Skagway Bill, 82, Pioneer in Alaska - Model for "Sourdough" Statue Is Dead in Seattle - Special to The New York Times - Seattle, Aug. 31 - William Clark Fonda, known as Skagway Bill, colorful adventurer who was the model for Alonzo Victor Lewis's 24-foot statue "The Sourdough," which towers above the grounds of the State Capitol at Olympia [and a second, smaller statue is at the Pioneer's Home in Sitka, Alaska], died here this morning. He was 82 years old. Skagway Bill, one of the best-known pioneers of Alaska, blazed trails in the Northland before the Klondike gold rush. "I spent twenty years up there," he often related. "I built the first cabin in Skagway. I built the first bridge. I laid out the city of Skagway in 1897." Fonda was a familiar sight at Sourdough parades, wearing miner's clothes and carrying a gold pick, pan and shovel. The New York Times, September 1, 1938.
William also married Annie Thornberry Wilkins on 3/27/1908 in Tacoma, Pierce Co., WA.
William also married Annie Thornberry Wilkins on 3/27/1908 in Tacoma, Pierce Co., WA.
Skagway Bill, 82, Pioneer in Alaska - Model for "Sourdough" Statue Is Dead in Seattle - Special to The New York Times - Seattle, Aug. 31 - William Clark Fonda, known as Skagway Bill, colorful adventurer who was the model for Alonzo Victor Lewis's 24-foot statue "The Sourdough," which towers above the grounds of the State Capitol at Olympia [and a second, smaller statue is at the Pioneer's Home in Sitka, Alaska], died here this morning. He was 82 years old. Skagway Bill, one of the best-known pioneers of Alaska, blazed trails in the Northland before the Klondike gold rush. "I spent twenty years up there," he often related. "I built the first cabin in Skagway. I built the first bridge. I laid out the city of Skagway in 1897." Fonda was a familiar sight at Sourdough parades, wearing miner's clothes and carrying a gold pick, pan and shovel. The New York Times, September 1, 1938.
William also married Annie Thornberry Wilkins on 3/27/1908 in Tacoma, Pierce Co., WA.
William also married Annie Thornberry Wilkins on 3/27/1908 in Tacoma, Pierce Co., WA.
Gravesite Details
William was born in Glen, NY and died in Seattle, WA - his burial location is not currently known.
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