Historical resources and links of interest
Juneau area
- Juneau-Douglas City Museum
This link besides giving general information about the museum has pages for their exhibits, a few limited online photo albums, education materials, and a Juneau History Research page well worth exploring. Within the research page are subpages with numerous links for local history societies, Juneau sites including Digital Bob, a digital collection of historic Juneau newspaper articles and events, Digital Betty, with vital statistics, historic neighborhood surveys and maps, high school year books, plus more. Other links lead to Alaska, national, Canadian, and international sites that may provide connections to Juneau history. - City and Borough of Juneau Historic Preservation Resources The CBJ website under the Community Development Department has a variety of links concerning historic preservation, a short history of Juneau section, and materials on historic community structures, neighborhoods, and planning resources.
- Friends of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum: One of their pages “History on the Channel” has a collection of history articles of Juneau history, worth exploring.
- JuneauNature
This site, part of the Discovery SE site, integrates various scientific disciplines and technology to interpret Juneau’s cultural history in context to its natural history, with links to various archival sources. - Saveitforparts
An eclectic website that reflects the owner’s wide range of passions, one of which is Funter Bay history and another is Lessor Known Railroads of Alaska, of which he has included all of the local mining railways or tramways. - Juneau History.Com
A very specific site showing photos from an album made of the construction of Glacier Highway from Juneau city limits to Sherwood Lane from 1912 – 1934. - Curious Juneau KTOO radio program which answers listeners’ questions about Juneau area events and observations, often of quirky historical significance (ex. Did a gorilla run for Juneau Mayor? – check it out). Not your straight-forward “history”, but fun to learn.
- Sanborn Fire Maps (Library of Congress)
Historic maps of Juneau, Douglas, Treadwell, and Thane for various years 1904 – 1948. Not all locations have maps for each year posted. - Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection (University of Texas at Austin Library)
Has several historic topographic maps of the Juneau area 1902 (1:62,5000), Juneau and vicinity 1916 (1:24,000) and Berners Bay, 1906 (1:62,5000). Later topographic maps of larger scale (1:250,000) are found in a link on that page for 1951, 1982,1985. - Chronicling America (Library of Congress) Has a large collection of digitized newspapers from across America, including various Alaska papers.
Has digital copies of several local newspapers: The Alaska Daily Empire (1912-1926); The Daily Alaska Empire (1926 – 1940) Douglas Island News (1898-1921); and The Strollers Weekly and Douglas Island News (1921- 1931) - Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys – Juneau Quadrangle publications
This particular link connects to a search of the Juneau Quadrangle by publication date and lists publications on geological investigations, many of which give histories of various mineral developments for the Juneau area. Results are listed in descending chronological order latest to earliest and many of the earlier reports give histories of various mines and prospects. Searches may be done also for adjoining quadrangles such as Taku River and Sumdum and by author or publication number within the quadrangle publications, to find related information. Several old publications have historic maps: Map of the Juneau mining district of southeast Alaska (1895), Geologic map of the vicinity of Juneau, with cross section, scale 1:62,500 (1905), Topographic map of Berners Bay region, scale 1:62,500 (1910), and Topographic map of the Eagle River area, scale 1:62,500 (1912) - History of the Juneau gold belt 1869-1985 development of the mines and prospects from Windham Bay to Berners Bay, E.C. Redman, 1986.
This particular link connects to a search of the Juneau Quadrangle by author (see ADNR, DGGS link above) and summarizes the history of mining development in the Juneau gold belt region. This publication was part of a series of publications resulting from a four year mineral investigation of the area, which can also be accessed by an author search at that site. It also formed the basis for Redman’s book THE JUNEAU GOLD BELT, A HISTORY OF THE MINES AND MINERS found in the Publications section of this website. - Treadwell mine complex resources The Treadwell mine complex adjoining the east end of Douglas was the first large industrial development in Alaska and was the largest gold mine in the world at the time of its peak production, 1910 – 1915. Comprising four separate mines under one overall management, it produced over 3.2 million ounces of gold worth worth about $67 million (at a value of $20.67/ounce) in its forty years of operation, 1882 -1922. Part of the complex is now a historical park operated by the City and Borough of Juneau. Local digital resources include the Treadwell Historic Preservation and Restoration Society, a walking trail tour guide map, a historical resources and site survey report, and a historic site survey and trail plan. Here is a 1910 historic map from a geological report of the mine, and a 1914 Sanborn Fire Map of Treadwell.
- Eaglecrest Foundation history page This particular link connects to a page with a four-part series of Juneau area skiing history, starting from the early mining days through development of Eaglecrest ski area up to the present
- October was established as Filipino American History Month by the Alaska State Legislature in 2023. That October KTOO-FM hosted a local Filipino History podcast, which can be accessed now for each session.
Alaska in general
- Alaska Historical Collections, Alaska State Library, Fr. Andrew P. Kashevaroff (APK) Building News website
- Alaska Historical Society
The site also has pages for projects, newsletters and publications, advocacy, education, history articles and a blog. A good place to start exploring Alaska history. Check out their page “For Researchers” below. - Alaska Historical Society – for Researchers page
This link provides multiple sub-pages and links to major Alaska archives, Alaskana book collections, on-line research tools, local (Alaska) historical societies, recent Alaska publications, and genealogical tools. - Alaska State Archives
- Alaska State Library
This link provides multiple sub-pages and links to the library’s catalogues, collections, guides, indexes, and newspaper collections - Alaska State Museum
- Alaska Digital Archives This link provides access to digitized photos and papers from Alaska State Library and Museum, University of Alaska libraries in Anchorage and Fairbanks, the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, and the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka. An invaluable resource particularly for researching materials illustrating Alaskan historical places, persons, and events.
- Egan Library, University of Alaska Southeast
Online access to the university library catalog to search for Alaska history materials - Sealaska Heritage Institute, Culture and History, collections and archives. Online access to collections and archives materials that document the history, culture, heritage, and language of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people, which are available to the public for educational and research purposes. Materials collected by the institute include books, manuscript papers (such as personal diaries, correspondence, meeting minutes), photographs, recordings (such as audio and visual recordings), and ethnographical and art objects. November 2024 was proclaimed Alaska Native Heritage Month.
- Alaska State Parks – Historic Sites – House of Wickersham tours (summer season tours available)
- Alaska State Office of History and Archaeology Part of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, it is Alaska’s primary office with knowledge and expertise in historic preservation dedicated to preserving and interpreting Alaska’s past, and serves as Alaska’s State Historic Preservation Office. The office works with local governments, the public, and educational and not-for-profit organizations to identify, preserve, protect, and interpret the state’s cultural, historic, and archaeological resources ensuring that our heritage is passed on to future generations.
- Alaska Association for Historic Preservation, Inc. Preservation Alaska is dedicated to the preservation of Alaska’s prehistoric and historic resources through education, promotion and advocacy. Preservation of the built environment provides a vital link and visible reminder of the past, emphasizing the continuity and diversity of Alaska. Preservation Alaska aids in historic preservation projects across Alaska and monitors and supports legislation to promote historic preservation, serving as a liaison between local, statewide, and national historic preservation groups.
Alaska Web Independent website primarily devoted for genealogy research but also has a wide variety of resources on Alaska history and culture including newspapers, Polk city directories, borough descriptions, books, etc. - Alaska Filipino heritage may also be accessed on the Mana website ((mah-nah) – inheritance, heritage [Tagalog]