Anchor River ~ Anchor Point, Alaska
This hand drawn map of the Anchor River was in circulation in the 1961 - 1963 time frame. The initials of the artist is in the lower right corner, however, they are not familiar to myself. The map was a "handout" that Elizabeth Aprill used in their business, Aprill's Motel which is now named the Anchor River Inn. Although the map is useful, several of the fishing holes are not named correctly on the map. At the same time, there were several very popular fishing holes that are not named.
ANCHOR
RIVER
The community of
Anchor Point, Alaska is located on the lower Kenai Peninsula, approximately one
hundred ninety-five road miles from the City of Anchorage and sixteen miles
north of the City of Homer, Alaska. The documented early history of the area shows
that the famed British Explorer, Captain Cook visited the area in his search of
the Northwest Passage. Reportedly, he anchored off the shores of this area and
while at anchorage lost an anchor in the tidal current of the inlet. He would document this on his chart and log book,
simply as “anchor point”. It was on this
voyage that he would also name several of the volcanoes situated on the western
shore line of Cook Inlet.
Anchor Point is an
unincorporated community and has not changed drastically during the past
fifty-six years that I have been familiar with the area. Anchor Point was first populated by early day
gold miners followed by a religious group of families that homesteaded in the
area. A number of their descendants still live in the area of Anchor
Point. As a child and young man, the
boat that was utilized by these early missionaries was sitting well above the
high tide line in the tidal marsh area of the Anchor River. Since there was no
name on the boat, it was simply called the “missionary boat”. The boat
disappeared sometime in the early 1960’s.
Although, I was not present, I am assuming that the boat was washed back
into the sea following the Great Alaskan Earthquake in 1964. One of the favorite sport fishing spots on
the Anchor River was in the vicinity of the boat and was named appropriately
the “Mission Boat Hole”. This particular
fishing spot has also disappeared due to the ever changing channel of the
Anchor River.
The community of
Anchor Point is documented as the being the most westerly highway point in
North America that is connected by a continuous highway system. Although, this is an attraction, especially
for those visiting the area, the Anchor River remains the most popular
attraction in the area of the community.
The Anchor River is recognized by fishermen from around the world for
the fishing of King Salmon, Silver Salmon, and Steelhead Trout. Other species would include the Rainbow
Trout, Dolly Varden, and Pink Salmon.
The sport fishery of Anchor River and the adjoining marine fisheries is
a major economic factor for the community of Anchor Point.
Clark
Peterson Homestead
Clark Peterson and
family were one of the first homesteaders that moved into the area of Anchor
Point. Having this opportunity, he chose
to homestead the Anchor River Valley.
This homestead would include the property extending upstream from the
forks of the Anchor River and downstream to the commencement of the tidal marsh
land at the mouth of the Anchor River.
The Anchor River would bisect his homestead. His westerly border of the homestead would be
that area just past the area known as the Slide Hole Campground today. It was in
this area, that he would build his homestead house and barn. The area of where his home once stood is in
the cul-de-sac of the Slide Hole Campground parking area. The actual campground area is located in the
cleared and pastureland that he utilized to “prove up” on his homestead. This area was fenced and often referred to as
the “pasture”. Several families,
including mine, when my brothers and I hauled a truck load of Shetland Ponies
to Alaska from Colorado would utilize this area to pasture our horses. At the time of the “homestead” the house sit
on the banks of the Anchor River, again on a very popular fishing Hole which we
named appropriately, “Farmhouse Hole”.
Although not documented, it is rumored that sometime after 1963 due to
house being that close to the river and susceptible to flooding a little gravel
was re-arranged at the head of the “Farmhouse Hole” to encourage the river to
change course. Whether this rumor is
correct or Mother Nature made the choice will never be known but the river did
change channels as we know it today. The
old river bed, although overgrown by willows is still visible from the
Cul-De-Sac at the parking area at the Slide Hole Campground.
