Boxer (Ship)

In April 1920 the U.S.S. Boxer, a wooden vessel used by the government as a training ship for naval cadets, was transferred from the Navy Department to the Department of the Interior for the use of the Alaska division of the U.S. Bureau of Education. In 1922 funds were appropriated to repair the vessel and install an engine, and in 1923 the Boxer made its first trip to Alaska. With a capacity of 500 tons, it annually carried supplies, equipment, teachers, and medical personnel to stations and distribution points along the coast of Alaska, to as far north as Point Barrow. During seasons when northern navigation is closed, the Boxer served as a floating school to train Alaska Natives in operating and maintaining the vessel and its equipment. The Boxer continued in Alaskan service into the early 1930s, when it was replaced by the North Star. (From Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Education to the Secretary of the Interior, Washington, G.P.O.)