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.

Primary Name: Bach, Frank Xavier

Filed as: bach_frank_xavier

Also known as: Frank Xavier Bach; Frank X. Bach

Occupation / Association: Businessman; Co-founder, Juneau Douglas Telephone Company; Mayor of Douglas, Alaska (1903)

Born: November 3, 1850, Germany

Died: June 3, 1933, Douglas, Alaska

Parents: Peter Bach; Julia Miller Bach

Spouse: Ellen Calhoun-Bach

Children: Alice Bach-Coughlin; Lenore Bach-Edwins; Cecil Bach; three other children, two of whom died young

Associated places: Germany; Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Taku Harbor, Alaska

Keywords: Frank Xavier Bach, Frank X Bach, Bach Frank Xavier, Douglas Alaska mayor, Juneau Douglas Telephone Company

Biography

Frank Xavier Bach was born on November 3, 1850, in Germany. His parents were Peter Bach of Germany and Julia Miller Bach of Bavaria, Germany. He stood about 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed approximately 150 pounds.

He lived in Douglas with his sister, Anna Kunigunde Bach-Zengel-Graf, during the last days of her life. His brother, George Bach, lived in Taku Harbor.

Frank married Ellen Calhoun-Bach. They had six children, four of whom survived to adulthood, including Alice Bach-Coughlin, Lenore Bach-Edwins, and their son Cecil Bach.

Bach joined Edward Webster in forming the Juneau Douglas Telephone Company.

District Recorder records and the 1894 plat map of the Juneau Townsite show Edward Webster and his business partner Frank Bach owning Lots 7 and 8 in Block 1. These lots later contained the Edward Webster House and the Juneau-Douglas Telephone Company Offices at 135–139 West Second Street in the Telephone Hill Historic District.

Bach later sold his interest in the company to his partner.

He served as Mayor of Douglas in 1903.

Frank Xavier Bach died instantly on June 3, 1933, at the age of 72. Charles W. Carter served as his undertaker. Bach was buried in the Douglas City Cemetery.

Sources

Telephone Hill Historic Site and Structures Survey, 1984; Find-A-Grave

Frank Xavier Bach Frank X Bach Bach Frank Xavier

Tags: Frank Xavier Bach, Frank X Bach, Bach Frank Xavier, Douglas Alaska mayor, Juneau Douglas Telephone Company, Telephone Hill Historic District

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).

Edward Webster arrived in Juneau in 1881 and staked placer claims in the Silver Bow Basin with his father, William I. Webster (Stone 1982).

Over the next ten years, the Websters located and developed the Humboldt Mine on Gold Creek. During this period, they established the first stamp mill in the Juneau Gold Belt (Alaska Monthly 1907). Webster also worked as a pile driver contractor, participating in the construction of wharves along the Juneau waterfront (Alaska Monthly 1907).

Frank Bach arrived in Juneau in 1883. He later moved across the Gastineau Channel to Douglas and opened a merchandise business (Alaska Monthly 1907; DeArmond 1967).

In 1893, business partners Edward Webster and Frank Bach constructed a two-telephone system across the channel to improve communication between their residences. The system proved successful, and the Treadwell Gold Mining Company soon connected to the line.

As other residents requested telephone service, Webster and Bach formed the Juneau and Douglas Telephone Company. By the late 1890s, the partnership dissolved and Webster assumed full ownership of the company.

Edward Webster married Anna Faulkner-Scott-Knutson Webster on August 10, 1910, in Juneau. She brought three daughters from previous marriages into the household: twins Mabel Grace Scott and Minerva Beatrice Scott, and Carol “Carrie” Swanhilde Knutson.

The Edward Webster House, located at 135-139 West Second Street, sits on the east ridge of Telephone Hill overlooking downtown Juneau. Photographs of Juneau from the 1880s confirm that the Webster House was among the earliest homes constructed in the area. 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.

The Webster family owned and operated the Juneau and Douglas Telephone Company from 1893 until 1968, providing the first commercial telephone service in Alaska. The telephone company operated from the Webster home from 1915 to 1958 (DeArmond 1967; Hurley & Carrigan 1983).

Edward Webster began construction of his house in 1882, and numerous additions were made during the following seventy years (Hurley & Carrigan 1983). District Recorder records and the 1894 plat map of the Juneau Townsite show Edward Webster and Frank Bach owning Lots 7 and 8 in Block 1.

After Edward Webster’s death in 1918, his wife Anna assumed management of the company and continued operating it until her death in 1957.

Sources
Stone 1982
Alaska Monthly 1907
DeArmond 1967
Hurley & Carrigan 1983

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, 1890, in Idaho; twins Mabel Grace Scott and Minerva Beatrice Scott, born on April 1, 1893, in Grangeville, Idaho; Ruth, born in September 1894; and Alice, born on June 13, 1895.

The family experienced several tragedies. Their daughter Ruth died on March 15, 1896. Newton Scott 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, were born in Idaho on April 5, 1902, after his death.

Anna and her three daughters, Mabel, Minnie, and Carrie, moved to Juneau in 1904, and she 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 home stood high on the hill, built before the town itself was fully 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.

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

Sources:
Biographies of Alaska Yukon Pioneers 1850–1950, Vol. 3, pp. 318–320, Ed Ferrell
Idaho Marriage Licenses
1910 U.S. Federal Census, Douglas
1930/1940 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau
Douglas Island Weekly News, August 17, 1910
Alaska Death Certificate
Evergreen Cemetery Burial Record 

Primary Name: Hill, Lydia Marie Korhonen

Filed as: lydia_marie_korhonen_hill

Also known as: Lydia Korhonen; Lydia Hill

Occupation / Association: Charter Member, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6; Telephone Operator, Juneau Douglas Telephone Company

Born: September 19, 1900, Alaska

Died: July 23, 1963, Kitsap County, Washington

Parents: Henry Korhonen; Anna Sophia "Juntunen" Korhonen

Spouse: John Hollow Hill (m. July 25, 1925)

Children: Bruce John Hill

Associated places: Juneau, Alaska; Pearson, Kitsap County, Washington; Seattle, Washington

Keywords: Lydia Marie Korhonen Hill, Lydia Korhonen, Lydia Hill, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6, Juneau Douglas Telephone Company, Korhonen family

Biography

Lydia Marie Korhonen was a charter member of the Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6 of the Pioneers of Alaska.

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

Korhonen graduated from Juneau High School in 1918. In 1923, she worked as a telephone operator for the Juneau Douglas Telephone Company.

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

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

Lydia Marie Korhonen Hill died on July 23, 1963, in Kitsap County, Washington.

Sources

1910 U.S. Federal Census, Juneau, Alaska; 1930 U.S. Federal Census, Pearson, Washington; Alaska Marriage License; Alaska Daily Empire, July 27, 1925

Lydia Marie Korhonen Hill Lydia Korhonen Lydia Hill L M Korhonen L M Hill

Tags: Lydia Marie Korhonen Hill, Lydia Korhonen, Lydia Hill, Henry Korhonen, Anna Sophia Juntunen Korhonen, John Hollow Hill, Bruce John Hill, Juneau Igloo Women's Auxiliary No. 6, Juneau Alaska residents

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