Guide to the Millard Preston photographs
1941-1943
Collection number: HMC-1297.
Creator: Preston, Millard R..
Title: Millard Preston photographs.
Dates: 1941-1943.
Volume of collection: 0.01 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Materials in the collection are in English.
Collection summary: Photographs of a man who worked on construction of the Alaska Highway.
Biographical note:
Millard Rutherford Preston was born in 1889 in Pandora, Ohio. In 1910, he settled on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation in Idaho, which had recently been opened to homesteading. In 1913, he married Nina Copeman. He worked in the logging industry in Idaho until the late 1920s, when he began working for logging companies in British Columbia. In 1943, Preston found work on the construction of the Alaska Highway and traveled to Alaska and Yukon. In 1944, he spent a year working in the Aleutian Islands.
Collection description: The collection consists of photographs taken by Millard Preston during his time working on construction of the Alaska Highway in Alaska and Yukon, as well as some photographs from the Aleutian Islands, particularly Adak. Subjects of the photographs include Preston and other highway construction workers; construction on highways and camps; steamboats; fishing; military buildings; and scenery. There are several photographs of totem poles in Anchorage. The collection also includes a One Year Award card recognizing Preston’s one year of service in the Aleutians for the Guy F. Atkinson Company.
Arrangement: The photographs were originally separated into groups, and the order within the groups has been retained. The groups of photos have been arranged in roughly chronological order.
Digitized copies: Selected items have been digitized and can be viewed on Alaska’s Digital Archives. For information about obtaining copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Archives and Special Collections owns copyright to materials created by Millard Preston. Some materials in the collection may be subject to copyright not held by the Archives
Preferred citation: Millard Preston photographs, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Works used in preparation of inventory: Biographical information was provided by Millard Preston’s granddaughter, Shelley Dumas.
Separated materials: Postcards collected by Millard Preston have been separated to the Archives Ephemera collection.
Related materials: For more collections related to the construction of the Alaska Highway, see our Alaska Highway construction collections topic guide.
Acquisition note: The collection was donated to the Archives, and a deed of gift was signed, by Shelley Dumas in 2018.
Processing information: This collection was described by Gwen Higgins in 2018.