King, Nickolas
Primary Name: King, Nickolas
Filed as: king_nickolas
Also known as: Nicholas King
Occupation / Association: Early Resident, Douglas Island; Treadwell Mine Community
Born:
Died:
Parents:
Spouse: Alice Develin King
Children: John H. King; Sarah "Sadie" A. King-Cashen; Alice J. King; Catherine L. King
Associated places: Amador City, California; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas Island, Alaska
Keywords: Nickolas King, Nicholas King, King Nickolas, King family Douglas Island, Treadwell Mine families, Amador City California residents
Biography
Nickolas King was among the earliest permanent residents of Douglas Island. By 1886, several families of Treadwell Mine employees began arriving on Douglas Island. Some of the first permanent residents included Richard McCormick, Nickolas King, George Shatter, Mike McKanna, P. H. Fox, and Henry Mead.
Nickolas King and his wife, Alice Develin King, moved to Douglas from Amador City, California. Nicholas first came to Juneau in June 1885, and the rest of the family followed on July 24, 1888.
The couple had four children. John H. King was born in January 1879. Sarah "Sadie" A. King-Cashen was born on December 3, 1882, in Amador City, California. Alice J. King, born in August 1889, and Catherine L. King, born in July 1893, were born in Alaska.
Sources
Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries
Tags: Nickolas King, Nicholas King, King family, Douglas Island pioneers, Treadwell Mine families, Amador City California residents
Douglas City Founded
When Dick Harris and Joe Juneau returned to Sitka with news of their find and the rush was on. Prospectors flocked to the area and began staking claims. A French Canadian by the name of French Pete Errusard learned of a gold bearing outcrop on Douglas Island across the Gastineau Channel from the new town of Juneau.
He staked adjacent claims in 1881 that were eventually sold along with others to John Treadwell, who was representing California investors. The mining town of Treadwell was soon established along with the town of Douglas City. Juneau and Douglas grew along with the mines as more people came to the area not only to mine but to start businesses.
Read moreTreadwell, John
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
Erussand, French Pete
Primary Name: Erussand, Pierre "French Pete"
Filed as: erussand_pierre
Also known as: French Pete Erussand; Pierre Erussand; Pete Erussand
Occupation / Association: Prospector
Born:
Died:
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Douglas Island, Alaska; Juneau Gold Belt
Keywords: Pierre Erussand, French Pete Erussand, Pete Erussand, Treadwell Mine discovery, Douglas Island prospectors
Biography
Pierre “French Pete” Erussand is credited with discovering the Treadwell Mine on Douglas Island around 1890.
The Treadwell Mine became the first gold mining company to prosper in the Juneau Gold Belt and played a major role in the early economic development of the Juneau–Douglas mining district.
Sources
Regional mining histories; Alaska mining references
Tags: Pierre Erussand, French Pete Erussand, Pete Erussand, Treadwell Mine, Douglas Island prospectors, Juneau Gold Belt
Gold Discovered, Juneau Founded
https://poajuneau.nationbuilder.com/garside_charleshttps://poajuneau.nationbuilder.com/degroff_edEuro-American presence in southeast Alaska began in·the latter part of the 18th century when explorers visited the area in search of highly prized furs, particularly the sea otter, for trade purposes. The survey for Alaskan resources included the search for precious minerals and the hope of discovering the famed Northwest Passage (State of Alaska 1982).
Countries involved in exploring the northwest coast of North America included Spain, England, Russia, France and Japan. Russian explorers are recorded as the first to encounter Native groups in southeastern Alaska. The first published account of exploration in Gastineau Channel was written by Captain George Vancouver, describing his journeys in 1793 and 1794. Seventy years later, the name Gastineau Channel was included on the 1867 Humphrey manuscript furnished to Western Telegraph Company (Werner 1925).
John Muir, a well-known naturalist, visited Lynn Canal in 1879. Upon his return to Sitka after interacting with Chilkat Tlingits, Muir noted that gold might be found in the area lying between Windham Bay and Sullivan Island in northern Lynn Canal.
Chief Kowee of the Auk Tlingit brought ore samples to George Pilz, a mining engineer residing in Sitka in 1880. These samples confirmed Muir's statements of potential gold reserves in southeast Alaska ( DeArmond 1967).
Read moreLaughlin, Gertrude L.
Primary Name: Laughlin, Gertrude Lydia Bentley
Filed as: gertrude_lydia_bentley_laughlin
Also known as: Gertrude Bentley; Gertrude Laughlin
Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Juneau Igloo Auxiliary No. 6; President, Juneau Igloo Auxiliary No. 6 (1930, 1936); Confectionery Proprietor
Born: September 30, 1871, Allegan County, Michigan
Died: February 2, 1942, Juneau, Alaska
Parents: Daniel Bentley; Rhoda Bentley
Spouse: John F. Laughlin (m. October 15, 1890)
Children: Roscoe M. Laughlin; Robert C. Laughlin; John Bentley Laughlin; Gertrude Virginia Laughlin; Mathew M. Laughlin
Associated places: Allegan County, Michigan; Tacoma, Washington; Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska
Keywords: Gertrude Lydia Bentley Laughlin, Gertrude Bentley, Gertrude Laughlin, Juneau Igloo Auxiliary No. 6 President 1930, Juneau Igloo Auxiliary No. 6 President 1936, Treadwell Mine families, Douglas Alaska residents
Biography
Gertrude Lydia Bentley Laughlin was a charter member of the Juneau Igloo Auxiliary No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska, and served as President of the organization in 1930 and again in 1936.
