Just across the Gastineau Channel from downtown Juneau, on Douglas Island, lies one of the area’s most historic gems, the Treadwell Mine. The mine was first founded in 1882 by John Treadwell in hopes of striking it rich searching for gold. Between 1882 and 1922, miners extracted over $3.3 million ounces of gold, generating more than $67 million, the equivalent of nearly $4 billion today. However, disaster struck on April 21, 1917, when three of the mine’s shafts were flooded during a high tide and triggered massive cave-ins. While some parts of the operation continued briefly, the mine was fully shut down by 1922. Over a hundred years after its closure, parts of the Treadwell Mine still remain. Today, visitors can explore the Treadwell Mine Historic Trail through a scenic and educational walk that winds through the ruins, old foundations, and rusted machinery that once powered a thriving mining town.