At the Saugus Historical Society

Local art exhibit pays tribute to Gustavus Vasa Fox, the Saugus native who arranged to buy Alaska from Russia

Joanie Allbee’s Mini Alaska Art Exhibit recently went on display at the Saugus Historical Society at 30 Main St. as a tribute to Saugus native Gustavus Vasa Fox, who arranged to buy Alaska from Russia after the Civil War. Allbee’s work captures some of the beauty of the land the United States purchased in 1867 for $7.2 million.

“Having lived in Alaska and been on many remote Islands throughout the Aleutian chain, I captured images of Alaska scenes from my head and heart,” Allbee said of the exhibit which can be viewed during monthly meetings and Open House Band exhibits.

“Here are a few of my paintings,” she said.

Fox was born in Saugus in 1821. His family moved to Lowell early in his life, and he was a member of Lowell High School’s first graduating class. He graduated from Phillips Academy and joined the U.S. Navy three years later.

Just before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Fox to be his Assistant Secretary to the Navy. Fox was a highly regarded naval man. Three ships were named in honor of Fox, one being the USS Saugus.

One of his greatest accomplishments was being asked by his country to go to Russia to congratulate Czar Alexander II on escaping an assassination attempt and on the same trip to negotiate a deal to buy Alaska for the United States.

On Oct. 29, 1983, Fox died in Lowell at the age of 62.

An article displayed in the viewing exhibit at the Saugus Historical Society written by Paul A. Haley and dated July 13, 1949, quotes the late distinguished Massachusetts Historian Robert C. Winthrop in Fox’s eulogy. ”He was a man of great intelligence, accomplishments and ability,” Winthrop said. “No one rendered more valuable service to the Navy and the whole country during the late war than did he.”