McCarthy Creek Airstrip: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve

NPS Alaksa Regional Office

The McCarthy Airstrip is a 35 acre landscape significant for its association with the development of aviation and air travel in the Chitina and Copper River Valley region of eastern Alaska. It played an important role in the development of aviation in the region by serving as a focal point of early aviation in the Chitina River Valley. The McCarthy Creek Airstrip was built in 1929 by the Alaska Road Commission and was the first of its kind in the region. The airstrip became even more important to residents of this area after the Kennecott mines closed in 1938 and discontinued rail service. The primary features of the historic district include the airstrip, the Mudhole Smith cabin, and a dilapidated hangar, all of which were built around 1930. The airstrip and the ‘Mudhole’ Smith cabin maintain structural integrity Locals for the first time could access regular flight schedules, which revolutionized freight and passenger transport in the region. A trip from Cordova or Valdez to the Chitina River Valley could take days by train or even weeks by dogsled or packhorse. With the establishment of the McCarthy Creek Airstrip, it took only hours. With the closure of the Copper River & Northwestern Railway in 1938, air travel became even more important mode of transportation in the region. The period of significance is 1929 to 1965. It was utilized regularly by many of the pioneer aviators of Alaska, such as Merle ‘Mudhole’ Smith, Harold Gillum, M.D. Kirkpatrick, and Bob Reeve. Through these aviators it was also host to significant figures of territorial history such as Ernest Gruening and Bradford Washburn. In addition to supplying the local community of McCarthy with reliable transportation and mail service, the airstrip also played a significant role in logistical operations for many of the mines in the region, in particular the Bremner mining district, where Merle Smith acquired his nickname ‘Mudhole’. In fact the Bremner Mining Company appears to have acquired title to the airstrip for a time in the early 1930s. In sum the airstrip played a significant role as a transportation hub in the region until the larger McCarthy airstrip was built in 1965, at which point the airstrip fell into disuse. The historic airstrip maintained an important link between the region and the port cities of Valdez and Cordova after the railroad stopped operating, it supplied local mines and miners with reliable transportation, mail and supplies, and served as a hub for tourist activity after WW II when the town of McCarthy was in danger of becoming a ghost town. The airstrip landscape maintains integrity of location, design, setting, feeling and association. Its’ historic buildings and structures contribute to its’ sense of time and place. The airstrip’s small scale and grass landing surface reinforce this feeling. The log cabin and its associated small‑scale features also suggest historic significance, and provide a particularly strong association with historic characters significant to the region. In short the landscape maintains exceptional integrity and provides the region and the Park with a unique opportunity to interpret local aviation history.

McCarthy Creek Airstrip: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve

Series

Collections