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58-416: In Keystone Canyon, the mother rock of the country shows up to good advantage. It is all slate. Its cleavage is nearly vertical and easy to drill, except where small seams of quartz exist. The slate rock on the south side of the summit is firm and solid as a rule, but on the north side it is very much disintegrated. The bed of the canyon varies from 100–500 feet (30–152 m) in width. The vegetation growing on

116-707: A cavalry expert. In August 1912, he was appointed to the rank of lieutenant colonel and then in July 1916, became a colonel . He assumed command of the 8th Cavalry and led them during the Punitive Expedition, in which Brigadier General John J. Pershing attempted to capture Pancho Villa . After the United States had entered World War I in April 1917, Allen was now promoted to brigadier general in May. He

174-571: A day, seven days a week. Sometime in the third week of June, the division was then shipped off to France. Following even more training in northeastern Dijon, on August 24, the 90th Infantry Division entered a sector of the front on the eastern side of the St. Mihiel salient. At the time Pershing, now a full general and Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the AEF on the Western Front (while also commanding

232-488: A major. He was placed in command of the 3rd Battalion on the island of Samar. During this period, he managed to successfully recruit members for the Philippine Scouts and fight against insurgents. After peace was achieved on Samar, Allen commanded one of the three sections of Leyte . He gave fair treatment to the local civilians and even worked on several projects to improve Leyte. Allen wanted strict observance of

290-410: A monument designed by the sculptor Albert Jaegers . Pershing was one of the pallbearers at the burial. Henry Tureman Allen married his wife, Dora Johnston (1860–1932), on July 12, 1887. There were three children: Jeanette (1888–1962), Henry Jr. (1889–1971) and Daria (Dasha) (1892–1977). Jeanette was married to Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews , after whom Andrews Air Force Base is named. Allen

348-815: A road between Prince William Sound to the Yukon River . Shortly after his expedition, gold discoveries in the late 1880s to mid 1890s north of the Alaska Range, such as in the Fortymile Mining District , at Birch Creek near Circle , and in the western Yukon , put pressure on the US Congress to explore Alaska. In March of 1898, the US Department of War funded three expeditions to explore Southcentral Alaska. Edwin Glenn led

406-709: A turnout at about 4 ⁄ 10 mile (0.64 km) north of Horsetail Falls. This is also the trailhead for the "Valdez Goat Trail", a section of the Trans Alaska Military Packtrain Trail , founded during the Klondike Gold Rush . The canyon was part of the proposed route of a railroad to access the minerals of Interior Alaska . Nine different companies hoped to complete a railroad to the interior of Alaska. The only remaining sign of these efforts in Keystone Canyon

464-463: Is a short section of hand-cut tunnel. A feud developed and a gunfight ensued, after which the effort was abandoned. The silent movie The Iron Trail is about this era. 61°03′29″N 145°54′50″W  /  61.0581°N 145.9139°W  / 61.0581; -145.9139 Richardson Highway The Richardson Highway is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska , running 368 miles (562 km) and connecting Valdez to Fairbanks . It

522-417: Is easily provided for by small culverts, with the exception of Waterfall Creek. This little stream forms a cascade with falls of several hundred feet in height, and finally buries itself in the loose rock at the base of the canyon wall. For a quarter of a mile, about the middle of the canyon, narrows are formed by the side walls being nearer together; there are abrupt walls 50–75 feet (15–23 m) in height. At

580-768: Is marked as Alaska Route 4 from Valdez to Delta Junction and as Alaska Route 2 from there to Fairbanks. It also connects segments of Alaska Route 1 between the Glenn Highway and the Tok Cut-Off . The Richardson Highway was the first major road built in Alaska. Indigenous trade routes existed in the region going from Prince William Sound to the north of the Alaska Range into the Alaskan Interior starting at least 5000 years ago. The majority of

638-656: The American Old West at Fort Keogh, Montana Territory and guarded the Northern Pacific Railroad while it was under construction and then served as a military attache to Russia (1890–1895) and Germany (1897–1898). Allen was very satisfied when he was first assigned to serve in Alaska in 1884. He wrote to his fiancée that, "I am willing to forgo almost any benefit that I might receive by going East for an attempt at exploration in Alaska." At

