Douglas Island

By 1902, the Douglas Island community had grown to a population of over 2800 residents, as businesses, schools, and homes began to develop alongside the expansion of the nearby gold mine.

After the Gastineau Channel flooded the Treadwell mining tunnels in 1917, many residents were forced to move after the town's dramatic economic downturn, causing the Douglas population to decrease steadily until the late 1930s.

In order to obtain control of the project, Douglas city officials invoked eminent domain on the village site while tribal members were fishing at their camps along the Taku River.

The tribal members were not compensated for the property and belongings that were lost in the burning of their village and were forced to relocate once they returned to the island.

[2] The Juneau-Douglas Bridge was later rebuilt in 1980 to provide a two lane road to and from the island and to accommodate both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Douglas Harbor in Douglas, Alaska . Mayflower Island, in the midground at right, houses a U.S. Coast Guard station. Mount Juneau is in the background.
Photo of Douglas Island by Frank La Roche ca. 1897
Resting place of several members of the Taku 's Raven Clan.
Mining operations at Treadwell Gold Mine on Douglas Island, circa 1900
Douglas Bridge , the bridge crossing Gastineau Channel , connecting downtown Juneau with Douglas Island. The original bridge was built in 1935. The replacement (current) bridge, shown here, was completed in 1980.