Primary Name: Thompson, W. A.

Filed as: Thompson, W. A.

Also known as: W. A. Thompson

Occupation / Association: Mining claimant; Douglas mining property applicant

Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska

Keywords: W.A. Thompson, Douglas Alaska mining claims, Douglas Alaska land patent dispute, W.A. Sanders, Minnie Ross Holman, Douglas mining history, Juneau Douglas mining claims, Alaska territorial mining disputes

Biography

W. A. Thompson was associated with mining property development in Douglas, Alaska, during the territorial period.

In 1899, Thompson, mining engineer W. A. Sanders, and Minnie Ross Holman applied for a federal patent to mining claims located at the northwest end of the town of Douglas. The proposed patent encompassed more than fifty acres of land and included existing streets and buildings within the community.

The application covered thirteen lode claims and several mill sites. Because the claims overlapped portions of the established townsite, the proposal generated local concern, and a committee was organized to protest the issuance of the patent.

The dispute illustrates the tension that sometimes arose between mining claim holders and developing communities in Alaska’s early mining districts, where valuable mineral claims and growing townsites frequently overlapped.

Sources

Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries.