Voices of Sheldon Jackson School and College
An Archive of Photographs, Recordings, Documents and Objects
Historical walking tour of the Sheldon Jackson School National Historic Landmark Saturday December 7, 2024 11 a.m.
The public is invited to a free walking tour that will tell about the history and buildings of the former Sheldon Jackson School and College campus. The tour will start in front of Allen Hall in the center of the campus at 11 a.m. Saturday, December 7, and will conclude with coffee and cookies, historical materials and photos in Whitmore Hall.
The campus is originally called G̱eeyta.aan or Head of the Bay Town. How the school got started and its impact, experiences of graduates in the 20th century, the college buildings, and a bit about the impact of WWII on the school will also be part of the tour.
The tour will also show recent work, including accessibility improvements, historical restoration, and a new heating system in Whitmore Hall. The event is part of a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, administered by the Alaska Office of History and Archaeology.
Allen Hall is the building facing the water at the center of the historic quadrangle, and Whitmore Hall is just to its east. For more information call 907 738-7448.
The campus is originally called G̱eeyta.aan or Head of the Bay Town. How the school got started and its impact, experiences of graduates in the 20th century, the college buildings, and a bit about the impact of WWII on the school will also be part of the tour.
The tour will also show recent work, including accessibility improvements, historical restoration, and a new heating system in Whitmore Hall. The event is part of a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, administered by the Alaska Office of History and Archaeology.
Allen Hall is the building facing the water at the center of the historic quadrangle, and Whitmore Hall is just to its east. For more information call 907 738-7448.
Founded in 1878, Sitka’s Sheldon Jackson College was Alaska's oldest institution of higher learning when it closed, abruptly, in 2007.
In 2011, most of the core campus was turned over to Alaska Arts Southeast and its Fine Arts Camp, who are restoring the physical campus, and filling it with arts and cultural education programs. Other organizations, including the Sitka Music Festival, the Sitka Sound Science Center, and Youth Advocates of Sitka are also stewards of parts of the historic campus.
Along with the physical campus, the Fine Arts Camp soon found they had inherited a deep, complicated, and important history. The history of this school is significant to the nation, as one of the schools originally funded by the U.S. government for the purpose of eliminating Native identity and removing them from their lands, as outlined in the Department of the Interior's preliminary investigation of May 2022.
This site grew out of oral history interviews with staff, graduates and others that began in 2012. The purpose is to present these interviews as well as documents, photographs and other materials for the benefit of the Sheldon Jackson community and the public. The goal is to frankly explore and present the complex history of the school over the years, in the words of those who were part of it, to explore questions of missions, education, and social history of Alaska and the nation.
The historic campus was designated the Sheldon Jackson School National Historic Landmark in 2002.
The interpretive signs and this website were generously supported by the Alaska Humanities Forum and the National Endowment for the Humanities and by the Rasmuson Foundation.
Go to the About tab to read more about this project.
In 2011, most of the core campus was turned over to Alaska Arts Southeast and its Fine Arts Camp, who are restoring the physical campus, and filling it with arts and cultural education programs. Other organizations, including the Sitka Music Festival, the Sitka Sound Science Center, and Youth Advocates of Sitka are also stewards of parts of the historic campus.
Along with the physical campus, the Fine Arts Camp soon found they had inherited a deep, complicated, and important history. The history of this school is significant to the nation, as one of the schools originally funded by the U.S. government for the purpose of eliminating Native identity and removing them from their lands, as outlined in the Department of the Interior's preliminary investigation of May 2022.
This site grew out of oral history interviews with staff, graduates and others that began in 2012. The purpose is to present these interviews as well as documents, photographs and other materials for the benefit of the Sheldon Jackson community and the public. The goal is to frankly explore and present the complex history of the school over the years, in the words of those who were part of it, to explore questions of missions, education, and social history of Alaska and the nation.
The historic campus was designated the Sheldon Jackson School National Historic Landmark in 2002.
The interpretive signs and this website were generously supported by the Alaska Humanities Forum and the National Endowment for the Humanities and by the Rasmuson Foundation.
Go to the About tab to read more about this project.
Interpretive Signs
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Eight interpretive signs on the historic campus introduce the story of Sheldon Jackson School and College.
Four chronological signs are on Lincoln Street below the main campus: the Training School Era; the Cottages Era; the High School Era; and the College Era. |
Signs telling about the 1910-1911 campus and about Sheldon Jackson School staff are behind the Laundry Building on College Drive.
A sign telling about the former infirmary is on Jeff Davis Street in front of that building, now Sitka's International Hostel. A sign about the vocational education is near the Sage Building, now the Sitka Sound Science Center. |
Click on each image to enlarge:
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