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ESTELLE AND PHILIP GARGES. Papers and Photographs; 1928-1929, 1947. .6 cu. ft. Inventory.
Philip Garges was born in Washington, D.C., in 1902. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1924 and received a degree in civil engineering from Cornell University in 1926. He married Mary Estelle Tyler in 1928. They traveled to Alaska on their honeymoon in 1928. Philip Garges was also on his way to Fairbanks, Alaska to work for the Alaska Road Commission. They lived in Alaska for several years. Mary Jerene Garges, their daughter, was born in Juneau in December 1929. Later, Philip Garges served in World War II. In 1952, he became district engineer in Buffalo, New York. He retired in 1954 at the rank of colonel. Colonel Garges died in Annandale, Virginia in 1983.
This collection primarily consists of copies of papers and photographs relating to Philip and Estelle Garges' trip and stay in Alaska for the period 1928-1930. The papers include a copy of a journal began by Estelle Garges and maintained by her and her husband; several letters (1928); newspaper clippings; and biographical information on Philip Garges and other West Point graduates. The most important and interesting part of the collection are the copied photographs. There are almost four hundred photographs relating to Alaska. Included are scenes of Juneau, Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Steese Highway, road construction, and so forth. Most of these had been mounted in a Garges family album. Over half of the photographs are identified. The copies include negatives and contact prints.
The collection was loaned to the archives for copying in 1991.
Several items were also given to the department in 1992. A deed
of gift was signed in 1992.