In an article at the Smithsonian Magazine website titled “How Alaska’s Historic Roadhouses are Standing the Test of Time,” travel correspondent Laura Kiniry writes, “These sometimes temporary—often permanent—lodgings played a huge role in the history of the Alaskan frontier, serving as one-stop shops for travelers arriving by dog team or stagecoach, or even on foot, through intense cold and snow.”

With several color photos and a good emphasis on why the old roadhouses are worth preserving, Kiniry described half a dozen roadhouses and interviewed Alaskan roadhouse owners Mary Knight, of Tolovana Roadhouse; Annie Hopper, of the Rapids Roadhouse; and me–Helen Hegener-author of the book, Alaskan Roadhouses. Having written the book, I’ve written quite a lot about the old roadhouses on this site, you can do a search to find some of the articles such as Roadhouse Registers, Roadhouse Videos, and look up many specific roadhouses by name. I also have a website dedicated to preserving the history of the roadhouses, which you can find here.

Alaskan Roadhouses

“Alaskan Roadhouses, Shelter, Food, and Lodging Along Alaska’s Roads and Trails,” by Helen Hegener, published by Northern Light Media in 2016. 6″ x 9″, over 100 black/white photographs, 284 pages. $24.95 plus $5.00 for First Class shipping.

$29.95

“In Alaskan Roadhouses, Helen Hegener reconstructs the scant history of these establishments and the people and dogs who made their existence possible. She tells us as much about the travelers who foraged from one roadhouse to the next as the roadhouses themselves. These pioneers were beyond hearty. Braving sub-arctic temps and trails that defied logic, they walked along with, or ahead of their dog teams, 20 to 30 miles per day, without surcease. They pushed past blistered feet (treated with coal oil) twisted ankles and fingers and toes frosted just this side of hypothermia. What shines through-one indelible portrait after another-is their sheer exuberance for life. Their words leap from the page, so vibrant their zeal for life you can hear them as you read their words.” –David Fox, Alaska Press, January 14, 2016

This long-anticipated 284-page book recounts the detailed histories of twenty-four roadhouses, and presents historic photos of two dozen more. Along with the colorful histories are first-hand accounts of those who stayed at the roadhouses while traveling the early trails and roads of Alaska, including the Reverend Samuel Hall Young, Frank G.. Carpenter, Judge James Wickersham, Leonhard Seppala, Col. Walter L. Goodwin, and Matilda Clark Butler, who opened a roadhouse near Nome in 1901, at the height of the Nome Gold Rush. -Make-a-Scene magazine, July, 2015