The Forgotten St.

Sava Serbian Orthodox Church of Douglas,

Alaska

Mathew Carrick

February 1, 2019

Juneau, Alaska’s State Capital, is known for its colorful St. Nicholas Orthodox Church. Founded
by a group of Tlingit leaders who saw St. Nicholas in a vision, the church is now prominently featured
downtown, nestled between Mt. Juneau and the Gastineau Channel. As a national historical landmark
and America’s oldest continually-used Orthodox church, St. Nicholas’ is visited by scores of tourists every
summer.

However, Juneau was once home to a second Orthodox church that’s been left out of the tourist guides.
Across the channel lies Douglas, Juneau’s smaller neighbor and the only community connected to the
Alaska Capital by road. Douglas was once home to the prosperous Treadwell Mine, which opened in 1883
and was at one time ranked as the world’s largest gold mine. A massive operation, Treadwell Mine was
a community its own right, complete with stores and housing. Tragedy struck in 1917, when almost the
entire mining complex was flooded and the caves collapsed. Five years later, the mine’s only surviving
section shut down, closing the entire complex forever. The Treadwell community quickly dissipated in its
absence, and today the only remains are building shells, a flooded crater, and a trail system.[1]

Largely forgotten among the Treadwell Mine’s relics is the St. Sava Orthodox Church, which served the
mine’s Serbian workers and took its name from the patron saint of Serbia. Strong believers in maintaining
their own power, management at the mine held a policy of importing foreign-born, non-English-speaking
workers from a variety of nationalities, apparently in the belief that a diversity of languages would prevent
labor from organizing.[2]

The Treadwell Mine donated a downtown Douglas plot to the Serbians for the purpose of building St.
Sava, and by 1903 construction began with funding from the Assembly of Bishops in Serbia.[3] On August
4th, 1903,[4] three priests – Fr. Sebastian Dabovich (called the “Father of Serbian Orthodoxy in America”),
[1]. Jacob Resneck, “1917 Treadwell Mine cave-in remembered a century later,” KTOO Public Media (Juneau, AK), April 20,
2017, https://www.ktoo.org/2017/04/20/1917-treadwell-mine-cave-remembered-century-later/.
[2]. Sheila Kelly, Treadwell Gold (Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska Press, 2011), isbn: 978-1602231184.
[3]. Andrew Kashevarof, Clerical News in Juneau, Alaska for 1916, Juneau, AK, 1917.
[4]. The date of construction is sometimes given erroneously as July 23rd, 1903. While it was originally planned for July, a
delay in finalizing construction results in the actual consecration being held on August 4th.
The Forgotten St. Sava Church 2

Hieromonk[5] Anthony Deshkevich-Koribut, and Fr. Aleksander Jaroshevich – consecrated the church in a
huge, widely-attended ceremony.[6][7][8]

The Douglas Serbian community, in which St. Sava must have played a crucial and prominent role,
was well noted for its interconnectedness. At the time of St. Sava’s consecration in 1903, there were an
estimated four-hundred Serbians in Douglas – only two of them women. This gender disparity confirms
that the vast majority of Douglas Serbians arrived as mine workers. Nonetheless, the men (and two
women) came together around the new church: the Douglas Island News noted that “[the Serbians] all
belong,” and editorialized that St. Sava “show[ed] the extreme fidelity of these people to their creed.”[9]
As the community grew, so did their interconnectedness. In later years, John Dapcevich, son of two
Serbian immigrants who lived in 1920’s-50’s Juneau, remembered it fondly: “We found refuge in the
Serbia community that was quite large. There were over a hundred Serbian people in Juneau at the time.
Most were miners, but a few had businesses in the community as well. [. . . ] The Serbians were a tight
knit group that enjoyed and supported each other during hard times.”[10]

