Will Clayson (June 24, 1868 – September 28, 1950) was the fifth mayor of

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

Biography

William H. Clayson was born in Port Gamble,

Washington Territory The Washington Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...

to English immigrant parents, Edward Clayson and Annie Mary Quinton. By 1869, the family had settled in a logging camp near Seabeck, Washington Territory, where a sister,

Esther Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...

, and a brother, Frederick, were born. The family moved to Portland in 1883, where another sister, Charlotte, was born. Will attended

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. Affiliated with the United Church of Christ, the school mainta ...

Forest Grove, Oregon Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland, Oregon, Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a commuter town in the Portland metro area . Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in ...

Alaska

In July 1897, just weeks after hearing the news that gold had been discovered in the Klondike, Will's brother Frederick sailed for

Skagway, Alaska The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with the large ...

. He was accompanied by their brother-in-law, Emil Pohl, who had married Esther three years prior. Will followed in September, and helped Frederick to open an outfitting store, F.W. Clayson and Company. Their mother, who had divorced their father some years hence, joined them. Esther followed the next year, having completing post-graduate studies in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. When Frederick was murdered on the Dawson Trail on Christmas Day, 1899, Will was appointed executor of his estate. He continued to managed the Skagway store. Will's first marriage, to a woman named Cecilia, produced a son, William, Jr. In 1905, he opened Clayson the Clothier, a clothing store, in

Seward, Alaska Seward (Alutiiq language, Alutiiq: ; Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Tl'ubugh'') is an incorporated home rule city in Alaska, United States. Located on Resurrection Bay, a fjord of the Gulf of Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula, Seward is situated ...

. In 1909, he moved to Cordova to start another store. Eventually, he was remarried to the Canadian-born Mabel Tuck, and by 1923, he operated a store in

Political career and later years

In 1925, Clayson was elected to the Anchorage City Council, and two years later, on April 5, 1927, he was elected to succeed Chris M. Eckmann as

Mayor of Anchorage This is a list of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage was incorporated as a city (Alaska), city on November 23, 1920. The Greater Anchorage Area Borough, which encompassed the city, was created in January 1964. ...

, defeating W.B. Dean 319 to 278. As mayor, Clayson promoted improvements to infrastructure, including water and sewer lines, streets and sidewalks, and the city's docks. It was during Clayson's tenure that the city council approved an ordinance authorizing the construction of the

Eklutna Dam The Eklutna Dam, also referred to as the New Eklutna Dam or Upper Eklutna Dam, is an embankment dam on the Eklutna River about northeast of Anchorage in Alaska, United States. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and ...

by Frank Ivan Reed's Anchorage Light and Power Company. Clayson did not run for a second term. Clayson became an early investor in Anchorage Air Transport, Inc, which was founded in 1926 to capitalize on growing demand for commercial aviation. It operated flights from the field later known as the

Delaney Park Strip The Delaney Park Strip is an 11-City block, block park in the Consolidated city-county, Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska. Originally a firebreak, the Park Strip would become Anchorage's first airfield. History Known to the Anchorage community a ...

. Clayson moved to Portland in 1929, returning each year to mind his business interests in Alaska. He died in 1950, at the age of 82.

References

1868 births 1950 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Alaska Mayors of Anchorage, Alaska Politicians from Portland, Oregon People from Washington Territory {{Alaska-mayor-stub