For the first time in years, the Fort William H. Seward barracks building in Haines will be open to the community for a public auction, with some of the items dating back to the 1940s. The effort is largely to clean out the building, in order to start renovations. But there may be some treasures too. KHNS’ Corinne Smith delivers this sneak peek.
The Fort Seward barracks has a haunted feel. It’s a massive two-story white building, dotted with small dark rectangular windows.
It’s a relic left over from the Klondike Gold Rush. It later became an important staging post during the U.S. military’s Pacific campaign against Imperial Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. But it was decommissioned in 1947.
Now for decades, it’s been closed off and used as community storage. But that’ll change this weekend, when the Port Chilkoot Company will auction off abandoned items.
Christina Baskaya says there’s a trove of stuff that’s been stockpiled since the 1940s.
“The items available are as varied as the people that stored them here,” said Baskaya. “We have the army, to artists, fishermen, home cooks, to construction, so there’s something for everyone here.”
Baskaya’s grandparents were part of the group of veterans who purchased Fort Seward after it was decommissioned, sight unseen. The remaining family are shareholders in the Port Chilkoot Company, which still owns Fort Seward, located just south of downtown Haines. And she grew up in one of the former officer’s homes, overlooking the barracks. She says she loves old buildings, as she leads the way up a flight of steep stairs to a huge second floor ballroom.
“These are some of the original stairs and plates from the old army days. So as you can see, it’s actually in really good condition.”
There are large piles of items spread out across the room, each labeled with a lot number. For a $10 dollar buy-in, people can walk through and take a look at each pile then later place their bids at the live auction. The idea is also to take a chance on what’s out of sight or packed away in boxes.
“I like the show Storage Wars, where people sell the abandoned property out of storage units,” said Baskaya with a smile. “It’s all kind of a competition and bidding wars and stuff, and its fun.”
There are paintings, trunks, children’s toys, bikes, and an 8-foot tall harp case in the corner.
“The old telephone would be good for the antiques collectors,” Baskaya moves among the piles listing items. “We also have some of the old bowling pins from the old fort, they used to have a bowling alley in the Fort Seward Lodge. And they may even have done some bowling in here. We have furniture, and there’s actually some good furniture. But the exciting thing is we don’t even know all that was stored in here, that’s where the treasure aspect comes in.”
The auction’s proceeds will go toward renovations, but it’s more so to clean out the space. It’s a long term project – so far, they’ve partnered with the National Parks Service to feature historical plaques, – and they’ve painted the exterior, and refurbished windows. Baskaya says besides storage, the possibilities for community use are wide open.
“That’s the million dollar question,” she said with a laugh. “But I don’t know if the question is what I, or any one person could say. It really is, like I said, it’s 40,000 square feet of space so it could really host a lot.”
The event is this Sunday June 13 starting with the tour at 2 p.m. and live auction at 3 p.m. For questions or more information call (907) 766-2708.
