Rogers–Post Site

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title: "Rogers–Post Site" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["archaeological-sites-on-the-national-register-of-historic-places-in-alaska", "geography-of-north-slope-borough,-alaska", "monuments-and-memorials-in-alaska", "concrete-sculptures-in-the-united-states", "1935-sculptures", "national-register-of-historic-places-in-north-slope-borough,-alaska"] description: "Archaeological site in Alaska, United States" topic_path: "philosophy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogers–Post_Site" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Archaeological site in Alaska, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox NRHP"]

Field	Value
name	Rogers–Post Site
image	Rogers-Post Site monuments NRHP 80004563 pg5.jpg
location	Near Walakpa River mouth, about 11 mi southwest of Utqiaġvik
nearest_city	Utqiaġvik, Alaska
coordinates
locmapin	Alaska
area	0.5 acre
built	1935
architect	Will Rogers Memorial; Jesse Stubbs
added	April 22, 1980
refnum	80004564
designated_other1	Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
designated_other1_name	Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
designated_other1_date	December 23, 1971
designated_other1_color	#A8EDEF
designated_other1_abbr	AHRS
designated_other1_number	BAR-005
designated_other1_num_position	bottom
::

| name = Rogers–Post Site | nrhp_type = | image = Rogers-Post Site monuments NRHP 80004563 pg5.jpg | caption = | location = Near Walakpa River mouth, about 11 mi southwest of Utqiaġvik | nearest_city = Utqiaġvik, Alaska | coordinates = | locmapin = Alaska | area = 0.5 acre | built = 1935 | architect = Will Rogers Memorial; Jesse Stubbs | architecture = | added = April 22, 1980 | refnum = 80004564 | designated_other1 = Alaska Heritage Resources Survey | designated_other1_name = Alaska Heritage Resources Survey | designated_other1_date = December 23, 1971 | designated_other1_color = #A8EDEF | designated_other1_abbr = AHRS | designated_other1_number = BAR-005 | designated_other1_num_position = bottom

The Rogers–Post Site, located on the North Slope of the U.S. state of Alaska, is the location of a plane crash that killed humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post on August 15, 1935, during an aerial tour of Alaska. It is about 11 mi southwest of Utqiaġvik, on the north side of Walakpa Bay near the mouth of the Walakpa River. The flight was described by the Associated Press as a prelude to a planned Trans-Siberian flight to Moscow. The pair were flying from Fairbanks to Barrow (modern-day Utqiaġvik) when they encountered fog and low visibility. Locating a hole in the fog at Walakpa Bay, they landed. They spent some time with a small party of Alaska Natives and received directions for the short distance remaining to Barrow. They were barely airborne, around 50 ft, when the motor failed. The aircraft plummeted into the lagoon and overturned. It was the first fatal air accident near the city of Utqiaġvik.

The first monument at the site was dedicated three years after the crash and financed through nationwide public subscription. It was designed in Oklahoma, home of both Rogers and Post, and built from poured concrete. The design was essentially two cubes, the smaller atop the larger, with a pink granite memorial marker quarried near the Rogers family home in Claremore, Oklahoma. The elaborate dedication ceremonies involved a four-way CBS radio broadcast from Barrow, the United States Capitol, the Oklahoma State Capitol, and the Texas State Capitol.

The second monument, built 15 years later, is a concrete obelisk consisting of four diminishing rectangular blocks, and is more slender and almost 10 feet (3 m) taller than the first monument. It was built by then 72-year-old Jesse Stubbs (November 30, 1879 – March 14, 1960), who claimed to be a childhood friend of Rogers and arrived in Anchorage in summer 1953 intending to walk from there to Barrow, only getting as far as Fairbanks where he, and his dog Quacco, caught a plane flight for the remainder of the journey. The Stubbs monument memorializes not only Rogers and Post, but also the Alaskan veterans of World War II. Both monuments overlooked the lagoon crash site.

Photos from the summer of 2017 show only the original monument still standing. The Stubbs monument was relocated to Barrow in 2016 after its location was threatened by coastal erosion. Another memorial had been previously dedicated in Barrow on August 15, 1982.

The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

References

References

1. {{NRISref. 2008a
2. "Rogers–Post Site".
3. "Walakpa Bay". Zac Peterson (via Google Maps).
4. "Google Maps". Lloyd Junior (via Google Maps).
5. Jeffrey, Wade H.. (2003-09-01). "Utqiagvik, AK - Wiley Post and Will Rogers Crash Memorial".

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