Rainey-Skarland Cabin, also known as Rainey's Cabin, Skarland's Cabin and Ivar's Cabin, is a historic log cabin on the campus of the University of Alaska Fairbanks in College, Alaska.[2] A single-story three-room log structure with massive stone fireplace on one gable end, it is used today as extended lodging for a permanent or visiting anthropology faculty member or student.[2]
Rainey-Skarland Cabin | |
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey | |
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| Location | University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, College, Alaska |
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| Coordinates | 64°51′32″N 147°49′54″W / 64.85889°N 147.83167°W |
| Area | 0.1 acres (0.040 ha) |
| Built | 1936 |
| Built by | T.S. Batchelder; Froelich Rainey |
| Architectural style | log cabin |
| NRHP reference No. | 75002158[1] |
| AHRS No. | FAI-084 |
| Added to NRHP | November 20, 1975 |
History
The cabin was built in 1936 on a ridge overlooking the school for Froelich Rainey, the first professor of the university's Anthropology Department. During his tenure the cabin played a significant role as a social center of the university, hosting a number of pioneering archaeologists and anthropologists, including J. Louis Giddings and Frederica de Laguna. When Rainey left in 1942 the university bought the cabin to use as faculty housing.[2]
Beginning in the late 1940s it was occupied by a successor as department chairman, former student Ivar Skarland, who continued Rainey's social practices.[3]
Upon Skarland's sudden death in 1965, university students requested that the cabin, ski trails, and a residence hall be named in his memory, resulting in the Rainey-Skarland Cabin. Today, a permanent or visiting anthropology faculty member or student lives there.[2]
The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[3] A major 1982 renovation was highlighted by roof replacement, insulation, and installation of an alarm system.[2]