Founded in 1870 by a mining engineer from Sitka. He offered a reward to anyone who could lead him to gold-bearing ore. Chief Kowee of the Auk Tlingit clan, arrived with samples taken from Gastineau Channel. Prospectors, Richard T. Harris and Joseph Juneau, were enticed to investigate the find. The pair reached Gastineau Channel in 1880. They did not find any in the immediate area but explored further and found a substantial lode in Silver Bow Basin. On October 18, the pair staked a 160-acre town site on the beach. Juneau was born.
Juneau
