The fur farms of Alaska : two centuries of history and a forgotten stampede / Sarah Crawford Isto.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Isto, Sarah Crawford, 1942-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fur farming--Alaska--History.

Fur farming.

Farms--Alaska--History.

Farms.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (244 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Fairbanks : University of Alaska Press, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

After its rudimentary beginning in 1749, fur farming in Alaska rose and fell for two centuries. It thrived during the 1890s and again in the 1920s, when rising fur prices caused a stampede for land and breed stock and led to hundreds of farms being started in Alaska within a few years. The Great Depression, and later the development of warm, durable, and lightweight synthetic materials during World War II, brought further decline and eventual failure to the industry as the postwar economy of Alaska turned to defense and later to oil. The Fur Farms of Alaska brings this history to life b.

Contents:

1. The Russian period, 1749-1866: planting foxes on Aleutian Islands

2. The pioneer period, 1867-1909: Americans reinvent Alaska fur farming

3. Prewar expansion and WWI, 1910-1918: conservationist support for Alaska fur farms

4. The fur farm rush, 1919-1924: "a stampede to take up islands"

5. The peak years, 1925-1929: a territorial veterinarian and 700 fur farms

6. The Great Depression 1930-1940: depression years and Alaska's experimental fur farm

7. World War II, 1941-1945: a nonessential industry in a war zone

8. Post-war hopes and decades of decline, 1946-2000: Cold War, oil boom, and the demise of Alaska fur farming.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-220) and index.

ISBN:

1-60223-172-9

OCLC:

893740995