Pioneer of Alaska, Aged 71, U.S. Commissioner at Valdez, passes away in Seward

The story appeared in the Jan. 1, 1937 issue of Farthest North Collegiate.

Mr. Martin Harrais of Valdez, who was appointed a member of the Board of Regents of the University last fall, passed away December 27 in Seward. He was 71 years old.

Mr. Harrais was a graduate of the University of Washington in mining engineering. He came to Alaska more than 30 years ago. At the time of his death he was United States commissioner at Valdez and president of the Valdez Igloo of Pioneers in Alaska.

Prominent in Democratic politics, Mr. Harrais was once a candidate for Congressional delegate and two years ago was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Territorial Treasurer. Last September he was appointed by Gov. John W. Troy to the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska to succeed Mr. A. A. Shonbeck of Anchorage, resigned. He attended a meeting of the Regents in Fairbanks on October 3, at which time he presented his commission and was declared a member. Mr. Harrais is survived by his widow, Mrs. Margaret Harrais, who was on her way to Seward aboard the steamship Gen. W.C. Gorgas at the time of his death.

Points of interest about Mr. Harrais

1. Born January 2, 1865, Russia. Died December 27, 1936 at the age of 71. Buried in Seward, Alaska.

2. The Tanana Valley Railroad began life as the Tanana Mine Railways by entrepreneurs Falcon Joslin and Martin Harrais from Dawson, Yukon Territory, Canada after learning of the gold strikes in the Chena and Chatanika river basins. They recognized the need of a year-round means of transportation to and from the mines.

Martin Harrias, of Dawson, involvement in the beginning of Railroad Transportation in Alaska.

3. Although Harrais mined successfully in the Klondike and in Fairbanks, he lost most of his fortune after investing in the doomed town of Chena. As a result, he worked for the Kennecott Copper Corporation during the early 1920s, prospecting along the upper Chitina River. In 1924, for example, Harrais examined part of lower Young Creek. Later that decade, Harrais attempted to develop his own claims near the end of the Chitina Glacier, but lost his savings in a bank failure in 1932 during the Great Depression.

Alphabetical Listing of Chisana Miners and Prospectors,Compiled by Geoff Bleakley, National Parks Service.

4. In 1936, Regent Martin Harrais had the foresight that the university's unique geographical location would allow it to be at the forefront of the RADAR and Radio revolution. He wrote a special resolution the "Harrais Resolution" offering the federal government a site on which to construct research facilities at College Hill. The resolution had set in motion the eventual establishment of the Geophysical Institute.

Geophysical Institute's History "The Beginning" - Harrais Resolution

Tanana Valley Railroad web site.