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696-532: The Battle of El Caney . On July 10, Allen took control of the town and its camp containing over 20,000 refugees. Though there was not adequate food nor medicine, a disaster was averted when Santiago de Cuba surrendered only six days later, allowing the refugees to return to their homes. Allen then developed a case of malaria or yellow fever and had to go back to the United States to recover. His service in

754-606: The Democratic Party . Shortly after leaving his last post as U.S. military governor in Germany, Allen committed to an emergency campaign for humanitarian aid to Germany. In 1923, he launched and chaired the American Committee for Relief of German Children. It aimed to provide supplementary meals to starving children, pregnant and nursing mothers. The campaign was especially successful winning donations from

812-697: The Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission . Allen was born on April 13, 1859, in Sharpsburg, Kentucky . His parents were Susan (Shumate) and Sanford Allen and he was the thirteenth of fourteen children. After attending Peeks Mill Military Academy, Allen attended Georgetown College and graduated in 1878. Then, intent on a military career, he transferred to the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York . Once he graduated from

870-814: The Philippine Constabulary , before going on in 1904 as an observer with the Japanese Army in Korea. During World War I , Allen was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the 90th Division , a National Army (present-day United States Army Reserve ) division based in Texas . His instructions were to bring them to full strength and convey them to the Western Front in June 1918. He succeeded Pierrepont Noyes as U.S. Commissioner in

928-467: The Tanana Valley and finally unto Fairbanks. Most traffic using this route was during the winter with pack trains or sled dogs, since animals would tear up moss if it wasn't frozen, hampering travel. Travel to the area during the summer was via riverboats. The new traffic also enticed many to build roadhouses along the route, although many faced difficulty keeping them profitable. Along with

986-623: The 1920s. To finance continued maintenance and road construction, the Alaska Road Commission instituted tolls for commercial vehicles in 1933 of up to $ 175 per trip, which were collected at the Tanana River ferry crossing at Big Delta . When the tolls were further increased in 1941 to boost business for the Alaska Railroad , disgruntled truckers nicknamed "gypsies" started a rogue ferry service in order to evade

1044-605: The American continent since Lewis and Clark ." After the Spanish–American War began in April 1898, Allen left from his position in Germany and by June 1898 was placed in command of Troop D of the 2d Cavalry . He then became a major of volunteers and was ordered off to Cuba. He and the volunteers served as scouts and on escort duty during the Santiago Land Campaign. They also fought on July 1, 1898, in

1102-642: The Americans had reduced the salient. After the salient was eliminated, Pershing planned for the American forces to attack west at Meuse-Argonne . In the beginning, Allen's unit stayed close to St. Mihiel, covered sectors already left vacant by the troops who went west, and grouped together their positions. Once the Meuse–Argonne battle had become more intense, Allen and his men entered the lines close to Bantheville. The 90th advanced slowly and Allen relieved officers who he found to be incompetent or weak. The division

1160-622: The Eighth Army Corps with skill and judgment. From 1919 to 1923, Allen acted as a military governor of the American zone of occupation around Coblenz. He was also a member of the Inter-Allied Rhineland and High Commission. While he attempted to represent the interests of the United States, he was not provided with any specific guidance or instructions from the War and State departments. Increasingly, he acted in restraining

1218-630: The German-American community, but it worked closely with the Federal Council of Churches. Allen's campaign, which continued until mid-1924, raised $ 4.3 million, and at its height, it distributed meals to one million German children. Allen served as the executive officer and vice-president of the American Olympic Committee during the 1924 Summer Olympics . In 1928, despite being nearly seventy-years-old, Allen

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1276-542: The Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. In command of the 90th Division, General Allen had the important position of conducting the right flank at the St. Mihiel Salient. The brilliant successes there gained and later repeated in the Argonne-Meuse offensive showed him to be an officer of splendid judgment, high attainment, and excellent leadership. Later he commanded

1334-860: The Richardson Highway in Fairbanks is built to freeway standards. [REDACTED] Media related to Richardson Highway at Wikimedia Commons Henry T. Allen Major General Henry Tureman Allen (April 13, 1859 – August 29, 1930) was a senior United States Army officer known for exploring the Copper River in Alaska in 1885 along with the Tanana and Koyukuk rivers by transversing 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of wilderness, an accomplishment which Nelson A. Miles compared to that of Lewis and Clark . Born in Sharpsburg, Kentucky , Allen graduated from West Point in 1882, and

