GET MEARS! FREDERICK MEARS: BUILDER OF THE ALASKA RAILROAD.

Crittenden, Katharine Carson [Kit Crittenden], 1921-2010. Cook Inlet Historical Society, [Frederick Mears, 1878-1939.]

ISBN 10: 0832305510 / ISBN 13: 9780832305511

Published by Portland, OR - Anchorage, AK: Binford & Mort Publishing in cooperation with Cook Inlet Historical Society, 2002., 2001

About this Item

INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. xiv, 285 pages. Paperback: H 22.75cm x L 15.25cm. Paper covers rubbed; scuffs at edges; some curling at front cover's lower fore-edge corner with early leaves affected likewise. Author's return mailing label affixed to front cover's blank verso; author's six-line ink inscription on half-title page. Interior pages are otherwise clean. Binding is firm. ISBN 0832305510.

Seller Inventory # CVA-01031

Bibliographic Details

• Title: GET MEARS! FREDERICK MEARS: BUILDER OF THE ALASKA RAILROAD.
• Publisher: Portland, OR - Anchorage, AK: Binford & Mort Publishing in cooperation with Cook Inlet Historical Society, 2002.
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0832305510
• ISBN 13: 9780832305511
• Binding: Soft cover
• Illustrator: Karen Crittenden
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Americana-Regional

About this title

Synopsis

Appointed by President Wilson in 1914, Mears served as chief engineer and later chairman of the Alaska Engineering Commission until 1923. Concurrent with driving rail across hundreds of miles of rugged wilderness, he created a town for the railroad workers and other settlers - the town that became Alaska's largest city, Anchorage. Today, few people know who Frederick Mears was, though evidence of his work abounds not only in Alaska but also in Panama, France, St. Paul Minnesota, and Stevens Pass Washington. This never-before-told story of Colonel Mears illuminates an overlooked piece of history. Unfolding amid major world events, from the Civil War. to construction of the Panama Canal, and through both world wars, Mears' biography seeks to honor the man who, through his energy, dedication and drive, overcame contemptuous criticisms and disruptive setbacks to succeed at finishing the job. The Alaska Railroad is his legacy.