Anton Anderson

Anton Anderson Collection

c. 1935

This summer view looks southeast across the floodplain of the Matanuska River to the Chugach Mountains beyond. Anderson identifies the lower "Bodenburg Butte", named after John Bodenburg who homesteaded nearby in 1918, and the taller mountain he refers to as "Ben McDuhe". This mountain, called "Thel'aay" by the local Ahtna people, and "Dnal'iy" by the indigenous Dena'ina, was named "Pioneer Peak" by official map-makers in 1939 in honor of the Matanuska Colonists who came to settle the valley below in 1935. Apparently, before that time, some locals, including Anderson, referred to it as "Ben McDuhe (Ben Macdui) after the prominent mountain in Scotland of that name.

Palmer, Alaska

Black & White Paper Print, 3-1/4" x 5"

Matanuska River#1x-And