Gertrude Bentley was born on September 30, 1871, in Allegan County, Michigan, to Daniel Bentley and Rhoda Bentley. She married John F. Laughlin on October 15, 1890, in Tacoma, Washington. Their first son, Roscoe M. Laughlin, was born in May 1891 in Washington.
Her husband moved to Douglas, Alaska, in February 1892, where he worked as a railroad engineer for the Treadwell Mine. The family followed in July 1893.
All of their remaining children were born in Alaska. Robert C. Laughlin was born in May 1894, John Bentley Laughlin was born on April 11, 1896, Gertrude Virginia Laughlin was born in May 1898, and Mathew M. Laughlin was born in August 1901.
John F. Laughlin died on October 11, 1902, as a result of a fall from the railroad tracks.
In November 1902, Gertrude purchased a confectionery business and continued supporting her family in Douglas and Juneau.
Gertrude Lydia Bentley Laughlin died in Juneau, Alaska, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery on February 2, 1942.
Sources
1900 U.S. Federal Census, Douglas, Alaska; 1910 U.S. Federal Census, Douglas, Alaska; Douglas Island News, October 15, 1902; Washington Marriage Certificate
Tags: Gertrude Lydia Bentley Laughlin, Gertrude Bentley, Gertrude Laughlin, John F. Laughlin, Roscoe M. Laughlin, Robert C. Laughlin, John Bentley Laughlin, Gertrude Virginia Laughlin, Mathew M. Laughlin, Juneau Igloo Auxiliary No. 6, Pioneers of Alaska, Treadwell Mine families, Douglas Alaska residents
Harris, William John, Senior
Primary Name: Harris, William John, Sr.
Filed as: harris_william_john_sr
Also known as: William John Harris, William J. Harris
Occupation / Association: Miner; Chief of Police, City of Juneau; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6
Born:
Died: February 1928, Juneau, Alaska
Parents:
Spouse:
Children: William John Harris, Jr.
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Treadwell, Alaska; Nome, Alaska; Leadville, Colorado
Keywords: William John Harris Sr, William J Harris, Harris family Juneau, Juneau chief of police, Treadwell Mine workers
Biography
William John Harris, Sr., was one of the charter members of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6.
Harris was a nephew of Richard “Dick” Harris, who, with his partner Joe Juneau, was among the original settlers of the community that became the city of Juneau. Dick Harris named two of his sons after his nephew; the youngest survived into adulthood as William John Harris, Jr..
After living in Juneau for several years, Richard Harris traveled to Montana in 1882 to visit his brother and returned accompanied by his nephew, William.
William Harris worked for several years at the Treadwell Mine. He also worked in several interior mining camps and in Nome.
After leaving Alaska in the early years of the twentieth century, Harris served for several years as chief of police in Leadville, Colorado. The lure of Alaska eventually drew him north again, and he returned to Juneau about 1908, where he resumed work at the Treadwell Mine.
In 1911 or 1912, Emery Valentine, mayor of Juneau, appointed Harris chief of police for the city. After serving two years in that role, he returned to employment at the Treadwell Mine. Later, he worked at the Alaska-Juneau Mine after it began operations.
Harris spent the final months of his life at St. Ann’s Hospital in Juneau, where he died in February 1928.
Sources
Alaska Weekly, February 24, 1928; Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850-1950, Vol. 1, pp. 130-131, Ed Ferrell
Malony, John F.
Primary Name: Malony, John F., Jr.
Filed as: Malony, John F., Jr.
Also known as: John F. Malony; John Mahony
Occupation / Association: Lawyer; businessman; mining investor; mayor of Juneau; charter member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men's Igloo; President, Alaska Electric Light and Power Company
Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Shieldsville Township, Rice County, Minnesota; Glendive, Montana; Dawson County, Montana; Porcupine District, Alaska; Windham Bay, Alaska; Rainy Hollow, British Columbia; Palo Alto, California
Keywords: John F Malony Juneau Alaska, Juneau mayor early Alaska, Dalton Trail Company partners, Jack Dalton Alaska Pathfinder associate, Porcupine Mining District Alaska, Alaska Electric Light and Power Company history, Chicken Ridge Juneau development, Alaska pioneers business leaders
Biography
John F. Malony, Jr. was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men's Igloo, and one of the most influential early civic and business leaders in Juneau. Pioneer banker and businessman B. M. Behrends once remarked that Malony had “probably done more for Juneau than any other man.”