Indeed, Serbians were an active and vibrant part of the early 20th century Juneau-Douglas landscape.
Archived photographs show that the community had grown in diversity if not in number: there were at
least enough Serbian women to found a Serbian Sisters Society in the 1920s, as well as a co-ed Serbian
organization that produced plays. They even produced their own newspaper, the Servian Montenegrin,[11]
which was produced in the Serbian language and ran from January 12th, 1905, to an unknown end date.
An English-language newspaper, the Daily Alaska Dispatch, wrote that “the first issue of the new Island
[Serbian] paper came to hand today. As we cannot read it there is no chance to comment, outside of
the fact that it is typographically well gotten up.”[12] Nor did St. Sava seek to totally isolate itself, even
though it was primarily an ethnic church: on at least one occasion a Serbian Orthodox priest, Fr. Sebastian
Dabovich, visited the Treadwell Mine to deliver lectures to its workers.[13]

In 1902 the Serbian Benevolent Association (likely a Douglas chapter of the main San Francisco-based
organization) founded a Serbian cemetery for the community’s use.[14][15]
[5]. priest-monk
[6]. Damascene Christensen, “Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich,” Serbica Americana, accessed January 30, 2019, http:
//www.eserbia.org/sapeople/prosopography/143-archimandrite-sebastian-dabovich.
[7]. Charles A Hopp, “Church Dedicated,” Douglas Island News (Douglas, AK), August 5, 1903.
[8]. Matthew Namee, “An interview with Fr. Sebastian Dabovich,” The Society for Orthodox Christian History in the
Americas, 2010, accessed January 30, 2019, https://orthodoxhistory.org/2010/07/27/source- of- the- week- an-
interview-with-fr-sebastian-dabovich/.
[9]. Hopp, “Church Dedicated.”
[10]. John Dapcevich, “Oral Interview with John Dapcevich,” Juneau-Douglas City Museum, accessed January 30, 2019,
https://beta.juneau.org/library/museum/gastineau-channel-memories-browse/entry/17492.
[11]. “Servian” is an archaic spelling of Serbian that was popular in the early 20th century.
[12]. Daily Alaska Dispatch Editors, “Servian Montenegrin,” Daily Alaska Dispatch (Juneau, AK), 1905.
[13]. Charles A Hopp, “The Local Field,” Douglas Island News (Douglas, AK), July 22, 1903.
[14]. The Serbian cemetery lies near to two other Orthodox cemeteries, the Douglas Indian and the Russian Orthodox (the
latter of which is owned by the Catholic Church). Why there are three cemeteries instead of one is unknown, and sadly none
are maintained.
[15]. Willette Janes and Renee Hughes, Report of the Survey and Inventory of the Historic Cemeteries in Douglas, Alaska
(Douglas, AK: Community Development Department of the City & Borough of Juneau, 1995).
The Forgotten St. Sava Church 3

This cemetery, however, also revealed tensions in Serbian and Douglas life. As employees of the Tread-
well Mine, most of the Serbians faced dangerous – and often fatal – working conditions.[16] On February
19th, 1908, two Serbian Orthodox mine workers were killed in an underground accident: Michael Bechir, a
member of the Local 109 union, and Frank Doljanica, a non-unionized miner. As they were parishioners at
St. Sava’s, the parish rector Fr. Peter Orloff held their funerary services three days later on February 21st.
Bechir’s funeral went smoothly, but Fr. Orloff was later approached by union agitators who demanded
that Doljanica be denied an Orthodox funeral due to his lack of union status. The priest refused, insisting
that Doljanica was to be given a full Orthodox burial. When Fr. Orloff returned to the church later in
the day, however, he found that a large group of disgruntled workers (in various states of intoxication) had
locked St. Sava with a broken-off key. The combined weight of Douglas law enforcement, townspeople,
and nonunionized workers was deployed to allow Fr. Orloff to conduct the funeral.[17][18]

Unfortunately, local and global misfortunes would prove devastating to Douglas’ Serbian community.
Like other immigrant workers in early 20th-century Douglas, the Serbians were mostly unattached young
men who could move elsewhere when other opportunities arose. Halfway around the world, Austria-
Hungary’s 1914 declaration of war on Serbia sparked World War I – a conflict in which Serbia played a
geographically and politically central role. Most of the Douglas Serbians retained their native citizenship
and quickly flocked to defend their homeland.[19] A few years later, the Treadwell Mine’s 1917 collapse and
1922 shutdown further reduced Douglas’ population among Serbians and non-Serbians alike. As most of
the Serbians were single, working-class immigrants, precious few had any attachments to return to in the
Gastineau Channel. By the time the Dapcevich family arrived, the Serbian community was only a quarter
of its 1903 size.

