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.

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.

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).

Anna Faulkner Scott Knutson Webster was a Charter Member of Juneau Igloo No. 6.

She was born on January 29, 1867 at Maitland, Hants County, Nova Scotia. She was the daughter of Captain Thomas Faulkner and Elizabeth McPherson Faulkner. She was descended from a long line of seafaring men. Anna immigrated to the United States in 1888 and was naturalized in 1890.

She married her first husband, Newton Scott, on May 21, 1890 in Idaho. They had five daughters, Lucy born on May 23, 1980 in Idaho, twins Mabel Grace Scott and Minerva Beatrice Scott born on April 1, 1893 in Grangeville, Idaho, Ruth born in Denver, Idaho in September 1894 and Alice born on June 13, 1895 in Denver, Idaho. Their daughter Ruth died on March 15, 1896 Newton was killed by a falling tree while riding a horse on November 5, 1897. Lucy died on November 14, 1897 and Alice died on November 22, 1897.

Her second husband was Swan Knutson. They were married in Salmon River, Idaho on January 25, 1899. She was widowed when Swan died on August 1, 1901. Their twin children Clarence Knutson and Carol Swanhilde Knutson born on April 5, 1902 in Idaho after his death.

Anna and her three daughters, Mabel, Minnie and Carrie moved to Juneau in 1904 and began her career as head of the Douglas telephone exchange in 1905.

Anna married Edward Webster, who was the President of the Juneau-Douglas Telephone Company, on August 10, 1910, in Juneau. The family moved to Juneau and her Juneau home stood high on the hill, where it was built before the town itself was laid out and planned.

The house is registered as the Edward Webster House on Telephone Hill. Robert E. Hurley, the grandson of Edward and Anna Webster, owned the home when the 1984 Telephone Hill Historic Site and Structures Survey was conducted in 1984.

Anna died on August 13 of 1957 in Juneau and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery on August 16, 1957.

Biographies of Alaska Yukon Pioneers 1850-1950, Vo3. p 318-320, Ed Ferrell, Idaho Marriage Licenses: 1910 I U.S. Federal Census Douglas; 1930/1940 U.S. Federal Census Juneau; Douglas Island Weekly News 8-17-1910; Alaska Death Certificate; Evergreen Cemetery Burial Record

Lydia Marie Korhonen is a Charter Member of Juneau Igloo Women's Auxilary Number 6.

She was born on September 19, 1900 in Alaska to Henry and Anna Sophia "Juntunen" Korhonen.

She graduated from Juneau High School in 1918. She worked as a telephone operator for Juneau Douglas Telephone Company in 1923.

Lydia married John Hollow Hill on July 25, 1925 in Juneau.

They lived in Pearson, Kitsap County, Washington in 1930. Their son Bruce John was born in Seattle, Washington on April 21, 1934.

Lydia died July 23, 1963 in Kitsap, Washington.

1910 U.S. Federal Census Juneau; 1930 U.S. Federal Census Pearson, Washington; Alaska
Marriage license; Alaska Daily Empire 7-27-25

Telephone Hill is one of the oldest, continuously occupied areas in Juneau, and was part of the original Juneau Townsite Survey. The Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Igloo voted unanimously to formally request that the City and Borough of Juneau preserve this historic neighborhood.

In 1881, the U.S. Navy established a government reservation on the northern portion of the hill and constructed a military post. The hill's geographic prominence provided the Navy with a strategic vantage point from which they could maintain law and order in the raw mining town.

After the Navy abandoned the post, two government court houses were erected on the reservation beginning in 1893, and completed by the ·General Land Office in 1894. The first court house, erected in 1893, burned in 1898. The second court house was constructed in 1904, and remained on that site until razed for the construction of the present State Office Building.

Turn-of-the-century photographs of the townsite show residences on the hill, a few of which still exist today. With its sweeping view of Gastineau Channel and Douglas Island, the hill has been an attraction throughout the area’s history of habitation.

The neighborhood lies south of Third Street and is bordered by Main Street and Willoughby Avenue. The upper portion, north of Third Street, was once the location of the Government Court House until the late 1960’s. Today the State Office Building occupies the site.

The name Telephone Hill became firmly attached to the area when Edward Webster, owner of the Juneau and Douglas Telephone Company, located his business on the summit of the hill. The business remained in the Webster house until the 1957, when POA Charter Member Anna Webster, who was running the company after his husband's death, passed away.

Several long-time Juneau businesses were situated in the study area. Attorneys Edward Bayless and Lewis Shackleford had a law library in the Edward Bayless house on Telephone Hill. The 1914 Sanborn map notes that the offices of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company and Wells Fargo Express were located in a building south of First and Main Streets.

The Winter and Pond Photography Studio, the U.S. Cable Office, and the Juneau & Douglas Telephone Company were located in the Horseshoe Building at the corner of First and Main. Empire Printing was located between First and Second on Main Street. The Alaska Road Commission had a barn and stables at the base of the hill.

The Telephone Hill Historic District is threatened with destruction as most of the development plans proposed to the City and Borough of Juneau in 2023 called for bulldozing all the historic structures.  See 3 January, 2024 Anchorage Press Article for details.

Structures in the Telephone Hill Historic District:

Districts are generally groupings of buildings or structures whose significance can be other than historical visual, architectural and environmental. Groups of buildings can create a specific environment physically and spatially by representing the standards and tastes of a community or neighborhood during a period of history. Unrelated structures often collectively display a progression of styles and functions or cohesive townscapes.

The structures at the Telephone Hill summit, constructed between 1882 and 1939, are collectively significant and create a district. Two factors contribute to the district's significance: The site's association with the early development of Juneau; and the buildings' architectural details reflecting the changing construction designs during the past century. Using National Register criteria, the Telephone Hill structures were determined in the Telephone Hill Historic Site and Structures Survey, 1984, to meet the qualifications of the National Register of Historic Places for a Historic District. 

CBJ Telephone Hill Redevelopment Documents

Juneau Telephone Hill Market Analysis, Feasibility Analysis and Development Strategy