A brief history of mining, logging in the Juneau area
MINING
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1880: Joe Juneau and Richard Harris are directed to Gold Creek by Tlingit Chief Kowee where they discover gold. The city of Juneau (then called Harrisburg) is founded.
1881: John Treadwell buys claim on Douglas Island from Pierre Erussard: He organizes the Alaska Mill & Mining Co. and finds investors in San Francisco.
1882: Treadwell complex begins with the Douglas 5-Stamp Mill.
1887: Treadwell's 240-Stamp mill is the world's largest under one roof.
1889: Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Co. buys out all other investers in Treadwell, including John Treadwell.
1897: Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company incorporates.
1915: Treadwell Complex reaches peak capacity.
1917: Three of the four Treadwell mines cave in and are flooded.
1922: Treadwell Mine closes.
1938: Alaska Juneau miners unionize.
1944: Alaska Juneau Mine closes.
LOGGING
1804-1960's: Southeast logging carried on by individual handlogging operations.
By 1909: Nearly all commercial timber incorporated into Tongass National Forest.
1942: Alaska Spruce Log Program established to meet spruce demands for WWII fighter planes. Nine logging camps open in Edna Bay.
1951: Ketchikan Pulp Co. in Ketchikan receives a 50-year contract from the U.S. Forest Service.
1954: Ketchikan Pulp Co. pulp mill opens.
1959: Alaska Pulp Corp. opens pulp mill at Silver Bay near Sitka.
1960: Alaska Pulp Corp. given 50-year contract. Ketchikan Pulp Co. builds a floating logging camp in Thorne Bay, which became the largest logging camp in North America.
1990: Congress Passes Tongass Timber Reform Act.
1994: Alaska Pulp Corp. pulp mill in Silver Bay closes due to lack of available logs. Contract was then terminated due to illegal closure of the mill.
1997: Ketchikan Pulp Co. closes its pulp mill. Tongass Land Management Plan limits companies to a max of 267 million board feet per year.