The Sitka Pioneer Home, a state assisted-living facility at 120 Katlian Street, is the oldest of the state’s six homes.
It began as a log barracks built by the Russians and used as quarters for the U.S. Marines stationed here in 1879.
When the base closed in 1912, the barracks stood idle until Sitka’s Territorial Rep. Ralph Shoup entered a bill appropriating $10,000 to establish the Alaska Pioneers Home in Sitka. Gov. Walter Clark signed the bill April 30, 1913, and the doors opened, with five residents, on Sept. 2, 1913.
Only indigent men were admitted to the Home in the early years. By the early 1930s, in addition to being something of a fire trap, the buildings were becoming dilapidated and expensive to maintain. Congress enacted a law granting the former Naval Reserve to the Territory of Alaska. It was at this time that the present concrete building was constructed. The sign on it says “Alaska Pioneers Home 1934.”
The new building housed 170 men but there were no facilities for women. The 1949 Legislature provided funds for a women’s home, and a former church, adjoining the Pioneer Home, was purchased. In 1956 the new North Wing was added to the main building. The most recent renovation was to add a living space in the North Wing to provide care for residents with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementia.
In 1953, the state began charging residents $150 and $195 a month. By 1959, the home had 198 residents at a cost of 94 cents a day for each.
Today’s Pioneer Home has a capacity for 65 men and women, and provides residential assistance at five levels, from independent living to 24-hour care.
It’s also something of a community hub. The spacious “living room” is a popular performance and rehearsal space for musically-inclined Sitkans. Walk in the door and, depending on the night, you could hear bluegrass, Celtic, “golden oldies,” classical or ragtime. Staff members report that the music isn’t just for the performers but provides health benefits – and joy – for residents who struggle with dementia.
The Pioneer Home also has hosted community receptions after the Alaska Day Parade on October 18, and has meeting space for organizations year-round.
Visually, the Pioneer Home impresses, with sweeping lawns, flower beds, harbor views and “The Prospector,” a 12-foot bronze statue sculpted by Alonzo Victor Lewis.
“The Prospector” was supposedly modeled after real-life gold rush pioneer William Clark “Skagway Bill” Fonda, a resident of Skagway who was originally from Fonda, New York. The statue depicts a Fonda-like figure standing on a rock pile with a rifle in one hand, a walking stick in the other and a backpack to which is strapped a pick, shovel, ax, coffee pot, coffee tin and cast iron pan. Lewis made two versions of the statue, and the 3-foot version sits in Seattle’s Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park in Pioneers Square. The 12-foot version, after 21 years of fundraising and collecting more than three tons of clay, was finally cast in bronze and shipped to Sitka in time for its dedication at 1949’s Alaska Day.
The Sitka Pioneer Home’s phone number is (907) 747-3213, and its fax number is (907) 747-2115.
