McKinnon, Lauchlin
Primary Name: MacKinnon, Lauchlin
Filed as: mackinnon_lauchlin
Also known as: Lockie MacKinnon; Lauchlin "Lockie" MacKinnon
Occupation / Association: Charter member, Juneau Men’s Igloo; miner; hotel proprietor; pioneer businessman
Born: 1866, Lake Ainslie, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Died: 1946, Juneau, Alaska
Parents: Archibald Neil MacKinnon; Mary MacLeod
Spouse: Martha Maline Lokke
Children: James Simpson MacKinnon; John Neil Donald (Donald Lokke MacKinnon); Thron Rudolph Lokke MacKinnon
Associated places: Lake Ainslie, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; Scotland; Juneau, Alaska; Porcupine District, Alaska; Dyea, Alaska; Chilkoot Pass; Stikine River; Yukon River; Lake Laberge; Forty Mile, Yukon; Atlin, British Columbia; Cleary Creek, Fairbanks, Alaska; Seattle, Washington
Keywords: Lauchlin MacKinnon, Lockie MacKinnon, MacKinnon Juneau pioneer, Juneau Men’s Igloo charter member, Atlin gold discovery, Circle City Hotel Juneau, MacKinnon Apartments Juneau, Martha Lokke MacKinnon, Archibald Neil MacKinnon, Mary MacLeod, Porcupine mining district, Chilkoot Pass cattle drive, Alaska pioneers
Biography
Lauchlin “Lockie” MacKinnon was a charter member of the Juneau Men’s Igloo and one of the early pioneers of the Juneau district.
MacKinnon was born in 1866 at Lake Ainslie, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. His parents, Archibald Neil MacKinnon and Mary MacLeod, lived on the family farm there. The family had emigrated from Scotland in 1820.
As a teenager, Lockie left home and later said that he traveled on foot across Canada through the Cassiar District before reaching the Stikine River. From there, he traveled down the Stikine and eventually reached Juneau by boat.
Early in his mining career, he entered into a partnership with George Miller, and the two mined the Porcupine district in the early 1890s. In 1893, MacKinnon joined Jack Horn, John Reed, and another companion, probably Miller, in crossing the Chilkoot Pass from Dyea. During this journey, they encountered General Frederick Funston, who was touring Alaska as a government representative for the Smithsonian Institution.
At the foot of Lake Laberge, they built boats and traveled down the Yukon River, passing Five Fingers and continuing as far as Forty Mile.
During the winter of 1895–1896, MacKinnon and Miller erected the Circle City Hotel in Juneau on Third Street between Seward and Franklin streets. The hotel contained eighty rooms, a bar, and a dining room, and was named for Circle City in the Yukon.
In 1896, MacKinnon traveled to Seattle to secure maids for the hotel. Martha Maline Lokke, who had been born in Norway in 1870, and a Scandinavian friend were hired and came to Juneau. Martha later recalled that “two weeks later I foolishly married the man.” Miller reportedly turned to Martha’s friend just before the ceremony and suggested that they marry as well, resulting in what may have been one of the first double weddings in the Territory.
MacKinnon was one of four discoverers of the Atlin gold fields in 1897. The party traveled from Juneau over the snow via the Taku River and Atlin Lake. News of their discovery reached the outside world in August of that year, triggering a rush to the Atlin district.
During the winter of 1898, MacKinnon and Fritz Miller, the brother of George Miller, drove the first herd of cattle over the Chilkoot Pass to Dawson.
Martha and Lockie’s first child, James Simpson MacKinnon, was born in 1897 and was named in honor of the physician Dr. James Kidd Simpson, who had earlier saved Lockie’s life after an explosion and cave-in at the Ebner Mine. In 1901, the couple welcomed twins, John Neil Donald and Thron Rudolph Lokke MacKinnon, who were born in the family home located on the land where the MacKinnon Apartments would later stand. Rudolph died during the diphtheria epidemic of 1911. John Neil Donald later changed his name to Donald Lokke MacKinnon.
Following Rudolph’s death, Martha and Lockie returned to Juneau and managed the Zynda Hotel, later renamed the Juneau Hotel, on Main Street.
In 1926, the MacKinnons constructed the apartment house at Third and Franklin streets, which was promoted as “Juneau’s first modern apartment house.” The building was enlarged during the 1960s and became known as the MacKinnon Apartments.
The MacKinnons resided continuously in Juneau except for four years spent at Cleary Creek near Fairbanks and two years in Seattle.
Both were active in the Juneau community. They were members of Northern Light Presbyterian Church, the Pioneers of Alaska, the Elks, and the Eastern Star. MacKinnon also served for many years as a trustee of the Pioneers’ Home in Sitka.
The couple continued to reside at the MacKinnon Apartments until their deaths.
Sources
Gastineau Channel Memories, 1880–1959, p. 301
Tags: Lauchlin MacKinnon, Lockie MacKinnon, MacKinnon family Juneau, Juneau Men’s Igloo charter member, Atlin gold discoverer, Circle City Hotel Juneau, MacKinnon Apartments Juneau, Martha Lokke MacKinnon, Porcupine mining district, Chilkoot Pass cattle drive, Juneau pioneers