B.F. Skinner Foundation

The Alaska Steamship Company was incorporated on the brink of the Klondike Gold Rush for $30,000. The first steamer was a 136-foot, 245-ton steamship named the Willapa, that carried 49 passengers and cargo on its maiden voyage to Ketchikan, Juneau, Dyea and Skagway. In 1908, the Alaska Steamship Co. was purchased by Kennecott Copper and merged with Northwestern Steamship Co., serving as the Alaska Line. The War Administration requisitioned the Alaska steamship fleet for government service in 1942. It was purchased again in 1944 by Skinner & Eddy but shipping costs and the introduction of the airline passenger service forced the company to focus on cargo and containerization. By 1954 passenger service to Alaska via the Alaska Steamship Co. ended. More economic setbacks were experienced by the Alaska Steamship Co. in the '60's including the destruction of many ports by the 1964 earthquake. After years of reorganization and efforts to maintain economic viability, the Alaska Steamship Co. went out of business in 1971. [From: Guide to the Skinner Foundation photograph collection ... [unpublished], by Allison O. Hackett, 1993.].