Digital Bob Archive

Jorgenson's Sawmill, went into operation on the southern edge of town in the summer of 1902, supplying lumber for the construction of homes, business buildings, mining camps and canneries and planking for Juneau's streets.
Another, unexpected local market for lumber also developed about the time the mill started up, and continued to grow. This was the halibut fishery. Some of the catch was salted or smoked locally, but most of it was shipped to Seattle, packed in Taku Glacier ice in big wooden boxes. Each box required about 60 board feet of lumber and before many years the annual shipments from Juneau totalled 2000 boxes or more.

By 1911 James Jorgenson had been in business in Juneau for more than 25 years and he was ready to retire. He sold both his store and his sawmill to Henry Shattuck, the Clerk of the U.S. District Court, and Shattuck's sidekick, C.M. \"Big Clem\" Summers, president of the First National Bank. Shattuck resigned the court job to run the business, which was renamed the Alaska Supply Company, and Jorgenson stayed on for a year or so to teach Shattuck something about the sawmilling. And, while that was going on, Shattuck had to look for a new partner after Summers went to prison for embezzlement. Lawyer Louis P. \"Boss\" Shackleford took over the Summers interest in the company.

The Alaska Supply Company added gasoline, coal, dynamite, cement and other items to its inventory. Gasoline was among the items that could not then be sold inside the city limits. The sawmill was outside the city, so Shattuck built a wharf and warehouse alongside the mill for handling gasoline, coal, cement and other heavy materials. It was Juneau's first oil dock.

By 1912 it became apparent that Juneau would soon be experiencing an expansion and perhaps a boom. Both the Alaska-Juneau and the Perseverance mine people were proposing to build big reduction mills on the edge of Gastineau Channel. That would call for more housing and increase the demand for lumber.

Shattuck began planning to enlarge the sawmill to take care of the expected demand and this required a larger site. The ownership status of the old Willis Thorp slaughter house site just south of the sawmill, was in some controversy and after a lawsuit and some dickering, Shattuck acquired it for $15,000.

More power would also be required and after some scouting around he located a big Corliss steam engine at the Comet Mine, north of Berners Bay. It had not been used in more than ten years but was in good condition and could be moved over the old railroad tracks to the beach at Comet. Unfortunately, the engine fell through the wharf at Comet and went into the bay where it may still be today. Shattuck abandoned it and went to Seattle where he bought a new steam engine and new sawmill machinery that would make the Juneau sawmill the most modern in Alaska, with a daily capacity of 50,000 board feet. When the machinery came north it was accompanied by Harvey S. Worthen who would install it and become manager of the enlarged mill.