GCHS Publications
Our publications detail the rich history of the region.
The Gastineau Channel Historical Society promotes the study of the Gastineau Channel area and has produced several books on varying subjects. Our books are available at finer Alaska bookstores, museum shops, and gift shops. Books can also be purchased for your personal use thru our society. For retailers we offer wholesale prices. For more information contact use by email at gchsbooks@gmail.com or by phone at (907) 780-4355.
THE TREADWELL CARPENTER
William Bryant Janes
Follow Sam Olafson, a fictional American Midwest carpenter of Norwegian descent, as he chronicles his years with the Treadwell Group gold mines located in Douglas, Alaska. Immerse yourself in hundreds of bits of history fused with imagination. The Treadwell Carpenter portrays life and death during the second decade of the twentieth century, the heyday of Alaska’s world-famous gold mines.
First-time author William “Bill” Janes has spent years poring over newspapers of the era, documents, books, and interviews with local historians to weave together a seamless story that transports the reader into a truly different time and place. Told with lyrical story-telling flair, it likewise is as true as the newspaper accounts that informed the setting and the times. This is historical fiction at its best!
ISBN 979-8-218-83038-0
Second Edition, 2026,
Softcover, 393 pp. $24.95
THE FOUNDING OF JUNEAU
R.N. De Armond
This is a reprint of the classic 1967 book written by De Armond under commission of the Gastineau Channel Centennial Association in celebration of the Alaska Purchase Centennial. It was reprinted in 1980 celebrating the city of Juneau centennial and has been out of print since. The new “Commemorative Edition” is now available. It is a direct reprint with only modifications on the inner title page to recognize funding donors and identifying it as a new addition.
“A half-century has passed since the publication of Robert DeArmond’s Founding of Juneau (1967), and the book has stood the test of time. DeArmond produced a vivid portrait of the historical action in early Juneau and a detailed biographical dictionary profiling the key participants.”1 * A ROUGH AND TUMBLE COUNTRY: Juneau’s Origins as Alaska’s First Gold Mining Boomtown As Described by Eyewitnesses, 1880–1881. Published in 2020 by Mark Kirchoff and Chris Allan.
Commemorative Edition, 2026
Softcover, 214 pp. $19.95
HARD ROCK GOLD
David Stone and Brenda Pugh
Hard Rock Gold is the fascinating story of the “Big Three” gold mines that put Juneau on the map as a world-class gold mining center. Though each of the mines operated on low-grade ore deposits, the Treadwell mine complex on Douglas Island (1882-1922), the Alaska-Gastineau (Perseverance) mine (1911-1921), and the Alaska-Juneau (1897 -1944) each pioneered innovative techniques and management that successfully reduced costs and extracted profits that impressed the outside world. At their production peaks, the Treadwell and the AJ were the largest gold mines in the world and were the heart-beat of the Juneau area.
Hard Rock Gold was originally published by the Juneau Centennial Commission in 1980 with a second printing in 1983. The popularity of the book meant it sold out quickly and has been out of print since. It was a long-held desire of David Stone and many local mining history buffs that the book be re-printed. Over forty years after its original publication and ten years after David’s passing, that dream became a reality through the cooperative efforts of David’s family; 19 private donors; the Gastineau Channel Historical Society; and the Treadwell Historic Preservation & Restoration Society.
Commemorative edition, 2022
Softcover, 108 pp. $24.95
NAMES ON THE CHART
R.N. DeArmond
Names on the Chart is a handy, compact reference for anyone navigating the waters of Southeast Alaska. Originally written by renowned Alaskan historian, R.N. DeArmond and last revised in 1995. This new third edition features more than 400 place names of prominent features, including manned lighthouse sites, historical notes about the names, and how they got them. This revised edition was produced by the Gastineau Channel Historical Society in its efforts to provide information to educate readers about the historical record of Juneau, Douglas, and the surrounding region.
