M. D. Snodgrass Photo Collection Finding Aid

Biographical Note

Milton “M.D.” Snodgrass was greatly involved in locating and managing the Matanuska Experiment Farm and remained associated with farming for the rest of his life in the Valley. Born in Jasper County, Indiana on March 14th, 1876, his family moved to Little River, Kansas in 1881. Snodgrass was a veteran of the Spanish-American war, serving from 1898-1899. He graduated with a B.A. in animal husbandry from the Kansas Agricultural College in 1906 before working as a Crop Production assistant in the Kansas Experiment Station. In June 1907 he married Margaret before moving to Kodiak, Alaska, accepting the superintendent position on the Kodiak Experimental Station for the Federal Department of Agriculture to investigate cattle-raising on the island. They remained on Kodiak from 1907 to 1917, during which time Milton Snodgrass established the Matanuska Valley Experiment Station at the request of the U.S. Agricultural Department in Palmer. He was later transferred to the Seward and to the Fairbanks Agriculture Experiment Stations, until August 1921, after which he was assigned to Palmer, where he led the Matanuska Valley Experiment Station until 1929.

Mr. Snodgrass later became a colonization agent for the Alaska Railroad and brought 55 families to settle in the Matanuska Valley before resigning his post to engage to farm his homestead in the Matanuska Valley. He became a member of the Board of Regents from 1921 to 1929. He was elected to a term as Senator in November 1922-1925 and later served as a member of the territorial House of Representatives from 1953-1954. He received an honorary degree from the University of Alaska in 1961 and in 1964 was presented with the “Citizen-of-the-Year” Award by the Kiwanis club of Palmer. Milton and Margaret had two sons, John “Roland” and William “Bill” Snodgrass and three daughters: Mrs. Margaret “Maggy” McCartney, Mrs. Agnes “Aggie” Reed, and Mrs. Mary Verrall. Snodgrass died at the Pioneers’ Home in Fairbanks on December 1st, 1967 at the age of 91.

Scope and Content of Collection

The M.D. Snodgrass Collection, provided by Jack Snodgrass, consists of approximately 126 digital photos from a single disc, and 2 scans of a note which details known information of each original photo. Ranging from 1912 to 1961, Snodgrass’s photo collection includes images of early days of the Matanuska and Fairbanks Experiment farms and early homesteaders of the Valley, as well as Cordova, Kodiak, Resurrection Bay, the Yukon, Valdez, and the Kansas State Agricultural College. Other individuals represented include: the Minis Family, Milton and Margaret’s 5 children, John Bugge, Al Walters, and others as yet unidentified. The majority of this collection focuses on agriculture via farmsteads, the Experiment Stations, various equipment, and farm animals.

The files maintain their original organization, in line with the notes provided by Jack Snodgrass (included as the final two files). There are copies of some files that have been enhanced as higher resolution files used in the Matanuska Valley Historic Photo Project.