Erastus Brainerd (25 February 1855 – 25 December 1922) was an American journalist and art museum curator. During the Klondike Gold Rush, he was the publicist who "sold the idea that

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

was the Gateway to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and the ''only'' such portal".''Hard Drive to the Klondike: Promoting Seattle During the Gold Rush''
Chapter 2

, National Park Service. Accessed online 12 July 2008. Born in Middletown,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

to Norman and Leora (Campbell), Brainerd attended

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, from which he graduated at the age of 19. He served as curator of

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

s at the Boston Museum of Arts, then traveled to Europe, where he promoted a tour for "lecturing showman" W. Irving Bishop. He was a social success in Europe, and became a Knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, a Knight of the Red Cross of Rome, a

Knight Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

, and a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. Back in America, he wrote editorials for the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 to 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers as a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under publisher Jo ...

'', where he also became assistant night editor, then served as associate editor at the ''

Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Jo ...

'' and ''

Philadelphia Press ''The Philadelphia Press'' (or ''The Press'') is a defunct newspaper that was published from August 1, 1857, to October 1, 1920. The paper was founded by John Weiss Forney. Charles Emory Smith was editor and owned a stake in the paper from 1880 ...

''. As in Europe, he continued to be a gregarious joiner, becoming a member of the Union League, Penn Club, the Authors Club of New York and the Press Club of New York and numerous others. During his stay in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

he went to

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

to marry Mary Bella Beale, daughter of Dr. James Beale, on 31 May 1882. Their first child, Mary Beale, was born the following year but died several months later. They named their second child Mary Beale too when she was born in 1886; Elizabeth came in 1888. In July 1890, after recovering from three severe bouts of

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

, he headed west to become editor of the '' Seattle Press'' and the ''Seattle Press-Times'' (now ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

''), a role he held until September 1893. He left to focus on the office of State Land Commissioner, to which he had been appointed March 15, 1893. He joined the

Rainier Club The Rainier Club is a private club in Seattle, Washington; it has been referred to as "Seattle's preeminent private club."Priscilla LongGentlemen organize Seattle's Rainier Club on February 23, 1888 HistoryLink.org, January 27, 2001. Accessed o ...

and organized a local Harvard Club. In 1897, as secretary and executive officer of the newly founded Bureau of Information of the

Seattle Chamber of Commerce The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is a private, membership-based organization that represents economic development and the economic interests of its corporate members in the metro region of Seattle, Washington. Its members include most ...

, he became the most prominent figure in the publicity campaign that established Seattle's preeminence as a mercantile and outfitting center for the miners headed to the Yukon. He also convinced the federal government to open an

assay office Assay offices are institutions set up to assay (test the purity of) precious metals. This is often done to protect consumers from buying fake items. Upon successful completion of an assay (i.e. if the metallurgical content is found be equal or bette ...

in Seattle. He briefly and unsuccessfully attempted to make a living as a "mining consultant" before becoming editor of the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. Th ...

''. He was not a great success in that capacity: the ''P-I'' under his leadership was a definite second to the ''

Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time specificat ...

''. In the 1910s, he led the Anti-

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

Association of Washington in its unsuccessful fight to keep

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

s legal in Washington; Washington "went dry" at the beginning of January 1916., ''passim.'' Brainerd died in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

in 1922.

Notes

References

*. *. *.

External links

Preliminary Guide to the Erastus Brainerd Papers Circa 1880-1919
University of Washington Libraries. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brainerd, Erastus 1855 births 1922 deaths American male journalists American art curators Writers from Seattle Harvard University alumni People from Middletown, Connecticut