Skagway, Alaska these days is a quiet village, with about 800 winter residents and thousands of summer visitors and workers. But once upon a time, back in the days of the Yukon Gold Rush, it was the bustling gateway and supply hub for some of the main routes over the mountains and into the Yukon.
Pretty quickly, the town’s wooden sidewalks were lined with hotels, saloons, boarding houses, supply stores and brothels, along with the terminal of the White Pass & Yukon Railroad, built over the pass that thousands had climbed on foot, carrying their supplies on their backs.
Along with all that, some of the early settlers joined together to form a mutual help organization, modeled on secret societies and lodges of the time. They called it the Arctic Brotherhood, and from 11 members in Skagway, it grew to thousands, with lodges, called camps, all over Alaska.
The order provided help to its members when they were ill, buried them when they were dead, helped them restart when they were broke, and mostly provided them with a place to have a good time at the bar. The home of Camp #1 is now occupied by the National Park Service information desk.
The facade is covered by over 8,000 pieces of driftwood plucked from the shores of Skagway Bay by members and nailed to the front wall. When the Park Service restored the building in 2005, they removed all 8,883 pieces. They replaced 3,533 rotted pieces with new driftwood, and put back 5,300 originals.
