- 1895

The Louvre Saloon with bartender and slot machine, Juneau, Alaska. Alaska State Library, Skinner Foundation  Photo Collection, P44-03-178.

In June all the local saloon keepers were arrested and placed under $500 bond each, as a crackdown of a prohibition law dating to the purchase of Alaska (but hardly enforced). A test was to be made in District Court regarding the validity of the prohibition law. One saloon had just opened prior to the raid.  Things must have settled down by September when the Star Brewery in Douglas announced its production of lager beer was now available, the first in Alaska.

A lawsuit, Bonanza Mining Claim vs. Juneau Town site, was filed in May alleging that town site occupants were trespassing on the claim and sought payment for damages. After about 10 years of legal proceedings the claimant’s suit was dismissed to the relief of the city.

Early in the season mining seemed to be going strong with several mines pleading for more workers and that anyone who wanted to work had plenty of opportunities.  Over in Douglas it was reported that a number of residents were mining on the beach in front of town, using rockers and making more than wages.

The arrival in March of the newly organized Alaska Steamship Company’s vessel Willapa induced its competitor long-time shipper Pacific Coast Steamship Company to start a rate war in which it reduced its Seattle-Juneau fare from $40 to $12 and promised local merchants big freight discounts if they signed up for exclusive freighting with that line.

In August, Adlai E. Stevenson, vice president of the United States, his wife, two daughters and two brothers are among those making a tour of Alaska on the steamer Queen. While the vessel was in port here they visited some of the mines and talked with residents.

A large snowslide December 28 destroyed the mill and buildings at the Perseverance Mine in Silver Bow Basin.