Casefile Summary
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RST 1467
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Herning Trail
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Trail Location
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The Herning Trail Is Located in Southcentral Alaska,
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Approximately 30 Miles Northeast of Anchorage. From the Historic
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Townsite of Knik On Knik-Goose Bay Road, the Route Heads
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Northward Around the West Side of Knik Lake, Crossing Threemile
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Lake Approximately 2 1/2 Miles North. the Route Continues
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Northward Alongside A Portion of Fish Creek and Crosses Big Lake
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Road at the Point Where It Crosses Lucille Creek. the Trail
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Continues Northward, Crossing Little Meadow Creek and the Parks
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Highway Approximately 3/4 Mile North of the Big Lake Cutoff, and
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Ends Just North at the Point Where It Meets the Alaska
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Railroad. the Location of the Trail, Based On Historical
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Evidence, Has Been Mapped By DNR, Division of Land Personnel, On
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USGS 1:63,360 Anchorage B-8 and C-8 Quadrangle Maps. the Route Is
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Approximately 10 Miles Long.
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Historic Documentation
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The Herning Trail Was Historically Used As A Freighting and
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Transportation Corridor To Mining Claims Along Willow Creek in
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The Early 1900'S. the Trail Continues As RST 95, Houston-Willow
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Creek, To the Willow Creek Mining District. the Route Is
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Included in the 1973 Department of Transportation and Public
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Facilities (DOT&PF) Trails Inventory On Map #69 (Anchorage
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1:250,000 Quadrangle) As the Southern Portion of Trail #64.
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A Synopsis of Historic Documentation (Copies of Sources in File)
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Regarding Construction Or Use of the Route Follows:
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USGS:
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1911: Bulletin #480, Mineral Resources of Alaska: Report
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On Progress of Investigations in 1910, Alfred H. Brooks and
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Others, Shows the Route and Its Extension On Figure 18. the
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Bulletin States: "The Winter Road for Sledding To Upper Willow
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Creek Heads North From Knik, Skirts the West End of Bald Mountain
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Ridge, and Proceeds Up Willow Creek...In Winter Freight May Be
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Sledded To the Camps By Either the New Wagon Road Or the Willow
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Creek Winter Road at About Half the Cost of Summer Haulage";
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1912: Bulletin #500, Plate III, "Geologic Reconnaissance
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Map of the Matanuska Valley, Alaska," Shows the Trail;
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1913: Bulletin #592, Mineral Resources of Alaska, A.H.
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Brooks and Others, Contains the Article "Gold Lodes and Placers
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Of the Willow Creek District," Stephen R.Capps, Which States:
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"The Winter Road for Sledding To the Willow Creek Basin Leads
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Northward From Knik, Skirts the West End of Bald Mountain Ridge,
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And Proceeds Up Willow Creek";
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1915: Bulletin #607, the Willow Creek District, Alaska,
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Stephen R. Capps, Mentions the Route From Knik To the Willow
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Creek Basin, Skirting the West End of Bald Mountain Ridge;
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1951: the Route Is Shown On 1951, Minor Corrections
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1956, USGS 1:250,000 Anchorage Quadrangle, As Well As On 1952
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USGS 1:63,360 Anchorage B-8.
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Other Maps:
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1908: Narrative From O.G. Herning Map, the Upper Inlet
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Region, Copyrighted 1906, Contains Narrative Accompanying the Map
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With A Section Titled "Trails Shown On 1906 Map," Which Lists the
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Knik To Willow Creek Via 3-Mile Lake and Big Lake Trail.
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Other:
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1955: Matanuska Valley Memoir, Johnson, Hugh and Keith
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Stanton, University of Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station,
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Palmer, States: "A Sled Trail Was Built in 1900 By the Klondike
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And Boston Company for Hauling Supplies From Knik To Its
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Operations On Grubstake Gulch. This Trail Crossed Three Mile
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Lake, Passed Near Big Lake, Crossed Two More Lakes Near the
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Little Susitna, Skirted the West End of Bald Mountain Ridge, Then
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Bore Almost Due East Until It Reached Willow Creek";
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1965: Alaska Sportsman Magazine, June, 1965, Contains
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The Article Titled "The Willow Creek Mining District," A.W.
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Reeder, Which Mentions the Trail, Stating "At the Time Bob
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Hatcher, the Bartholf Brothers and the Carle Interests Were
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Getting Started On Their Development Work, There Were Two
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Principal Routes From Knik, the Only Town in the Area, To the
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Mining District, and These Had Been Developed Mainly Because of
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The Placer Operations Around Grubstake Gulch in the Western Part
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Of the District. One of These, Used Only in Winter, Went North
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From Knik, Crossed the Present Line of the Alaskan Railroad at
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Houston, Then Went Around the Western End of Bald Mountain and Up
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Willow Creek To Approximately the Mouth of Grubstake Gulch. the
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Route, Which Wasn'T Much More Than A Trail and About Thirty Miles
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Long, Was Undoubtedly Used for the Transportation of Equipment
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And Supplies for the Hydraulic Operations Carried On By the
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Klondike Boston Mining Co. and Later By Orville Herning On His
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Own in the Grubstake Gulch Area. Horse-Drawn Sleds and Pack
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Horses Were Used After the Freeze-Up";
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1967: "Old Times On Upper Cook's Inlet," Louise Potter,
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States: "By 1912, Other Much- Used Trails Had Developed Northward
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From Seward, Which Had Become An Ocean Port, and Out From Knik To
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The East and West and the Various Mines. These Were, Mainly: . .