Clark Peterson was
an entrepreneur. The Sterling Highway
pushed through the area to connect the communities of Soldatna (original
spelling) and Homer. The “Old Sterling
Highway” at the intersection in Anchor Point follows the original route. The new Sterling Highway was built in
1959. The original Sterling Highway would pass
through the easterly portion of the Peterson homestead as it crossed the Anchor
River Valley. Being the entrepreneur,
Clark Peterson built the Silver King Lodge adjacent to the highway on the south
side of the Anchor River Bridge and would become the intersection of the Beach
Road and Old Sterling Highway. The Silver King Lodge was a full service
facility and at one time the Post Office for Anchor Point. The facility included a general store,
walk-in freezer unit, restaurant, three campgrounds, and several rental cabins
along the Anchor River. These were all
built out of local rough cut lumber and three sided logs. In later years, the
facility would also host a liquor license.
The main building housed the main floor, full basement and a third story
which was living accommodations for the family.
Clark Peterson, wanting to take advantage of the resources available
would set a beach trot line for halibut.
Baiting the hooks at low tide, standing guard on them so the sea gulls would
not pick off the bait, he would wait until high tide. As the tide turned to going low, he would
then pick the halibut that he caught. Clean them and sell them through his
store. In the spring, when the Anchor
River broke up, he would also take a saw and cut up blocks of river ice. He had a shed built off the rear of the store
that contained saw dust where he would place the blocks of ice. If a customer wanted ice, he would retrieve a
block from the “ice house” rinse it off with a hose and sell it to the happy
customer.
Recognizing the
popularity of the area, he decided to sell a portion of his property. The first two pieces that he developed were
small lots and cabins located on the banks of the river. One cabin would be the cabin my father
purchased a few years later for $1,200 and the second cabin that was adjoining
was later purchase by Don Dafoe, Alaska Commissioner of Education.
Emmitt Trimble would purchase or trade of both pieces of property in later
years. His next subdivision would be the
Clark Peterson Subdivision, which is located at the head of the Steelhead
Campground and adjacent to the Dudis Hole on the Anchor River. This would
become one of the first subdivisions on the Kenai Peninsula. It was during this time, that someone
mentioned to Clark Peterson that he should have conveyances on the property
that he sold could not be used commercially in order to protect his own
business. Those conveyances were placed
into effect. It first came to our
attention when we developed our original business, Harrington’s Fishing
Shack. I can remember my dad fleeing to
Homer to check to see if the rumor was correct.
In the case of the property he purchased, no conveyances were
recorded. The second time this problem
appeared was when I built the Anchor Angler Tackle Shop. Knowing the problem that my father had, I
checked prior to closing on the property. The conveyance did apply to the
property that I wanted to purchase from Arnie Murto. At the time, Clark
Peterson and his wife were still living in Idaho. They happily agreed to
release the conveyance on the property.
That was my last contact with the Peterson family.
Clark Peterson
would continue to operate the Silver King Lodge property until 1958. At that time, he wanted to retire and sold
all of the properties to a Mr. Gene Saxton, a lawyer from Anchorage. Not wanting to operate the business, Mr.
Saxton contracted his brother-in-law Clarence “Smitty” Smith to manage the
business. My mother and father leased
the restaurant portion of the business from Saxton / Smith in 1959. We operated the business 24 hours a day until
the fall off 1959. This was not only the
summer of statehood but also the year that the New Sterling Highway was
developed to Homer. My family sub-leased
it to the family of Lucky and Betty Platt.
Prior to the development of their homestead, I believe that they were
the last family to live in the original homestead house. Following the Platt’s operating the restaurant;
it did go through several operators until the property was sold to the State of
Alaska.
In or around 1966,
Gene Saxton decided to sell all of the property in Anchor Point. Despite the location and the amount of land,
if my memory recall correctly the asking price was $100,000, there was no one
in the area that could afford to buy it.
Members of the Guy Wadell Sportsman Association was concerned that a
wealthy entrepreneur would discover the property, purchase it, and then block
if off to private fishing only.
Association members discussed the issue with Clem Tillion who was
serving in the Alaska State Senate. He
introduced an appropriation bill for the State of Alaska to purchase the
property and turn it into a State Park. The Appropriation Bill was passed and
the deal was consummated between the State of Alaska and Saxton.
