HISTARCHers!
And you thought it would never happen! Guess what? There were times I
thought the same.
It's been 20 years in the making, but at long last, the eternally awaited has arrived for
your reading pleasure and edification!
THE MASCOT SALOON:
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN SKAGWAY, ALASKA, VOLUME 10,
KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK,
by Catherine Holder Spude
with contributions
by Karl Gurcke, David R. Huelsbeck and Gwen Hurst
FROM THE ABSTRACT:
A group of buildings built between 1898 and 1904 cover a series of
archeological deposits associated with the Mascot Saloon, the longest lived
saloon operated by the same owner at the same location in the gold rush
town of Skagway, Alaska. Built during the Klondike Gold Rush, and then
continuing to cater to the working class men of this railroad and shipping
port until local prohibition in July 1916, the Mascot Saloon witnessed all
phases of saloon life. A thorough contextual history explores the multitude
and types of saloons in Skagway throughout its pre-Prohibition years; the
effects of reform movements throughout Southeast Alaska on liquor
licensing, pricing, gambling, and women in saloons; the influence of the
declining economy on the saloons; and the incidence of crimes in the
saloons. Once the context is set, a detailed history of the Mascot Saloon
follows. Especial attention is paid to correlating historic photographs of
known dates to maps of the archeological investigation grid.
The horizontal stratigraphy on the site was excellent, and allowed the
archeologists to separate gold rush from post-gold rush era deposits. The
gold rush saloon (1898 – 1899) served a much larger proportion of whiskey
in bottles than it did beer or wine; snacks of nuts were served; meals with
beer were common; the stampeders were free with their money; women were
present in the saloon. After the gold rush (1900 – 1904), more beer in
bottles appeared in the archeological collections; the nut snacks were
replaced by free lunches, including clam chowder; while beer remained
popular, the less expensive mutton appeared on the menu more frequently;
money grew tighter and not so many coins and tokens were lost; the women
left the saloon. During both time periods on this urban frontier, flasks
were not used for social drinking in the saloon, but for private drinking
in the work yard or the privy.
The post-1904 period at the Mascot Saloon barely exists in an archeological
context, and then only as construction or structural debris.
Research themes include adjustments in consumption habits from boom times
to ordinary times, the mining frontier’s interactions with markets to the
south, and changes in social relationships during the reforms of the
Progressive era. The insights glimpsed at the Mascot Saloon make a
contribution beyond the field of Alaskan archeology.
If you would like to have a free copy of this report, please send
your name and mailing address to Karl Gurcke at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> or
Karl Gurcke
Park Historian
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
PO Box 517
Skagway, AK 99840-0517
Catherine H. Spude, PhD
Montana Dawn, Enterprises
7 Avenida Vista Grande #145
Santa Fe, NM 87508
505-466-1476 home
505-913-1326 cell
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
"Life is not tried, it is merely survived if you're standing outside the fire." Jenny Yates and Garth Brooks.
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