- 1917

Treadwell Mine cave-in, April 22, 1917. Alaska State Library, Harry F. Snyder Photo Collection, P038-074.

On late in the evening of April 21 on an extremely high tide, water began flooding into a fault line along the beach above the Treadwell mine workings. By early the next day, three out of the four mines in the Treadwell complex on Douglas Island: Treadwell, 700, and Mexican mines were completed flooded, leaving only the Ready Bullion mine operating until it closed the end of 1922. Fortunately an alarm had been sounded and all underground workers were evacuated, save one missing person and a dozen horses and a mule. Although the missing miner was rumored to have skipped town in the confusion, the company paid death benefits to his family.

The big new mill for the Alaska Juneau mine began processing ore April 1. It became quickly apparent, however, that the new design was flawed, as the first months operations were crushing far less than the expected 8,000 tons a day for various reasons. The whole mine ran at a deficit for over a decade before increased tonnage processed became profitable, but by its peak in the 1930s, the mill was handling 12-13,000 tons a day profitably and was recognized as a world leader in low cost mining.

America’s entry into World War I produced local labor shortages as men signed up for service or headed south to work in high-paying war industries. High-quality spruce cut at the Douglas sawmill was shipped to France for airplane construction. The local office of the Marconi Wireless Company received orders in April to discontinue receiving local commercial business. The company’s stations were then taken over by the Navy as a war measure.

On January 17 the big salt water pumps were put in operation at the Douglas pumping station. The stationary engine ran beautifully and within two hours the salt water reservoir on the hill had been filled. This will give added fire protection to both Douglas and Treadwell.In Juneau the city purchased a new fire engine in January which was guaranteed to climb any hill while carrying 1500 feet of hose and 8 men. The cornerstone was laid for the new Juneau school building June 5 at Fifth and Franklin streets. Juneau’s Superintendent of Public Schools, Lester D. Henderson, was appointed the first Territorial Commissioner of Education May 5 by officials in Washington D.C. The Rt. Rev. Joseph Raphael Crimont, recently consecrated Bishop of Alaska for the Roman Catholic Church, celebrated the first Pontifical Mass in Juneau August 13 and the first ever held in Alaska. Juneau lost one of its oldest and most beloved residents with the death of China Joe May 18, early-day pioneer baker known for his generosity (and the only Chinese resident allowed to stay after the 1886 anti-Chinese riots and deportations – see 1886 entry). He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Juneau now has four movie theaters: Palace, Coliseum, Dream, and Orpheum.

With facilities provided by the Alaska Gastineau Mining Co. at Thane, brook trout eggs from Colorado were hatched and 150,000 fry planted in May in Salmon Creek Dam reservoir, Annex Creek Lake, and the Dewey Lakes system in Skagway. Subsequently, the newly-formed Southeast Fish & Game Club established a hatchery on Front Street to handle 200,000 trout eggs. In 1919 the Legislature created a Territorial Fisheries Commission to engage in hatchery work and the club, re-named the Alaska Fish & Game Club to extend its appeal and membership, voted to sell its equipment to the Territory. Although it was out of the hatchery business, the club continued into the 1930s, working with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Public Roads in stocking lakes and streams with trout. October 3 Ole Johansen caught a 260 lb. halibut 200 feet from the Douglas dock and sold it for seven cents/pound.

Headquarters for the Alaska Road Commission was transferred from Skagway to Juneau. Permission was received in August from the U. S. Department of War for the Territorial Road Commission to dredge a channel through the bar at the north end of Gastineau Channel to allow small fishing boats to come from Chatham Strait and Icy Strait without making the long run around Douglas Island. Juneau built a float for fishermen next to the Standard Oil plant on the Thane Road. Work began on the road from Mendenhall River bridge to Auke Bay.

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