Malony was born in 1857 in Shieldsville Township, Rice County, Minnesota, to Francis and Mary Donahue Malony, Irish immigrants who had earlier settled in New Brunswick, Canada. He was educated at Shattuck School in Faribault and at St. John’s College in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After reading law under Minnesota Attorney General Gordon E. Coles, he passed the bar and practiced law for nearly twenty years.
In 1881, he moved to Glendive, Montana, during the rapid development of the mining frontier. His career advanced quickly: he was appointed Probate Judge in 1882, elected to the Montana legislature later that year, and served as a delegate to the Montana Constitutional Convention in 1884.
Following an assassination attempt during a speech in Montana, Malony eventually left the territory and moved north to Alaska in the mid-1890s, bringing with him his son Joseph Mahony.
In Juneau, he met Cora Cleveland, a milliner who had established a hat shop in the city in 1895. They married in Juneau, and on December 29, 1899, their son John F. Malony III was born.
Malony worked closely with Alaska Pathfinder Jack Dalton. In 1893, he successfully defended Dalton in the controversial trial involving the death of Don (or Dennis) McGinnis. Malony and Dalton later partnered in several ventures, including the Dalton Trail Company and the Dalton Pony Express Company, which served miners traveling to the Yukon prior to the construction of the White Pass and Yukon Railway.
Malony also participated in early mining investments throughout Southeast Alaska. He was involved in placer claims on Chicken Ridge in 1890 and later in mining ventures in the Porcupine district near Haines with partners including E. B. Hanley. The group also operated the Porcupine Trading Company.
Beyond mining, Malony invested in fisheries and canneries near Wrangell and Petersburg and became a principal stockholder in the Juneau Ferry & Navigation Company.
Malony was deeply involved in civic affairs. He served on Juneau’s first city council around 1900 and was elected mayor in 1907. He also helped lead the Alaska Electric Light and Power Company, serving as its president while J. P. Corbus served as treasurer. Their leadership expanded electrical power generation in Juneau during the early twentieth century.
Among Malony’s real estate projects were the Gold Belt residential development and the Malony Block commercial buildings in downtown Juneau. One house constructed in association with mining entrepreneur Bart Thane later became the well-known Wickersham House.
Malony’s health declined around 1915, and he moved to California while continuing to manage his Alaska investments. He died in Palo Alto, California in early June 1919. He was survived by his wife, Cora Cleveland Malony, and three children.
Sources
Alaska Mining Hall of Fame.
Gastineau Channel Historical Society, Winter 1986.
Malony Collection, Alaska State Library, MS 40.
Alaska Daily Empire, June 2, 1919.
Margarie, E.J.
Primary Name: Margarie, E. J.
Filed as: margarie_e_j
Also known as: E. J. Margarie
Occupation / Association: Charter member, Juneau Men’s Igloo; electrician; utility manager; transportation manager
Born: 1870, England
Died: Early September 1930, Oakland, California
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: England; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas, Alaska; Oakland, California
Keywords: E. J. Margarie, Margarie, Juneau Men’s Igloo, charter member, Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Company, Alaska Electric Light and Power Company, Juneau Ferry and Navigation Company, Douglas Alaska, Juneau Alaska
Biography
E. J. Margarie was a charter member of the Juneau Men’s Igloo.
Margarie was born in England in 1870 and came to Juneau in the 1880s.
For some time, he was chief electrician for the Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Company at Douglas. Afterwards, for 20 years, he was the manager of the Alaska Electric Light and Power Company and, for a considerable time, of the Juneau Ferry and Navigation Company, which provided boat service between Juneau and Douglas.
He left Juneau with his family in July 1917 to make his home in California. He died in early September 1930 in Oakland, California, at the age of 65.
Sources
Daily Alaska Empire, September 11, 1930
Tags: E. J. Margarie, Margarie, Juneau Men’s Igloo, Juneau pioneers, Douglas Alaska, Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Company, Alaska Electric Light and Power Company, Juneau Ferry and Navigation Company, Oakland California
Moore, John Arthur
Primary Name: Moore, John
Filed as: moore_john
Also known as:
Occupation / Association: Charter member, Juneau Men’s Igloo; miner
Born: September 1849, Scotland
Died:
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Scotland; United States; Juneau, Alaska; Douglas, Alaska
Keywords: John Moore, Moore, Juneau Men’s Igloo, Pioneers of Alaska Igloo 6, charter member, Treadwell miner, Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Company, Juneau Alaska pioneers, Scottish immigrants Alaska
Biography
John Moore was a charter member of the Juneau Men’s Igloo.
Moore was born in Scotland in September 1849. He immigrated to the United States in 1864 and came to Juneau in May of 1874.
He worked as a miner at Treadwell.
Sources
1900 U.S. Federal Population Census
Tags: John Moore, Moore, Juneau Men’s Igloo, Pioneers of Alaska Igloo 6, charter member, miner, Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Company, Juneau Alaska pioneers, Scottish immigrants Alaska