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, Archivist

TITLE: Allyn H. Brown Photographs

COLLECTION NUMBER: B2018.005

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Dates: circa 1946-1953

Extent: 67 items

Language and Scripts: The collection is in English.

Name of creator(s): Allyn H. Brown

Administrative/Biographical History:
The Taylor Highway, which connects Tok to the communities of Eagle and Boundary, opened
in 1953.

Allyn H. Brown worked for many years with the Alaska Department of Highways. He was killed
in August 1968 when his airplane crashed at Phillips Field in Fairbanks. He was 47 years old.1

Scope and Content Description:
The collection consists of 67 8” x 10” black-and-white photographs taken by Allyn Brown while
he was working on Taylor Highway road construction in the 1950s. For more information, see
Detailed Description of Collection.

Arrangement: Loosely arranged by subject



1 “Allyn Brown.” “Obituaries from the end of the trail,” Alaska sportsman, December 1968.

CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS AND USE

Restrictions on Access: The collection is open for research use.

Physical Access: Original items in good 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:
Allyn H. Brown Photographs; Anchorage Museum, B2018.005

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Acquisition and Appraisal Information
Given by the photographer to crew chief Frank Morris. Given by Frank Morris to wife Jeanne
Morris in 1999. Donated by Jeanne Morris in April 2018.

Notes
See the accession file for additional information from the donor about Frank Morris and Frank
Pratt.


SUBJECTS
Roads—Design and construction
Roads—Alaska
Labor camps—Alaska
Gold mines and mining—Alaska—Fortymile River Region
Moose hunting—Alaska
Taylor Highway (Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska)
Fortymile River Watershed (Alaska and Yukon)