ISBN 978-0-9861569-9-1
Paperback, Wire-O Bound. 145 pp. $16.95
THE JUNEAU GOLD BELT
A HISTORY OF THE MINES AND MINERS
Earl Redman
The Juneau Gold Belt is a comprehensive record of the remarkable mining history of the areas in and around Juneau, Alaska. From the A.J. to the Treadwell and the lesser-known areas in between, Earl Redman paints a detailed picture of mining life, expectations, disappointments, and tells the stories of the miners who lived it.
In 1984, Earl Redman took a job with the U.S. Bureau of Mines for the study of the mines and mineral deposits of the Juneau Mining District. For the next four years, he spent his time crawling in and out of every overgrown, mud-and-water-infested hole in the ground he could find. His tireless exploration and countless hours of research on the hundreds of old mine workings is reflected in this important contribution to the historical record of Juneau, Alaska.
ISBN 978-1-59433-159-6
Softcover, 408 pp. $27.95
OLD GOLD
HISTORICAL VIGNETTES OF JUNEAU, ALASKA
compiled by R.N. DeArmond
The Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company Mill was constructed in 1916. The once mighty A.J. Mill, which is slowly disappearing from the mountainside above town, is one of the last physical vestiges of the gold mining heritage of Juneau. Carefully preserved within these pages is another valuable form of OLD GOLD – a collection of historical vignettes compiled about those Juneau early days.
ISBN 0-9704815-4-3
Softcover, 68 pp. $21.95
QUILTS OF ALASKA
A TEXTILE ALBUM OF THE LAST FRONTIER
June E. Hall
The art and history of early quilts in Alaska are brought together in this beautifully illustrated full color publication. The five chapters were written by Alaskan scholars, historians and quiltmakers. Each chapter features quilts registered during the Alaska Quilt Survey project that spanned ten years and covered Nome to Ketchikan. How the quilts are intertwined with Alaska’s cultural and social history is explored against a backdrop of the boom-and-bust cycles of the 49th state. Stories of early quiltmakers who pioneered Alaska, and those who brought quilts as family heirlooms unfold with captivating detail. The development of quilt making on the Last Frontier, and its connection to quilting traditions of “Lower 48” states is compared. Cross-cultural influences shared between western quiltmakers and Native groups in Alaska is also examined. One chapter is dedicated to Native quilt making and includes the fascinating use of quilts in traditional Nelson Island Eskimo culture.
ISBN 0-9704815-0-0
Softcover, 112 pp. $24.95
I REMEMBER TREADWELL
Charlotte L. Mahaffy
This book is Charlotte L. Mahaffy’s charming account of childhood in the town of Treadwell. Mahaffy was born in Juneau in 1903, and spent the next 14 years growing up in Treadwell until the 1917 cave-in forced the family to relocate. I Remember Treadwell details life outside the mines, in the community that sprang up around the largest gold mine in the world in its time.
Softcover, 42 pp. $8.95
ALASKA SOUVENIR SPOONS & THE EARLY CURIO TRADE
June E. Hall
This rich full-color volume presents a fine history of the souvenir spoon craze and other curio collecting in the 19th century. Chapters include early tourism development in Alaska, suppliers and jewelers who manufactured souvenir spoons & curios, the rise of Alaska Native craftsmen and women who made souvenir spoons and other curio items. Gold rush era and Alaska souvenir spoons are presented with examples of early silver and ivory and gold spoons. Illustrated with historical photos and literature, bibliography, and fully indexed.
ISBN 0-9704815-3-5
Softcover, 120 pp. $19.95
IN THE MINER’S FOOTSTEPS
AN HISTORIC OVERVIEW AND GUIDE TO THE MINING TRAILS OF THE JUNEAU-DOUGLAS AREA
Willette Janes
Published by the Gastineau Channel Historical Society. Hike into history with this trail guide as it takes you In the Miners’ Footsteps to a time when the Juneau-Douglas area was world-famous for its gold mining operations.
Softcover, 19 pp. $7.95