Alaska's Mining Industry

The discovery of gold in the late 1800s drew thousands of people to the far reaches of Alaska. In 1880, Joseph Juneau found large pieces of quartz mixed with gold in Southeast Alaska, and his find lured prospectors to the new town site of Juneau. A second boom hit two years later when gold deposits were found on Douglas Island, across the channel from Juneau, resulting in the creation of Treadwell Mine. Gold discoveries in 1896 launched the great Klondike gold rush. Thousands of prospectors passed through Alaska on their way to the Yukon, creating the town of Skagway. More finds of gold in 1898 drew boat loads of people to Nome's sandy beaches on the Seward Peninsula.