St. Sava remained an important part of the dwindling Serbian community, and in fact was renovated in
both 1915 and 1916 – even amid the maelstrom of World War I.[20] However, the church itself also suffered
from the declining population. Little information can be found on 1920’s parish life, and the church finally
burned down in the devastating 1937 Douglas fire. Today, there is no marker whatsoever to indicate St.
Sava’s former presence – or, indeed, any Serbian presence at all. The only relic of Douglas’ Balkan past
is the Serbian cemetery, which now lies in a state of disrepair. A 1995 Juneau Borough report on historic
Douglas cemeteries found evidence of nine burials (see Appendix A), but its true history is almost certainly
lost. Construction workers moved graves in order to widen roads, but the city of Douglas failed to record
the number of graves moved, where they were moved to, or who the graves belonged to. At some point in
[16]. One such Serbian worker, Yanco Terzich, would prove an interesting figure for future study. Terzich immigrated to work
in the Treadwell Mine and, dissatisfied with the terrible conditions he saw there, joined the notorious Western Federation
of Miners (WFM) union. He ran for president of the local chapter, but the prior leader denied his entry into the election
because of Terzich’s nationality. He fought and won the right to lead the local WFM before leaving Douglas to become one
of WFM’s national directors and lead striks in Michigan and the American West. Whether he was a member of St. Sava is
unclear.
[17]. Charles A Hopp, “The Alaska Labor Union,” Douglas Island News (Douglas, AK), February 26, 1908.
[18]. Bob DeArmond, “Days of Yore: Treadwell Union Disrupts Funeral,” Juneau Empire (Juneau, AK), June 7, 1986,
https://beta.juneau.org/library/museum/digital-bob-archive?entry=8892.
[19]. Bob DeArmond, “Days of Yore: Balkan Alaskans in WWI,” Juneau Empire (Juneau, AK), February 15, 1986, https:
//beta.juneau.org/library/museum/digital-bob-archive?entry=8883.
[20]. Kashevarof, Clerical News in Juneau, Alaska for 1916.
The Forgotten St. Sava Church 4

the 1970’s, an unspecified private individual took ownership of the cemetery.[21] As of 2018, no registered
owner exists and the cemetery’s future is unclear.[22]

The history of St. Sava and Douglas’ Serbian community is a testament to temporality. Once vibrant
and large, its legacy is almost entirely erased only 80 years later. Documents and photographs that might
have attested to their community were mostly destroyed in the 1937 Douglas fire, including both church
and city records. Without personal or brick-and-mortar testament, St. Sava’s church and its Serbian
congregation have vanished into the Gastineau Channel mists.

[21]. Janes and Hughes, Report of the Survey and Inventory of the Historic Cemeteries in Douglas, Alaska.
[22]. Alex McCarthy, “City might help maintain overgrown Douglas cemeteries,” Juneau Empire (Juneau, AK), August 14,
2018, https://www.juneauempire.com/news/city-might-help-maintain-overgrown-douglas-cemeteries.
The Forgotten St. Sava Church 5

Appendix A Recorded burials in the Douglas Serbian cemetery

1. Cris Ellich, b. 1869 — d. June 16th, 1904. Killed in an accident, presumably at the Treadwell
Mine.[23]

2. Mitchell Conlevich, b. 1878 — d. July 14th, 1904. Killed in ana ccident, probably also at
the Treadwell Mine.[24]

3. Jno Movrevich, b. unknown — d. July 17th, 1904. Killed in a Treadwell Mine accident.[25]

4. Michel Bechir, b. unknown — d. February 19th, 1908. The union member who was buried
without incident.[26]

5. Frank Doljanica, b. 1887 — d. February 19th, 1908. The non-union member who was buried
over union protests. Doljanica was actually a native of Austria, but was presumably of Serbian
descent.[27]

6. Obtte Ttoynbajy (alt. Toma Bykoba), b. unknown — d. February 23rd, 1912. Bykoba’s
headstone is the only one still preserved today, and its inscription reveals that was Ukrainian.[28]

