Joe Juneau (prospector)
Encyclopedia
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
and prospector
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
who was born in the Quebec town of Saint-Paul-l'Ermite (later renamed Le Gardeur
Le Gardeur, Quebec
Le Gardeur was a town in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the L'Assomption River in the Regional County Municipality of L'Assomption, and connected to Montreal by Route 138, Autoroute 40, and Via Rail on the Canadian National rail line....
and now incorporated into the city of Repentigny
Repentigny, Quebec
Repentigny is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, located north of Montreal, on the lower end of the L'Assomption River and on the Saint Lawrence River. Repentigny and Charlemagne are the first towns off the island of Montreal.-History:...
) to François Xavier Juneau dit Latulippe and Marguerite Thiffault Juneau. He is best known for co-founding, with Richard Harris
Richard Harris (prospector)
Richard Tighe Harris was a Canadian miner and prospector.Richard Harris was born in Dummadonald, County Down, Ireland. However, attended Girard College, a private boarding school in Philadelphia, PA ....
, the city of Juneau, Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The first major gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
discovery in Juneau or Douglas Island
Douglas Island
Douglas Island is a tidal island in the U.S. state of Alaska, just west of downtown Juneau and east of Admiralty Island. It is separated from mainland Juneau by the Gastineau Channel. The Juneau-Douglas Bridge, connecting the island with Juneau, provides a two lane road to and from the island and...
(across from Juneau) was circa 1880. It has been the political capital of Alaska since 1906.
His Native American guide in southeastern Alaska was Chief Kowee. Kowee is credited with exploring much of the Juneau area. Richard and Joe were sent with Kowee by George Pilz, an entrepreneur and mining engineer from Sitka. Richard and Joe traded with the natives much of their grubstake
Grubstake
Grubstake, known also as Apache Gold, is an american western movie directed by Larry Buchanan.-Cast:*Stephen Wyman*Jack Klugman*Neile Adams*Lynn Shubert*Kort Falkenberg...
for hoochinoo. When they returned to Pilz empty-handed, he promptly sent them back to the Juneau area. There, Kowee took them beyond Gold Creek (which today flows beside the city's United States Federal Building[1]) to Silver Bow Basin
Silver Bow Basin
The Silver Bow Basin is a valley located northeast of Juneau, Alaska, USA. It is situated on Gold Creek in an area north of Icy Gulch, and approximately north of Gastineau Peak. A trail from Juneau leads directly to the mountainside...
. Today, a creek on Douglas Island is named Kowee Creek
Kowee Creek
Kowee Creek is a river on Douglas Island in the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, United States. Its origin is southeast of Mount Troy and it flows north-northeast to Gastineau Channel near West Juneau; it is southwest of the city of Juneau. Kowee Creek is nearly long...
.
After the discovery of gold in Juneau, Richard and Joe loaded approximately 1,000 pounds of gold ore back to Sitka.
The town was originally called Harrisburg or Harrisburgh, and then Rockwell. Miners often called it "'Rockwell' also known as 'Harrisburg'" in their mining records. There was also a proposal to name the town Pilzburg for Pilz. It did not take up its current name until a miners' meeting on December 14, 1881. The name Juneau received 47 of the 72 votes cast while Harrisburg received 21 votes and Rockwell only 4.http://www.kinyradio.com/placenam.html Joe Juneau reportedly bought drinks for fellow miners to name the city in his honor.http://www.travelalaska.com/media/History-Culture.pdf
Joe Juneau traveled to Dawson City, Yukon
Dawson City, Yukon
The Town of the City of Dawson or Dawson City is a town in the Yukon, Canada.The population was 1,327 at the 2006 census. The area draws some 60,000 visitors each year...
during the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
of the 1890s. He usually spent gold as fast as he got it but at the end of his life he owned a small restaurant in Dawson. Juneau died of pneumonia in March, 1899 in Dawson. His body was brought back to the town that bears his name and was buried in the city's Evergreen Cemetery
Evergreen Cemetery (Juneau, Alaska)
Evergreen Cemetery is a cemetery in Juneau, the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was established in 1887 to replace the older cemetery on Chicken Ridge, near Main Street, when that location was staked as a gold mine. Most of the graves in this older cemetery were moved to the new cemetery...
on August 16, 1903.
His cousin Solomon Juneau founded the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
.http://alaskamininghalloffame.org/inductees/juneau.php