Primary Name: Peterson, John G.

Filed as: Peterson, John G.

Also known as: John G. Peterson

Occupation / Association: Miner; tinsmith; hardware merchant; charter member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo

Associated places: Hamburg, Germany; New York, New York; Chicago, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Juneau, Alaska; Tee Harbor, Alaska; Peterson Lake, Alaska

Keywords: John G Peterson, Juneau Men’s Igloo charter member, Peterson Lake Juneau, Cheechako Creek mining claims, Prairie Basin Alaska, Juneau prospectors, Tee Harbor mining history

Biography

John G. Peterson was an early Juneau businessman, miner, and charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo.

He was born near Hamburg, Germany, on October 7, 1861. Peterson was educated in German schools and trained as a tinsmith. In 1881, he immigrated to the United States, where he worked at his trade in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis. He later enlisted in the United States Army and served for five years, much of that time in Indian Territory.

Peterson arrived in Juneau, Alaska, in April 1888 and purchased a small shop. For the next thirteen years, he operated a tin, stove, and hardware store while devoting his spare time to prospecting.  In 1893, Peterson returned to Hamburg and married Marie Jensen. The couple later returned to Juneau.

In April 1899, Peterson staked a placer claim on the creek that later bore his name. He originally called it Cheechako Creek, naming one tributary Goose Creek and the surrounding valley Prairie Basin. Later mining records referred to the lake in the basin as Reservoir Lake, but by 1905, it had become known as Peterson Lake.

Peterson eventually sold his hardware store to devote his full attention to mining. His principal lode claim was located about half a mile east of the lake and was first reached by trail from Tee Harbor. He later built a home at Pearl Harbor and constructed a wagon road from there to the mine, where he installed a three-stamp mill.

He operated the mine until shortly before his death on August 20, 1916. Afterward, the mine continued to operate for several years under the management of his wife, Marie Peterson, and their daughters, Irma Peterson and Margaret Peterson.

The present Peterson Lake Trail follows the route of Peterson’s old wagon road, leaving Glacier Highway at Mile 24. Peterson Lake lies on the mainland approximately sixteen miles northwest of Juneau and about one mile from tidewater at Tee Harbor.

Sources

RootsWeb Juneau historical records