Pioneering Alaska spirit: The legacy of Jim Dalton
Industrious work paved the way for today’s operations EDITOR’S NOTE: James William Dalton is synonymous with the pioneer- ing spirit of Alaska. “Jim” served in nu- merous roles during the first half of the 20th Century as the state’s resource in- dustries began to expand. On the follow- ing pages, Elizabeth “Libby” Dalton, Jim’s daughter, offers a glimpse into the life of the man who helped shape Alaska and later became the namesake for the vital artery that paved the way for oil and gas and mining operations today. T he man who first took an active part in urging development of North- ern Alaska was Jim Dalton, a mining engineer and a lifelong Alaskan who lived on Dalton Trail, off Yankovich Road in Fairbanks. The son of Alaskan trailblazer, Jack Dalton, Jim mined in the Inte - rior, served in World War II in the Navy Seabees, supervised the Alaska sector of the DEW Line (Distant Early Warning system), worked in oil and gas exploration in Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 and worked in North Slope development from Barrow to Prudhoe Bay. His mother and father, Jack and Anna, settled in Cordova after Jack’s long, industrious career. Jim should have been born there, but due to lack of medical facilities, mother and son traveled to Seattle for his birth. He was born Jan. 30, 1913, and returned to Cordova two weeks later. Soon a sister, Josephine, followed.
Fairbanks Exploration Co., Gold Plac - ers Inc., American Creek Operating Co. and Boundary Dredging Co. He became skilled in constructing roads and camps, and excelled at winter freighting of equipment and supplies. When the United States became involved in WWII, Jim joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Fair - banks. He engaged in the construc - tion of Ladd Air Force Base built during 1941 and 1942. He enlisted in the Navy Seabees in 1943 with hopes of being assigned to the Pet Four op - erations just then being undertaken
The family left Alaska in 1919, re - locating to Seattle and later Yakima, Wash. Jim attended parochial gram- mar and high school in Yakima and one year at Bellarmine College Pre - paratory School. He began college at Western Washington University in Yakima, then transferred to the Alas - ka Agricultural College and School of Mines in Fairbanks, graduating in 1937 with a mining engineering de - gree. From 1935-1942, Jim worked in the mining industry of Interior Alas- ka. His work involved mapping, sur - veying, drilling and mining of gold placer deposits. He worked for the
Photos Courtesy Libby Dalton ABOVE: A camp worker, Alaska Gov. Walter J. “Wally” Hickel and Jim Dalton in the mid-1960s. RIGHT: Jim with son George and daugher Libby during the construction of their home in 1959 off Yankovich Road in Fairbanks.
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