Pilz departed Germany in to dodge conscription for the Franco-Prussian War. Most noteworthy, he ventured over to the Michigan copper ranges, and by he arrived in California. A capable engineer, although many would argue a challenging man to work with.
Further, Pilz consequently moved from position to position. In , Pilz met with ex-colleagues with whom he spoke about the prospect for gold in Alaska. Raising adequate funds for the project, in February of he moved to Sitka. There he begin the construction of a mine and mill at Silver Bay. Alas, the gold determined in the area was not of commercial quantities.
Thus, the mine and mill were shut down. In the , Pilz proffered a reward to anyone who could lead him to gold-bearing ore. Chief Kowee, of the Auk Tlingit tribe, soon appeared with samples of ore from Cold Creek which today flows through the city of Juneau via the Gastineau Channel , and Kowee enticed and led seasoned prospectors Joseph Juneau and Richard T. The cultural heritage of all the Indian tribes of the Northwest Coastal areas is readily evident in Juneau and the surrounding area.
It was gold that spurred the birth of the town that was originally named Harrisburg, later renamed Juneau.
The town was founded in by gold seekers Joe Juneau and Richard Harris. During the prime 60 years of gold mining in the area Juneau was home to three of the world's largest gold mines: The Alaska Juneau, and the Alaska Gastineau mine, on the Juneau side of the Channel and the Treadwell mine on the Douglas island side.
The Treadwell mine was flooded in and finally closed in Joe Juneau continued his hunt for gold, heading for the Klondike in A month later, Christmas of , 30 miners populated the area. One of the first town meetings was held in February It was then decided that since there were so many cities in America called Harrisburgh, the town name would be changed to honor the Navy commander.
However, by the end of , Joe Juneau was complaining that nothing in the district had been named for him. During that first year, the area grew. A number of general stores sprang up, China Joe started a bakery, a blacksmith shop and a drug store went into operation, plus several saloon doors swung open. Indians from surrounding tribes were attracted to the mining district, too. By May alone, an estimated Indians and whites populated the town. Juneau grew steadily as the years went by.
When many of the gold streams played out for the individual prospectors after a few seasons, mining and milling companies took over.
Not long after the Juneau discovery, gold was found across the channel on Douglas Island in December 17, From that discovery, and others, grew the famous Treadwell mines of the future.
They found plenty of color in Gold Creek, but did not follow the gold to its source. On October 18, they staked a acre town site on the beach where, the following month, they were joined by the first boatloads of prospectors bound for the new strike on Gastineau Channel. The stampede was on. The discovery was the first that resulted in the founding of an Alaskan town.
Juneau grew from a boomtown to a center for large-scale hard-rock mining when the loose gold in the stream beds ran out. On the mainland side of the Channel, two great mills were created: the Alaska-Juneau at the south end of Juneau and the Alaska-Gastineau at Thane, farther south. Treadwell production peaked in Two years later, a cave-in flooded three of the four mines, effectively ending the Treadwell era. In Juneau, the Alaska-Gastineau folded from high costs in A-J was halted by the war in
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