1392-533: The Tanana River crossing would be more cost effective. The senatorial party also met with Judge James Wickersham and Fairbanks resident Abraham Spring, both pushing for government led roadbuilding, opining that the miners could build feeder roads if a central road was built. In early 1904, Congress passed legislation to build roads throughout Alaska. After surveys by the Army Corps of Engineers during

1450-629: The Tanana to its headwaters and decided to head to a trading post at its mouth. The post was more than 560 miles (900 km) away and they were to pass through land supposedly belonging to hostile Indians. Briefly after arriving at the Tanana, Allen met the reportedly hostile natives and learned relieving that they were only interested in the pills Allen had with him. In total, Allen had explored through roughly 1,500 miles (2,400 km) in unexplored wilderness in only five months time. General Miles stated that Allen's expedition, "exceeded all explorations on

1508-685: The Tonsina River. By 1901, the pack trail was completed, and provided an "all-American" route to the Klondike gold fields. The total distance of the road was about 409 miles (660 km). After the rush ended, the Army kept the trail open in order to connect its posts for communication at Fort Liscum , in Valdez, and Fort Egbert , in Eagle. One way message times were generally around 6 months from

1566-755: The Yukon to Washington, D.C. By 1904, the completion of the WAMCATS allowed near instantaneous communication from Fort Egbert to the US Capitol using an all American telegraph system. The Fairbanks Gold Rush in July of 1902 drew attention away from the Klondike region, drawing prospectors to Fairbanks. These new travelers would follow the established Valdez-Eagle Trail until the Gakona River , and then utilize Ahtna trading trails through Isabel Pass to

1624-693: The academy in June 1882, he accepted a commission in the cavalry. Among his classmates there at the academy were several men who would, like Allen himself (who graduated 20th in a class of 37), eventually attain the rank of brigadier general or higher during their military careers, such as Edward Burr , Lansing H. Beach , Adelbert Cronkhite , John T. Thompson , Charles Treat ,  Edward A. Millar , Richard W. Young , Benjamin Alvord Jr. , George W. McIver , William H. Sage , Thomas B. Dugan , and William H. Allaire . From 1888 until 1890, Allen worked as an instructor at West Point. He then served on duty in

1682-592: The ambitions of the French in the region. Allen was promoted once again to the permanent rank of major general in 1923 and retired that same year. Following retirement, he lived in Washington D.C. Over the next seven years of his life, Allen wrote two books about his time in the Rhineland, My Rhineland Journal (1923) and The Rhineland Occupation (1927). He also spoke on international politics and got involved in

1740-582: The detachment took up new guides, Allen and his men decided to leave the Copper River and cross into the Alaska Range through a portal that Allen named Miles Pass. They became the first men to cross into interior Alaska through the Alaska Range and first men to chart the rugged river and one of the highest mountain ranges in North America. When one of the enlisted men and Bremner received scurvy from their poor diets, Allen refrained from exploring

1798-552: The expedition ordered to explore from Prince William Sound to Cook Inlet for routes between the Susitna and Copper rivers then northward to the Tanana River . Attached to the expedition was geologist Walter Mendenhall from the USGS . They would eventually cross Isabel Pass , who were also the first recorded non-natives through that route, but fell short 15-20 miles from the Tanana River. This pass received very little attention at

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1856-482: The head of the canyon the river, dashing against a perpendicular wall of rock, is sharply deflected to the left for 600 feet (180 m), and then gradually assumes its general direction, which it follows closely to the mouth of the canyon. Horsetail Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are located within the canyon, as is the Richardson Highway . The Valdez-Eagle Trail passes through the canyon's south end. It

1914-625: The highway from Fairbanks to Valdez. Richardson Highway is part of the unsigned part of the Interstate Highway System east of Fairbanks. The entire length of Interstate A-2 follows Route 2 from the George Parks Highway ( Interstate A-4 ) junction in Fairbanks to Tok, east of which Route 2 carries Interstate A-1 off the Tok Cut-Off Highway to the international border. Only a short piece of

1972-470: The last remaining gap, was built as part of the Alaska Highway project. The southern end was only open during summers until 1950, when a freight company foreman who lived near the treacherous Thompson Pass plowed the snow himself for an entire season to prove the route could be used year-round. The highway was paved in 1957. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System , built in 1973-1977, mostly parallels