[23]. Record and bill of items for the funeral of Cris Ellich from the City of Douglas, 1904.
[24]. Record and bill of items for the funeral of Mitchell Conlevich from the City of Douglas, 1904.
[25]. Record and bill of items for the funeral of Jno Movrevich from the City of Douglas, 1904.
[26]. DeArmond, “Days of Yore: Treadwell Union Disrupts Funeral.”
[27]. Hopp, “The Alaska Labor Union.”
[28]. Janes and Hughes, Report of the Survey and Inventory of the Historic Cemeteries in Douglas, Alaska.
The Forgotten St. Sava Church 6

Appendix B Images of St. Sava & Juneau-Douglas Serbians

Figure 1: Michael Z. Vinokouroff’s photo of St. Sava’s exterior.

Figure 2: Another photo by Vinokouroff, this one of the interior.

The Forgotten St. Sava Church 7

(b) “Members of Serbian Society Flag No. 65,

(a) The Serbian Sisters Society. Present Play Osveta.”1928.

Figure 3: Serbian life in 1920’s-30’s Juneau-Douglas.

(a) Ed Andrews’ photo taken after the March

(b) A footrace takes place behind St. Sava.
9th, 1911, Douglas fire shows St. Sava un-
scathed.

Figure 4: Photos of Douglas life with St. Sava in the background.

The Forgotten St. Sava Church 8

Figure 5: Sam McClain’s watercolor paintings of St. Sava.

The Forgotten St. Sava Church 9

References

Christensen, Damascene. “Archimandrite Sebastian Dabovich.” Serbica Americana. Accessed January 30,
2019. http : / / www . eserbia . org / sapeople / prosopography / 143 - archimandrite - sebastian -
dabovich.
Dapcevich, John. “Oral Interview with John Dapcevich.” Juneau-Douglas City Museum. Accessed Jan-
uary 30, 2019. https : / / beta . juneau . org / library / museum / gastineau - channel - memories -
browse/entry/17492.
DeArmond, Bob. “Days of Yore: Balkan Alaskans in WWI.” Juneau Empire (Juneau, AK), February 15,
1986. https://beta.juneau.org/library/museum/digital-bob-archive?entry=8883.
. “Days of Yore: Treadwell Union Disrupts Funeral.” Juneau Empire (Juneau, AK), June 7, 1986.
https://beta.juneau.org/library/museum/digital-bob-archive?entry=8892.
Editors, Daily Alaska Dispatch. “Servian Montenegrin.” Daily Alaska Dispatch (Juneau, AK), 1905.
Hopp, Charles A. “Church Dedicated.” Douglas Island News (Douglas, AK), August 5, 1903.
. “The Alaska Labor Union.” Douglas Island News (Douglas, AK), February 26, 1908.
. “The Local Field.” Douglas Island News (Douglas, AK), July 22, 1903.
Janes, Willette, and Renee Hughes. Report of the Survey and Inventory of the Historic Cemeteries in Dou-
glas, Alaska. Douglas, AK: Community Development Department of the City & Borough of Juneau,
1995.
Kashevarof, Andrew. Clerical News in Juneau, Alaska for 1916. Juneau, AK, 1917.
Kelly, Sheila. Treadwell Gold. Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska Press, 2011. isbn: 978-1602231184.
McCarthy, Alex. “City might help maintain overgrown Douglas cemeteries.” Juneau Empire (Juneau, AK),
August 14, 2018. https://www.juneauempire.com/news/city-might-help-maintain-overgrown-
douglas-cemeteries.
Namee, Matthew. “An interview with Fr. Sebastian Dabovich.” The Society for Orthodox Christian History
in the Americas. 2010. Accessed January 30, 2019. https://orthodoxhistory.org/2010/07/27/
source-of-the-week-an-interview-with-fr-sebastian-dabovich/.
Record and bill of items for the funeral of Cris Ellich from the City of Douglas, 1904.
Record and bill of items for the funeral of Jno Movrevich from the City of Douglas, 1904.
Record and bill of items for the funeral of Mitchell Conlevich from the City of Douglas, 1904.
Resneck, Jacob. “1917 Treadwell Mine cave-in remembered a century later.” KTOO Public Media (Juneau,
AK), April 20, 2017. https://www.ktoo.org/2017/04/20/1917-treadwell-mine-cave-remembere
d-century-later/.