You are here

Roadhouse

-A A +A
1911, 1913, 1918 and later

The roadhouse, comprised of sections of different buildings, seems to reflect the history of the entire town. The oldest section is that built by Doc Frost, probably about 1911. It is a gable-roofed log building, measuring about 16 feet by 18 feet. In 1913, Oscar Tackstrom—bookkeeper for the sawmill—constructed a one-room building of wood frame, described as “the biggest, nicest home in town” by a long-time resident. About 1918, the two buildings were moved downhill by Judge William Growden to the present site and joined into a new building, with the gable roofs at right angles to each other. Growden located the U.S. commissioner's office, the U.S. Signal Corps station, and district courtrooms in the building. It is not known when the porch on two sides, covered by a hip roof, was added. In 1935, Sig and Mame Wiig, local miners, bought the building and converted it to a roadhouse, adding a section measuring 30 feet by 60 feet on the downhill side. A shed-roofed kitchen off of the Doc Frost building adds to the sprawl. Now covered with imitation brick asphalt siding, the building continues to be used as a roadhouse.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Alison K. Hoagland
×

Data

What's Nearby

Citation

Alison K. Hoagland, "Roadhouse", [Ruby, Alaska], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/AK-01-WE020.

Print Source

Buildings of Alaska, Alison K. Hoagland. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993, 275-275.

If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.

SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

,