The original Silver
King Lodge was purchased by Arnie Murto who owned a bar and liquor store on the
bluff overlooking the river named the Scandinavian Inn. He moved the old lodge across the street onto
the property that he had purchased from Clark Peterson. It was his intention to relocate his business
atop the bluff to this new location.
During that winter, a vagrant moved into the apartment upstairs and set
it on fire. The building was a complete loss;
the only thing salvaged was the sign that reads “Silver King Lodge” which I
have in my possession.
The State of Alaska
would also own one additional piece of the Clark Peterson Homestead. One lot and cabin in the Clark Peterson
Subdivision did go into foreclosure.
Again, the Guy Waddell Sportsman Association heard about it and voted to
make an attempt to purchase it as a meeting cabin for their association. Three
members of the association appeared at the Marshall’s Sale, my father, Howard
Myhill, and Milt Turkington. They were the only ones that showed up for the
auction, my father asked the Marshall if there were a minimum bid, replying
that there was none, my father bid five dollars ($5.00) and there was no other
bid. Feeling like they may have taken
advantage of the situation, the entire membership of the association voted to
see if the Department of Fish and Game would be interested in having the
property to house the biologist that worked on the river. The association donated the property to the
State of Alaska. Today, the cabin is
still being utilized by the Department of Fish and Game.
I was first
introduced to the Anchor River as a child in 1956 when our family first visited
the area. My father and brother had
visited the area on two different occasions prior to moving our family to this
location. Although, I grew up and went
to school in Homer, my summers were predominantly spent in Anchor Point;
consequently the Anchor River has always been my “hometown”. The river has played a very important part in
my life. In 1959, my family leased the
restaurant at the Silver King Lodge which was located adjacent to the river. The location of the lodge is now known as the
Silver King Campground which is managed by the State of Alaska, Division of
State Parks. In 1959, my father also
purchased a small cabin on the banks of the Anchor River for our personal
use. In 1961, we would convert this
cabin into a small business catering to the sport fish industry. Appropriately named “Harrington’s Fishing
Shack” in which we sold fishing tackle but our predominant business would become
smoking, canning, or freezing sport caught fish. The first business of this kind
in Anchor Point. By 1962, we were
purchasing commercial fish from the local set netters and processing it into
smoked salmon and canned salmon for Alaska Wild Berry retail outlet in Homer.
My family would
continue to operate the family business after I had left home for the U.S.
Navy. In 1968, my father would transfer
the ownership of Harrington’s Fishing Shack to a new owner. Although, this was not a normal transfer of
real property. My father was an avid Winchester
rifle collector. He had a friend that
was a gun shop owner in Anchorage. They
had previous dealing, in which they traded
guns. My father traded the business for
thirty guns and as a gentleman’s agreement that he would receive one gun per
year for five years. The agreement was
adhered to and paid in full. Since that
time, the property has changed hands several times to various individuals. Following the purchase of the Anchor River
valley by the State of Alaska and the dismantling of the Silver King Lodge, the
name of Harrington’s Fishing Shack was changed to Silver King Tackle Shop.
In 1986, upon my
retirement from the U.S. Navy, I would return to the Anchor River and build a
new business, the Anchor Angler which was located at the intersection of the
Beach Road and the Old Sterling Highway.
This property was adjacent to the former site of the Silver King
Lodge. My family and I would operate
this business for twenty-two years. With
time, patience, and a great deal of work from all members of my family, we
built the business into a world class tackle shop. I purchased this property from
Arnie and Thelma Murto. A few years
later, I would purchase the remaining portion of their original; homestead that
was located on the bluff overlooking the Anchor River. This was the site of the Scandinavian Inn,
the first bar in Anchor Point that was later destroyed by fire. It is now where our home is located,
overlooking the Anchor River, a river of memories.
The one thing
remaining constant in Anchor Point is the Anchor River Bridge. This bridge was constructed when the Sterling
Highway was built to connect the lower Kenai Peninsula to the highway
system. The “old bridge” has served us
well, having survived every flood since it was built, including the Great
Alaskan Earthquake of 1964.
