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Juneau-Douglas City MuseumThe Founding Of JuneauThe Tlingit Indians have fished, hunted, trapped and traded in the Juneau area for thousands of years. But when gold was discovered in 1880 near the site of downtown Juneau, the character of the country quickly changed. Hundreds of miners, merchants, and laborers flocked here from all over the world to work in the local mines and businesses, and Juneau soon became a booming town. The days of the independent miner, with gold pan and sluice box were numbered, as the loose gold in the stream beds ran out. The only way to mine the gold, which was locked up in the quartz-veined rock, was to go underground. Soon, several large mining companies developed. Because local gold ore was extremely poor quality (up to 28 tons of ore had to be mined to get one ounce of gold), new efficient technology was developed for the Juneau Douglas mines. This technology was implemented world wide. Mining was the mainstay of the economy, but on the trail of the miners came merchants, businessmen, fishermen and their families. Dairies sprang up in various areas. In 1900 Juneau was incorporated and named the seat of government for the Alaska Territory. Government operations actually moved to Juneau in 1906. When the last mine closed in 1944, the economy transferred to the business of government. Today a significant portion of the population works for the State, Federal or local government. |
