Primary Name: Treadwell, John

Filed as: Treadwell, John

Also known as: John Treadwell

Occupation / Association: Mining entrepreneur; founder of the Treadwell Mine operations on Douglas Island

Associated places: Douglas Island, Alaska; Gastineau Channel, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; San Francisco, California; St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada

Keywords: John Treadwell, Treadwell Mine, Alaska Mill and Mining Company, Alaska Gold Mining Company, Douglas Island mining, Gastineau Channel gold mining, Alaska territorial mining history, Treadwell mining complex, Alaska mining pioneers

Biography

John Treadwell, a California carpenter with a background in mining, prospected, explored, developed, and operated Alaska’s first successful large-scale, low-grade gold mine. His work played a major role in stimulating the economy of the Territory of Alaska and advancing large-scale industrial mining in the United States during the late nineteenth century.

Treadwell was born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada. In 1881, he was building a house in California for a prominent banker when news arrived of a promising gold prospect across the Gastineau Channel from Juneau, Alaska, on Douglas Island. The banker, John Fry, suggested that Treadwell travel north to examine the property.

Initially unimpressed with the deposit, Treadwell planned to return to San Francisco. While waiting for a ship, however, he met a French-Canadian prospector who described the claim but was financially unable to develop it. Treadwell purchased the claim sight unseen for $400. Assay results later proved encouraging, prompting him to organize a mining venture with Fry and an associate.

In May 1882, he returned to Alaska with a five-stamp mill and formed the Alaska Mill and Mining Company. Early operations demonstrated that the deposit could be profitable if worked on a much larger scale. The experimental mill was replaced with a 120-stamp mill in 1883, and in 1887, another 120 stamps were added.

These developments marked the beginning of the Treadwell mining complex, which eventually grew into a system of four mines and five mills. Together, they produced nearly $70 million in gold. At peak capacity in 1914, the combined mills operated 960 stamps, crushing approximately 5,000 tons of rock per day—then a world record—with an average value of about $2.50 per ton.

Approximately 2,000 men worked eight-hour shifts seven days a week, 363 days per year, with only Christmas and the Fourth of July as holidays. By 1920, miners’ wages averaged about $100 per month, among the highest in the world at the time.

The mining camp that grew around the operation developed into a substantial community known as Treadwell. During its forty-year evolution, it expanded from a single claim into a thriving town with stores, bunkhouses, mess halls, recreational facilities, and even a marching band and natatorium.

Treadwell himself sold his interests in 1889 to the Alaska Gold Mining Company for a reported $1.5 million. His success attracted additional investment and settlement to Alaska and brought national attention to the region’s mineral resources. The industrial methods used in the Treadwell operations helped shape modern hard-rock mining practices.

Mining operations ended in 1917 when caving and flooding destroyed large sections of the Treadwell mines. Afterward, Treadwell briefly pursued coal development projects in western Alaska, though these ventures proved unsuccessful. Later, he became involved in banking, but the bank eventually failed, and he filed for bankruptcy.

Sources

Telephone Hill Historic Neighborhood
Alaska Mining Hall of Fame

The William Bosch House at 214 Dixon Street sits on the west slope of Telephone Hill. It was constructed between 1913-14 by William Bosch.

The 1894 plat map of the Juneau Townsite shows Charles W. Garside owning Lots 3 and 4 at the turn of the century. Charles and his brother, George Garside, came to Juneau in 1884.

They were mining engineers and early surveyors of the Juneau Townsite. George Garside was one of the original developers of the Perseverance, Atla and Jumbo lodes in the Silver Bow Basin (Stone 1980; DeArmond 1967).

City tax records show that Charles Garside sold the two lots to William Bosch in 1912. Bosch owned the Old Stand Saloon on Front Street, located next to the 20th Century Market in 1983. The estate of William Bosch sold Lots 3 and 4 to Joseph Stocker in the 1950s.

Ownership was transferred to the Nordales in 1967, and to Roy and Verna Carrigan in 1969. (Carrigan 1983; City of Juneau 1965-1983).

Verna Carrigan is the granddaughter of of Edward and Anna Webster, the founders of Juneau-Douglas Telephone Company. She vice-president and chief operator during the 1960s (DeArmond 1967).

This l½-story, rectangular, 28'x34' dwelling is representative of the Decorated Pioneer Farmhouse style. Its identifying characteristics include a steeply pitched gable roof, boxed cornices and detailed ornamentation consisting of scalloped/fish scale siding on the gable ends. The rest of the house is clad with cedar shingles.

A shed dormer is situated on both gable slopes, and the original brick chimney adorns the ridgeline. The windows are double-hung sash, multi-lite, fixed-sash, large picture and casement. A few windows exhibit a diagonal , leaded-glass pattern.

The extended front entry was originally an open porch. It was enclosed in the 1930s with numerous multi-lite windows (Carrigan 1983). The Carrigans reconstructed the extension in the 1970s. Fixed-sash windows replaced the multi-lites. The original single leaf, three-paneled door to the 5'x12' front entry and the inner door to the house were retained. The inner door has beveled glass with fir trim and beveled-glass side panels.

