Guide to the Carl F. Lewis papers
1916-1922, 1955
Collection number: HMC-0802.
Creator: Lewis, Carl F.
Title: Carl F. Lewis papers.
Dates: 1916-1922, 1955
Volume of collection: 0.20 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Materials in this collection are in English.
Collection summary: Photographs and objects of a Company G, 21st Infantry Regiment soldier who served at Fort Gibbon.
Biographical note:
Carl F. Lewis enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1916. He trained at Fort McDowell in San Diego, California, with the 3rd Recruit Company and served in G Company of the 21st Infantry Regiment. Lewis’ unit was sent to Fort Gibbon, Alaska, near the village of Tanana on the Yukon River, in September 1919. The company also established a camp at Nenana on the Tanana River to safeguard government property of the Alaskan Engineering Commission. The company left Fort Gibbon for Anchorage in June 1922 before the post was deactivated that September.
Collection description:
The collection consists of the photographs, post cards, artifacts, and a company party invitation of Carl F. Lewis. The collection contains photographs from Lewis’ service at Fort Gibbon, his training at Fort McDowell, photo post cards of Tanana, Alaska, and the Yukon Territory, Lewis’ dog tag, two bronze U.S. buttons, bronze American Eagle button and pin, and one marksman rifle qualification pin. Subjects of the photographs from Fort Gibbon include: Lewis and fellow soldiers, barracks and buildings, the Yukon River, river ice, and riverboats, the village of Tanana, and a fish camp operated by soldiers on the Yukon River. Subjects of the photographs from Fort McDowell include: soldiers at a tent camp and marching on the beach, portraits of fellow soldiers William McAllister and Samuel Ladeen, and an interior view with of The Owl gambling house in Mexicali, Mexico. Subjects of the photo post cards include a mail team with dog team and sleds on the trail between Kaltag and St. Michael, a man dressed in a fur parka standing beside a pair of large snowshoes, a large team of dogs pulling a boat from the river, and a soldier holding a string of fish while standing next to a canoe on the riverbank, Taku Glacier, Whitehorse Rapids, and Miles Canyon on the Yukon River, the Post Office, Governor’s Residence, Administration Building, and St. Mary’s Hospital in Dawson, Inupiat men and women, and scenery.
Arrangement: The collection is arranged in order of subject.
Alternative formats: Copy negatives were made from selected prints in the collection.
Digitized copies: This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Archives and Special Collections does not hold copyright to materials in this collection.
Preferred citation: Carl F. Lewis papers, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Acquisition note: The collection was donated by Karen L. Ainsworth, Carl F. Lewis’ granddaughter, in 2005.
Processing information: This collection was described by Jeffrey Sinnott in 2005. The collection was converted to current standard by Veronica Denison in 2015.