Detailed Description of the Collection
 1 — Looking north at Dead Horse Knob [work camp on the taiga, with tents, metal barrels, tractor at left]
 2 — Looking south at Dead Horse Knob [work camp on the taiga, with tents, metal barrels, tractor at right]
 3 — Forty-Mile camp [bird’s eye view looking across bend in river to work camp at right, cabin and cache at left]
 4 — [bird’s eye view of tents at work camp, river in background]
 5 — [view across river to work camp, with tents and metal barrels]
 6 — July 2, ’49 [two tents in snow at work camp, with chains hanging over tent support in center]
 7 — July 2, ’49 [two tents in snow at work camp, with chains hanging over tent support in center]
 8 — “Looks like it might come up a little higher yet” [three men standing on bank of river at work camp, tents behind them, riverbank eroded from high water, small boat tied to bank in center]
 9 — [view across swollen river to tents at work camp nearly flooded by high water, small boat on bank in foreground]
 10 — “The ‘Shmoo’ is losing faith” [man hauling items out of tent about to be flooded by high water, second man standing in front of tent in background]
 11 — “McCorkle’s caught like a rat” [tent in flood waters]
 12 — “Maybe we should put the next camp on higher ground” [man rowing rowboat Scharnhorst II past flooded tent]
 13 — High winds at “Dead Horse” [tents partially collapsed at work camp on taiga]
 14 — South Fork camp [four men sitting next to tent, camp fire in center, table with dishes at right, trees in background]
 15 — “How would you guys like some corned beef for breakfast?” [man smoking cigarette standing next to piles of supplies in wooded area, two men sitting on ground in foreground]
 16 — “Hope it doesn’t rain tonight” [Frank Morris lying on cot outdoors, reading Saturday Evening Post magazine, wooden crate from DuPont Explosives on larger wooden box at right]
 17 — “Cigarettes and whiskey and wild, wild women” [man playing guitar in wooded area, bed roll and other gear in foreground]
 18 — Smith at O’Brien Creek [man sitting in tent opening reading magazine, second tent in background]
 19 — [five men on riverbank, two men extending hands to help a naked man out of the water, tent at right, small boat tied to bank in left background]
 20 — [man wearing union suit walking out of river towards camp fire, second man extending a hand]
 21 — “What tree is the corn flakes under?” [two men inside mess tent, one man sitting on table next to stacks of plates, stove at left]
 22 — At Watson cabin on the Fortymile River [man listening to phonograph, candle in Carnation Milk can at right]
 23 — [Allyn Brown wearing chain around neck, sitting in cabin with dog wearing fedora hat, crates from evaporated milk behind them]
 24 — [men sitting at table playing cards with dog wearing sweater, cards and chips on table]
 25 — [dog drinking from wash basin next to tent]
 26 — [dog portrait]
 27 — [dog chained next to log kennel]
 28 — [dog portrait]
 29 — One of Buck Rosenbush’s dogs [dog portrait]
 30 — Sounding on the Fortymile [two men in small boat with outboard motor on river, one man using pole to gauge depth, third man on riverbank taking notes]
 31 — Sounding on the Fortymile [two men in small boat with outboard motor on river, one man using pole to gauge depth, surveying equipment on riverbank in foreground]
 32 — Morris and the “Shmoo” on the Fortymile [Frank Morris and another man in small boat with outboard motor on river]
 33 — Crossing the Mosquito Fork [two men driving bulldozer across river]
 34 — Gordon christening the new D6 after Morris drive it 130 miles across country [man smashing bottle against Caterpillar D6 bulldozer, other men watching]
 35 — Leaving the Fortymile [man driving tractor pulling sled loaded with men and supplies up hill through brush, river in background]
 36 — [man driving tractor through wooded area on hillside, snow on ground, river valley in background]
 37 — West Fork [bridge over river, men working at left, tractor on riverbank at right]
 38 — West Fork at breakup time [view down road to bridge under construction, men and heavy equipment in foreground, two automobiles on road across river]
 39 — West Fork bridge [bridge over river, man standing at left]
 40 — West Fork [bridge over river, Alaska Road Commission pickup truck at right]
 41 — Mosquito Fork bridge [bird’s eye view of bridge over river, crane and metal barrels on far shore]
 42 — [two men working on bridge footing]
 43 — [four men working on bridge foundation, ice chunks on riverbank]
 44 — [view down road to automobile coming off bridge over Tanana River near Tok, snow on mountains in distance]
 45 — Looking down the Fortymile River from O’Brien Creek [scenic]
 46 — Mt. Fairplay [scenic]
 47 — Mt. Fairplay [scenic, road in foreground]
 48 — Looking up the Mosquito Fork from a point 1 ½ miles downstream from Chicken airfield [scenic]
 49 — Looking up the Dennison Fork from point 1 ½ miles downstream from Chicken airfield. Out of focus [scenic]
 50 — [log cabin in trees, stacks of fuel wood against walls, metal barrel at left]
 51 — Buck Rosenbush [man washing clothes in wash basin in front of log cabin, laundry on clothesline at right, boots drying at left, trees in background. Image published by Brown in Alaska sportsman, March 1950, p. 26]
 52 — [people gathered outside U.S. Customs building at Boundary, some people sitting on crates at left, American flag flying, weather gauges on roof, signs on log building for Post Office, Weather Station, Roadhouse, Game Warden, Licenses]
 53 — Frank Pratt [portrait]
 54 — Frank Pratt [portrait]
 55 — Frank Pratt [man sitting with dog inside cabin, bear fur on armchair, magazine advertisements pasted to walls, 1948 calendar at left]
56 — Frank Pratt, Jack Wade, Alaska [man sitting inside cabin on bear fur draped over armchair, books lining shelves, magazine advertisements pasted to walls, cans from Hills Bros. coffee, radio and hurricane lamp at left, Roycroft symbol on box behind lamp]
 57 — [Athabascan woman and man outdoors in winter, both wearing beaded mittens, man wearing fur hat, woman sitting on metal barrel]
 58 — [two Athabascan girls standing arm-in-arm outdoors, both wearing Western style clothing and fur-lined mittens]
 59 — Galbreath panning at O’Brien Creek [man using gold pan in river]
 60 — Buck Rosenbush and Don Clark sniping on the Fortymile [two men placer mining on riverbank]
 61 — [two men using rocker box on riverbank, gold pan on ground in foreground]
 62 — Dec. 1946. We managed to load 1000 lbs. on the sled but because of a steep hill and deep, unpacked snow, we had to dump half the load and make two trips up grade. We had six miles of rough going. 6 dogs and 4 men did the pulling. You see approximately 1400 lbs of meat, 2 heads, and hides in this picture [...] [men loading moose carcasses onto sled in winter]
 63 — [man standing next to sled loaded with moose meat and snowshoes, carcass on snow in foreground, dogs in harness in background]
 64 — [man standing next to sled loaded with moose meat and snowshoes, carcass on snow in foreground, dogs in harness in background]
 65 — [crop of .64]
 66 — Lassen Post Office [exterior of post office, probably Lassen County, California]
 67 — Entrance to Lassen Post Office [exterior of post office, possibly abandoned, with Wanted posters on walls] Guide written: May 22, 2018