Ed S. Orr Stage Company, Superintendent's Residence

Peterson, Steven; Beckstead, Douglas

This Historic structure Report (HSR) has been prepared to document the history of the Ed. S. Orr Transportation company's Superintendent's Residence at Chitina, Alaska. The HSR also recommends appropriate preservation treatments in compliance with N.P.S. Guidelines and the Secretary of The Interior's Guidelines for Rehabilitation. The Superintendent's Residence is not listed on the National Register of Historic Places, however, research as part of preparing this HSR has documented the historic importance of this property and a National Register Nomination will be completed in the coming weeks. The National Park Service acquired this property from a private owner in 1990 for purposes of establishing a visitor contact station and a district ranger office. Since acquisition, additional historical research and site investigations have provided a data base of information establishing its historical importance. Historic American Building Survey (HABS) drawings have also been prepared and are included as part of this HSR. Ed. S. Orr's - superintendent's Residence is located within the old Chitina townsite and is one of the earliest structures from the establishment of this interior community. The structure, which has been continuously used as a residence and a restaurant, survives with few changes to its historic architectural character. The Superintendent's Residence, when rehabilitated, will serve as a National Park Service visitor contact station and as offices for the district ranger. Jesse C. Martin, Ed. S. Orr's first transportation manager at chitina occupied the building with his wife and oversaw the operations of the Ed. S. Orr Stage Company which ran from Valdez to the interior city of Fairbanks. The Orr Stage Company established its operations at Chitina in 1910 and almost immediately sold to the Northern Commercial Company, thus culminating a transportation career in Alaska which began at the Chilkoot Trail in 1898. The Superintendent's Residence is historically associated with Ed. S. Orr and his transportation businesses at the Chilkoot Trail, Dawson City, the gold fields of Fairbanks and the Kennicott activity. Field visits to the Superintendent's Residence were undertaken in 1988 and in the fall of 1990 for purposes of recording the architecture of the building. HABS drawings were prepared during the fall of 1990. Rehabilitation of the building is scheduled to begin during the summer of 1991 and will continue for a two year period of time. Information for this HSR was compiled from field visits made by Architect David Anderson, Regional Historical Architect Steven M Peterson and Historian Doug Beckstead.

Ed S. Orr Stage Company, Superintendent's Residence

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