2030-639: The laws of war and led patrols to enforce them. He became known as "Iron Commandante" to the locals due to his strict, but humane style of governing. Once Allen felt that the war had ended in his district he volunteered to serve in China to suppress the Boxer Rebellion , but was denied because his service in the Philippines was considered more important. For a short while, Allen served as the governor of Leyte between April and June 1901. After this, he

2088-412: The low bottoms, consisting of grass, brush, and trees, indicates that, as a rule, the water does not rise more than 4 feet (1.2 m) in nearly the whole length of the canyon. Keystone Canyon is entered by going through a low pass in a spur divide, which forms the west side of the mouth of the canyon. The east wall is more abrupt than the west wall. There is but little side drainage to the canyon, and this

2146-412: The newly created U.S. First Army ), was getting ready for his first major offensive–closing off the salient (see Battle of Saint-Mihiel ). Allen's 90th Division was to form the right pivot in the offensive. It started early on September 12 when the offensive began. After a rolling barrage , the division kept moving ahead. Over the next nine hours, Allen's men captured their objectives and by September 16,

2204-599: The previous gold discoveries, the Fairbanks Gold Rush prompted the US Congress to send a senatorial party in 1903 to Alaska to hear testimony. At Eagle, Lieutenant William Mitchell told the party his estimated $ 2 million cost of building a road between Eagle to the Tanana River crossing, near Tok , then onto the Chena River confluence with the Tanana River. He suggested a route from Copper Center to

2262-567: The river. Following the expeditions of Frederick Schwatka , which covered a lot of Alaskan land but did not contribute much to a map of the area, and Abercrombie, who had failed to make it through the lower canyons of the Copper, Allen devised a plan to explore both the Tanana and Copper rivers, which were two of the biggest uncharted rivers in Alaska. Miles gave permission for Allen to go ahead with his plan, however Miles had wanted at minimum four to ten men and one medical officer to be included on

2320-586: The river. John Bremner joined the expedition when Allen came to Taral, an Indian village. Although Allen's supplies were dwindling, he was able to explore the Chitina River, the Copper River's major tributary. During the expedition, Allen learned how to build and navigate skin boats like the Indians in the region. With these boats they moved upriver, losing more and more provisions along the way. On one occasion they had to eat "rotten, wormy meat." After

2378-488: The spring of 1918, the division was short by more than 10,000 men. Despite these problems, Allen kept his men in a training program. Once he learned that the division would be joining the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front in May of that year, large numbers of troops began pouring into the division. Allen added onto his training schedule and made his men run for fifteen hours

Keystone Canyon - Misplaced Pages Continue

2436-551: The summer of that year, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Major Wilds Richardson as the head of the Alaska Road Commission to supervise the construction of a wagon road from Valdez to Fairbanks starting in 1905. Richardson suggested dividing the trail into 3 sections, the first from Valdez to Copper Center along Abercrombie's route, the second from the mouth of the Delta River to Fairbanks, and

2494-472: The suppression of the rebellion, guarded prisons, provided intelligence, and returned law and order to the islands. He stayed in command of the group up until 1907 and rose to the temporary rank of bridgier general with the command of over 10,000 men. Allen went back to the United States in the spring of 1907 and returned to his permanent rank as a major. Next he would join the General Staff in 1910 as

2552-448: The third connecting the two from Copper Center to Isabel Pass. Although Richardson contended with low funds and difficult construction, the road was finished in 1910. During the construction, the government hired failed gold prospectors as well as regular construction workers. The income from this work allowed many of the prospectors to leave Alaska. The rise of motorized travel led the road to be upgraded to automobile standards in

2610-481: The time Allen was ranked as a lieutenant and served as General Nelson A. Miles 's aide-de-camp . He supervised Lieutenant William R. Abercrombie 's shipments from Sitka to Nuchek. Allen was later sent by Miles to search for Abercrombie, whom Miles had sent to explore the Copper River. Eventually, Allen discovered Abercrombie close to the mouth of the river. Due to the moving glaciers and rough terrain, Abercrombie did not succeed in going more than 60 miles (97 km) up

2668-420: The time. Concurrently, Captain William Abercrombie was ordered to explore from Valdez northward to the Copper River and tributaries of the Tanana River. By 1899, the Army ordered Captain Abercrombie to build a military road from Valdez to Copper Center then onto Eagle . Before winter of 1899, they had completed a 93 mile trail suitable for packhorses through Keystone Canyon and past Thompson Pass to

