 [man, women, and children standing in front of barabara at Kanulik, cache and mission buildings in background. Cf. .25]
91 — [distant view of Carmel Mission at Kanulik]
92 — [man wearing hat, striped pants, and lace-up boots laying on couch smoking tobacco or opium pipe in wallpapered room, newspaper box mounted on wall at left, map of Bristol Bay on wall at right next to door. Cf. .74. Tentatively identified by Troll as Charles Wray; cf. .1. Photographer possibly Linus Hiram French; French was also a photographer and would have known how to operate Wray’s camera. Note the arthritic hands.]
93 — Launch Nuten, Nushagak, Alaska [boat resting on mud flats at low tide. cf. .5]
94 — [portrait of baby sitting on pillow in chair in room with wallpaper and wood doors or paneling. Possibly child of the couple shown in .87]
95 — [scenic of bay] Guide updated: October 26, 2016