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.The Klondike and Boston Company Winter Trail From Knik Lake Via
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3-Mile Lake and Over the Ice On Big Lake To Meadow Lakes and
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Grubstake Gulch";
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1982: "Independence Mine and the Willow Creek Mining
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District," Kathryn K. Cohen, DNR Division of Parks, Office of
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History and Archaeology, Contains A 1911 Geological Sketch Map of
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The Willow Creek Region and An 1898 Map By O.G. Herning. the
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Book States: "In 1900, the Company Bought Other Claims On the
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Gulch, and Herning Built A Trail That Became the Winter Route
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Into the District (Capps 1914:251). the Trail Began at Knik,
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Passed Big Lake, Crossed Two Other Lakes Near the Little Susitna
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River, Skirted the West End of Bald Mountain Ridge and Extended
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East Until It Reached Willow Creek and Grubstake Gulch. Miners
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Traveled This 30- Mile Route in the Winter With Sleds and Pack
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Horses." the Author Also States That in 1906, the First Lode
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Claim Was Staked in the District, and "Trails Radiated From
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Knik."
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1985: "Historic Uses of Trails in the Hatcher Pass
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Region, Southcentral Alaska," Dale Sterling for DNR, States:
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"Herning's Informative Diaries (In the Archives of the Anchorage
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Museum of History and Art) Reveal That in 1902 He and Others
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Swamped Out A Pioneer Trail From Knik To the Willow Creek Mining
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District, Preceding By Seven Years the Carle Road. Hugh Johnson
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Later Reported That the Trail 'Crossed Two More Lakes Near the
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Little Susitna, Skirted the West End of Bald Mountain, Then Bore
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Almost Due East Until It Reached Willow Creek' (Johnson 1955)."
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An Enclosed Excerpt From O.J. Herning's Diary Details the Process
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Of Locating and Constructing the Trail. Sterling States That the
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Later-Constructed Carle Road Was Described By Johnson As Leaving
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Herning Pioneer Sled Trail at Three Mile Lake.
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Land Status
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Division of Land Personnel Researched State Status Plats, Bureau
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Of Land Management (BLM) Master Title Plats, and BLM Historical
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Indexes To Identify Servient Estates and Historic Federal
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Withdrawals.
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Servient Estates and Withdrawals As Shown On Bureau of Land
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Management and Alaska Division of Land Records Are Listed As
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Follows:
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1. State of Alaska;
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2. Mental Health Trust Authority;
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3. Bureau of Land Management;
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4. Community of Knik;
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5. Knikatnu,, Inc. Village Selections;
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6. University of Alaska;
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7. Matanuska-Susitna Borough;
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8. 1126619, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 11/10/47;
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9. 1098903, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 11/25/32;
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10. 1149590, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 9/14/50;
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11 1130003, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 5/16/49;
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12 1130839, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 7/1/48;
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13. 828487, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 4/6/15;
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14. 50-69-0173, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 12/20/62;
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15. 50-66-0460, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 12/13/60;
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16. AA8781, Row Power Transmission Line; Date of
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Application: 1/23/74;
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17. 50-66-0277, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 12/3/59;
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18. 1125792, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 12/11/47;
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19. 1223589, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 3/31/59;
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20. 60-64-0006, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 4/18/61;
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21. 1227983, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 4/22/58;
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22. 1207269, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 11/05/55;
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23. 1234746, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 5/12/58;
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24. 1220888, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 5/12/58;
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25. 1132230, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 12/15/49;
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26. 1133180, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 11/30/49;
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27. 1131976, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 10/28/49;
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28. 1134986, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 6/28/50;
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29. 1149595, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 2/18/53;
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30. 1211272, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 8/07/57;
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31. 1219830, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 4/30/58;
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32. 50-68-0274, Homestead Entry; Date of Entry: 9/23/60;
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33. 1222895, No Records Available;
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34. 1217600, No Records Available;
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31. AA55130, Alaska Railroad; Date of Application: 1/04/85;
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32. Qcd 52092, Division of Aviation; Date of Qcd:
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33. Qcd 727/ADL 214785, University Land Settlement; Date of
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Court Settlement: 3/11/82;
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34. ADL 56178, Mea Row; Date of Application: 2/9/71;
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35. ADL 26197, Borough Selection; Date of Application:
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2/16/65;
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36. Territorial Reservation Affecting T16n, R3w, Sm and
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T17n, R3w, Sm, Dated 3/4/15; Repealed 7/7/58;
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37. Eo 2217, Alaska Timber Reserve #1, 6/22/15, Affects
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T16n, R3w, Sm and T17n, R3w, Sm. Revoked By Eo 4865, Dated
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4/27/28.
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Acceptance of Grant
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The Earliest Reservation Along the Subject Route Was the
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Territorial Reservation Affecting T16n, R3w, Sm and T17n, R3w,
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Sm, Dated 3/4/15, and Homestead Entry 828487, With An Entry Date
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Of 4/6/15. Documentation in the File Shows Construction Or Use
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Of the Route Occurred By the Early 1900'S. the Grant of the RS
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2477 Right-Of-Way for the Trail Was Accepted By Construction and
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Use, Subject To Valid, Existing Rights, When the Land Was Not
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Reserved for Public Purposes.
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