2726-402: The toll. The Alaska and Glenn highways, built during World War II , connected the rest of the continent and Anchorage to the Richardson Highway at Delta Junction and Glennallen respectively, allowing motor access to the new military bases built in the Territory just prior to the war: Fort Richardson in Anchorage, and Fort Wainwright adjacent to Fairbanks. The bridge at Big Delta,

2784-477: The trade was facilitated by the Ahtna , but also included the Eyak and Sugpiaq to the south, and the Tanana Athabaskans to the north. The route of the Richardson Highway primarily follows part of this old trade network. In 1885, Lieutenant Henry Allen's party crossed the eastern Alaska Range from the mouth of the Copper River to the Tanana River via Suslota Pass, the first non-natives to do so. In his report, he noted that it would be possible to build

2842-460: The trip. Allen insisted on only three men including himself and General Philip Sheridan finally approved of Allen's original trio plan. With Sgt. Cady Robertson and Pvt. Fred Fickett and $ 2,000, in the spring of 1885, Allen arrived at the Copper River Delta. Allen's plan of action was to reach the headwaters of the Copper River on ice. Though he had little proper food, faced freezing rain, and difficult terrain, Allen continued to move ahead north along

2900-403: The war and in the months afterward, he was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal , the citation for which reads: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress , July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Henry Tureman Allen, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to

2958-415: The war made him highly regarded by Theodore Roosevelt . Roosevelt would later try to make Allen part of a planned division of volunteers during World War I , but the division was never formed. Allen was promoted to the rank of captain in the regular army in the autumn of 1898 and went back to Berlin, Germany as an attaché. Wanting to see battle again in 1899, he transferred to the 43d Volunteer Infantry as

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3016-482: Was able to get through the Meuse River near Stenay only several days before the signing of the Armistice of November 11, 1918 , which ended hostilities. Once the war had concluded, Allen was appointed commander of the American Forces in Germany by Pershing in July 1919, after conflicts with the previous commanders, Joseph T. Dickman and Hunter Liggett . He was aided in this endeavor by his chief of staff, Brigadier General William Wright Harts . For his services during

3074-556: Was also a known polo enthusiast. Camp Allen, the original home of the Philippine Military Academy (which began as the officers school of the Philippine Constabulary), is named after him. In 1941, an attack transport formerly known as the Wenatchee and the President Jefferson was taken over by the U.S. navy and renamed Henry T. Allen . The Alaskan geologist, Alfred Hulse Brooks , once wrote that, "No man through his own individual explorations has added more to our knowledge of Alaska than Lieutenant Allen.". Mount Allen in Alaska

3132-446: Was chosen to found the Philippine Constabulary because of his success in the recruitment of members for the Philippine Scouts, his ability to speak Spanish, and his record on Leyte. The intention of the constabulary was to fill the gap between the American forces and the Filipino police on the Philippine Islands. It was made up of both Filipino constables and American officers and helped to the islands stabilized. The constabulary aided in

3190-405: Was commissioned as a second lieutenant of cavalry . He served on the staff of General Nelson A. Miles . He later served as a military attaché to Russia (1890–1895) and Germany (1897–1898). Allen also served in the Spanish–American War in the Battle of El Caney . He was then stationed to the Philippines to serve as military governor of Leyte in 1901. Eventually he organized and commanded

3248-403: Was considered as a vice-presidential running mate for Democrat Al Smith , and received 21 votes in the balloting that resulted in the nomination of Joseph T. Robinson . On August 29, 1930, he died in Buena Vista, Pennsylvania . It was reported in The New York Times that heart disease was his cause of death during a visit to the town. Allen was buried in Arlington National Cemetery under

3306-426: Was made a temporary major general not long afterwards and given command of the newly activated 90th Division at Camp Travis , Texas . The unit consisted mostly of draftees from the states of Texas and Oklahoma−hence the division's T.O. insignia on its badge, together with its nickname of "Tough Ombres"−and, in its first few weeks, had many shortages including rifles, housing, artillery, uniforms, and even soldiers. By

3364-436: Was named by William R. Abercrombie after the "Keystone State" of Pennsylvania . There are numerous small waterfalls in the canyon, and two more spectacular ones: Horsetail Falls is a picturesque 328 feet (100 m) waterfall that flows into the Lowe River. The waterfall can be seen and photographed from a road turnout along the Richardson Highway 13 miles from Valdez, Alaska . Bridal Veil Falls can be viewed from

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