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MINING

1880: Joe Juneau and Richard Harris are directed to Gold Creek by Tlingit Chief Kowee where they discover gold. The city of Juneau (then called Harrisburg) is founded.

1881: John Treadwell buys claim on Douglas Island from Pierre Erussard: He organizes the Alaska Mill & Mining Co. and finds investors in San Francisco.

1882: Treadwell complex begins with the Douglas 5-Stamp Mill.

1887: Treadwell's 240-Stamp mill is the world's largest under one roof.

1889: Alaska Treadwell Gold Mining Co. buys out all other investers in Treadwell, including John Treadwell.

1897: Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company incorporates.

1915: Treadwell Complex reaches peak capacity.

1917: Three of the four Treadwell mines cave in and are flooded.

1922: Treadwell Mine closes.

1938: Alaska Juneau miners unionize.

1944: Alaska Juneau Mine closes.

LOGGING

1804-1960's: Southeast logging carried on by individual handlogging operations.

By 1909: Nearly all commercial timber incorporated into Tongass National Forest.

1942: Alaska Spruce Log Program established to meet spruce demands for WWII fighter planes. Nine logging camps open in Edna Bay.

1951: Ketchikan Pulp Co. in Ketchikan receives a 50-year contract from the U.S. Forest Service.

1954: Ketchikan Pulp Co. pulp mill opens.

1959: Alaska Pulp Corp. opens pulp mill at Silver Bay near Sitka.

1960: Alaska Pulp Corp. given 50-year contract. Ketchikan Pulp Co. builds a floating logging camp in Thorne Bay, which became the largest logging camp in North America.

1990: Congress Passes Tongass Timber Reform Act.

1994: Alaska Pulp Corp. pulp mill in Silver Bay closes due to lack of available logs. Contract was then terminated due to illegal closure of the mill.

1997: Ketchikan Pulp Co. closes its pulp mill. Tongass Land Management Plan limits companies to a max of 267 million board feet per year.