Wires, wireless and wilderness: A sociotechnical interpretation of three military communication stations on the Washington Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS)

In operation between 1900 and 1936, the Washington Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS) was the first electronic communication system to join Alaska to the continental United States. This dissertation examines the history and archaeology of the WAMCATS from a sociotechnical perspective. It examines the ways the WAMCATS adapted to operate in Alaska; how the System was affected by technological development; the experience of soldiers who built and operated the System; the System's impact on the development of Alaska; and the effect Alaskan development had on the System.