Pre-1984 structural alterations include a shed-roof dormer on the south facade with clapboard siding and two picture windows. A decorative bay window on the south facade's first floor was replaced with a picture window.

Several other fixed-sash windows were installed on the front and rear facades, and a wood deck and concrete walkway were placed along the north and east facades. A small, enclosed rear entry stoop was reconstructed by the Carrigans. The above-grade concrete block basement was completed in the 1970s.

The interior consists of a living room, dining room, kitchen, small sewing room, vestibule and bath. The kitchen and bath, with acoustic-tile ceilings, underwent extensive remodeling pre-1984.

Original features include an ornate sideboard or "pass-through" with leaded-glass windows located between the living and dining rooms. A partial wall divider between the living and dining rooms displays book shelves and leaded glass. An original stairwell leads to a second floor landing.

The second floor has a remodeled bath, and its two bedrooms were enlarged when the south facade dormer was constructed. Adjacent to the north facade sits a wood-framed, ll' x20', one-bay garage with a vertical sliding door. The structure has a medium-pitched gable roof, extended eaves and verges with exposed rafter ends and cedar shingle siding. 

Telephone Hill Historic Site and Structures Survey, 1984 found this well-maintained residence to be is one of the most architecturally significant structures in the study area and a contributing member of the Telephone Hill Historic Neighborhood.

A fine example of the Decorated Pioneer Farmhouse style, this building was constructed with a greater concern for detail and embellishments than was the basic Pioneer house. The structure's steeply pitched gable roof, boxed cornices and meticulous trim reflect this distinctive design. Ornamentation consists of scalloped/fish scale siding on gable ends, leaded-glass windows and a beveled-glass front door with beveled-glass side panels. Many interior decorative features were retained, reflecting fine carpentry work and preserving the ambience of the era in which it was constructed.

Although the house has undergone several ,..structural alterations, they are not severe enough to compromise the building's architectural integrity. Unfortunately, a fair number of the original double-hung sash and multi-lite windows were replaced with single-sash types. A shed dormer was added on the south facade; there had always been a dormer on the north facade. The enclosed front entry, recently reconstructed, was originally an open porch. The entry's original outer door, however, was retained, as was the beveled-glass door to the main house.

When Richard Harris and Joe Juneau returned to Sitka with news of their find, a French Canadian French Pete Errusard learned of a gold bearing outcrop on Douglas Island across Gastineau Channel.  He staked adjacent claims in 1881, along with others.

Rumors of the gold discoveries in the Gastineau Channel area reached San Francisco, and a group of mining investors sent John Treadwell to investigate in August of 1881.

Treadwell staked claims in Silver Bow Basin and purchased Erussard’s claims before returning to San Francisco with some ore samples that showed promise of good returns when tested.

The mining town of Treadwell was established, along with Douglas City.

The Alaska Mill and Mining Company was soon organized with Treadwell appointed as superintendent of mining operations.

He returned to Douglas in May of 1882 with a 5-stamp gold concentrating mill to test the ore on the Paris Lode claim and purchased additional adjoining claims.

By 1884 a 120-stamp mill was completed, and the Treadwell mines were on their way to fame. The success of the first development drew hundreds of prospectors to the area. In 1889 the recently incorporated Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Company bought out all investors, including John Treadwell, for $4,000,000.

In the early 1890’s two mining companies initially financed by the Treadwell Company were incorporated, the Alaska Mexican Gold Mining Company and the Alaska United Gold Mining Company.

Each of the three companies was financially separate, but the Treadwell Company managed all of them.

The Treadwell mines pioneered in the field of low cost mining and the use of hydroelectric power. The power was used to convert all of the steam-run hoists and mills into economical electrically driven machines.

Under the guidance of Frederick W. Bradley, world famous mining engineer, the Treadwell complex reached peak capacity in 1915.

Over 2,000 men worked above and below the ground and supplied the mills with 5,000 tons of ore daily, which was a world record at that time. The mills and mines ran 24 hours a day seven days a week, except for the Fourth of July and Christmas.

The Treadwell complex which included four major mines consisting of the Treadwell, 700-Foot, Mexican, and Ready Bullion, was a first class, innovative mining and milling operation that spanned 36 years until 1917 when a disastrous cave-in flooded all but the Ready Bullion mine which ran until 1922. Fortunately no human lives were lost, but one man was reported missing.

The Treadwell neighborhood is immediately south of the original Douglas Townsite and includes the area historically known as the Treadwell Mine and Town sites.

The neighborhood is composed of residential buildings as well as a ruins of mining structures and buildings. Most buildings are wood frame construction reflecting the available materials and historic building technology.

The few reinforced concrete structures included in the survey are located within the Treadwell Mining Complex and were influenced by the higher technology brought to Juneau by the mining engineers. Although many buildings in the neighborhood reference the period architectural style they are predominately modest in detailing.

Treadwell Mining Complex: Historic Resources and Site Survey Report.

Inventory and Survey of Historic Cemeteries in Douglas, Alaska