Richard Harris (prospector)
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
and prospector
Prospecting
Prospecting is the physical search for minerals, fossils, precious metals or mineral specimens, and is also known as fossicking.Prospecting is a small-scale form of mineral exploration which is an organised, large scale effort undertaken by mineral resource companies to find commercially viable ore...
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Richard Harris was born in Dummadonald, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. However, attended Girard College
Girard College
Girard College is an independent boarding school on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Girard is for academically capable students, grades one through 12, and awards a full scholarship with a yearly value of approximately $42,000 to every child admitted to the...
, a private boarding school in Philadelphia, PA (USA).
He is most famous for co-founding, with Joe Juneau
Joe Juneau (prospector)
Joseph Juneau was a miner and prospector from Canada who was born in the Quebec town of Saint-Paul-l'Ermite to François Xavier Juneau dit Latulippe and Marguerite Thiffault Juneau. He is best known for co-founding, with Richard Harris, the city of Juneau, Alaska, United States...
, the city of Juneau, Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
. The first major gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
discovery in Juneau or Douglas Island
Douglas Island
Douglas Island is a tidal island in the U.S. state of Alaska, just west of downtown Juneau and east of Admiralty Island. It is separated from mainland Juneau by the Gastineau Channel. The Juneau-Douglas Bridge, connecting the island with Juneau, provides a two lane road to and from the island and...
(across from Juneau) was circa 1880. It has been the political capital of Alaska since 1906.
His Native American guide in southeastern Alaska was Chief Kowee. Kowee is credited with discovering much of the Juneau area. Richard and Joe were sent with Kowee by George Pilz, an entrepreneur from Sitka. Richard and Joe traded with the natives much of their grubstake
Grubstake
Grubstake, known also as Apache Gold, is an american western movie directed by Larry Buchanan.-Cast:*Stephen Wyman*Jack Klugman*Neile Adams*Lynn Shubert*Kort Falkenberg...
for hoochinoo. When they returned to Pilz empty-handed, he promptly sent them back to the Juneau area. There, Kowee took them beyond Gold Creek (which today flows beside the city's United States Federal Building[1]) to Silver Bow Basin
Silver Bow Basin
The Silver Bow Basin is a valley located northeast of Juneau, Alaska, USA. It is situated on Gold Creek in an area north of Icy Gulch, and approximately north of Gastineau Peak. A trail from Juneau leads directly to the mountainside...
. Today, a creek on Douglas Island is named Kowee Creek
Kowee Creek
Kowee Creek is a river on Douglas Island in the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, United States. Its origin is southeast of Mount Troy and it flows north-northeast to Gastineau Channel near West Juneau; it is southwest of the city of Juneau. Kowee Creek is nearly long...
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After the discovery of gold in Juneau, Richard and Joe loaded approximately 1,000 pounds of gold ore back to Sitka.
It is interesting to note that the town did not take up its current name right away; originally it was known as Harrisburg, Pilzburg, and Rockwell. Apparently, Joseph Juneau was able to bribe (buy votes from) enough of his fellow miners for it to be changed. Even though the city doesn't carry Harris' name anymore, Harris Street remains in Juneau. Richard lived the rest of his life in Juneau, his children and descendants stayed in Juneau for many years. Both Richard Harris and Joseph Juneau are buried in the city's Evergreen Cemetery
Evergreen Cemetery (Juneau, Alaska)
Evergreen Cemetery is a cemetery in Juneau, the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was established in 1887 to replace the older cemetery on Chicken Ridge, near Main Street, when that location was staked as a gold mine. Most of the graves in this older cemetery were moved to the new cemetery...
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