Guide to the R.L. Button and Associates records
1916, 1939-2013
Collection number: HMC-1389.
Creator: R.L. Button and Associates.
Title: R.L. Button and Associates records.
Dates: 1916, 1939-2013.
Volume of collection: 4.0 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are entirely in English.
Collection summary: Survey maps and notes of properties and subdivisions created or collected by an Anchorage survey company.
Biographical note:
Richard L. Button moved to Alaska as a child in 1940. He started his survey company, R.L. Button and Associates, in 1972. In 1984, the company earned a computer drafting award at the Alaska Surveying and Mapping Conference.
Collection description:
This collection consists of 1,431 maps, plats, and surveyor’s notes of Anchorage properties used or created by the R.L. Button and Associates surveying company. The materials are dated from 1916 to 2013, though the majority are from the 1960s to the 1980s. Most depict property lines, subdivisions, and utility and ownership information.
Arrangement: This collection is in no discernable order. Maps with similar grid numbers may be grouped together.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: The Archives hold copyright to items in the collection created by R.L. Button. Materials authored by others may be subject to copyright restrictions.
Preferred citation: R.L. Button and Associates records, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Works used in preparation of inventory:
“Garnett Button-Bollweg obituary.” Anchorage Daily News. October 25, 1995. B5.
“Survey, Map Honors Given.” Anchorage Times. March 2, 1984. C8.
“R L Button, Licensed Land Surveyor,” Better Business Bureau website. Last accessed July 9, 2025: https://www.bbb.org/us/ak/anchorage/profile/land-surveyor/r-l-button-licensed-land-surveyor-1296-22638396.
Index: A separate index has been prepared to the maps and plans in the collection. Please contact Archives and Special Collections for a copy of the index.
Related materials: For more Anchorage survey archival materials, please see the Bud Campbell papers (HMC-1186). For more Alaska survey archival materials, see the Mapping and surveying topic guide.
Acquisition note: R.L. Button’s daughter, Karen Button, gave the collection to the Archives in 2019. A deed of gift was signed in 2024.
Processing information: This collection was described by Becky Butler Gallegos and Luna De La Rosa in 2025.