Artifact of the Month: August 2016

Ketchikan's first known dairy was established around 1900 by Jacob Pittenger, a pioneer settler who came to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. Pittenger built his dairy farm near a spring at the top of downtown Ketchikan on a street that now bears his name. Over the years, he was praised for being successful despite the difficulties of raising cattle in the rainforest. Pittenger became an invested member of the community, serving three terms as Mayor and was elected to the City Council nine times.

August's Artifact of the Month is an image from a copper plate mounted on wood showing Jacob Pittenger's dairy, circa 1910. This photo etching uses a halftone process, creating grids across the image from the positioning of screens to create shading. This image was part of an advertisement created by the Ketchikan Ladies Auxiliary, promoting "Ketchikan, the First City in Alaska". The image shows Pittenger near the center in a dark jacket, his dairy barn, and a few head of cattle against the steep terrain of downtown Ketchikan.

Ketchikan Museums: Tongass Historical Society Collection, THS 69.10.3.2