Digital Bob Archive

The discovery of gold at Atlin was the event that finally brought the Taku Trail into prominence. The trail was an ancient trade route of the Indians, but from 1891 when Frederick Schwatka explored the route until the summer of 1896 only one report of its use has been found. That was in the winter of 1895-96 when the Alaska Commercial Company hired a Juneau Native, Jimmy Jackson, to carry letters and papers to its post at Forty Mile.

Several versions of the Atlin discovery have been published but a Juneau newspaper, the Alaska Daily Dispatch, in a story on August 5, 1899, gave the credit to a Juneau man, George Miller. He was born in Hanover in Germany, about 1863, learned the cooking trade and arrived in Juneau in 1887. He worked at his trade for a time, then opened the People's Market, first on Second Street, then on Third Street where he put up a building. With Lockie MacKinnon he built the Circle City Hotel which opened on February 22, 1896.

In 1891 George Miller was joined by his brother, Frederick, known as Fritz, who was some 10 years his junior. Fritz attended school in Juneau for a couple of years, then went north to the Fortymile country and later to Circle City to prospect.

Early in June, 1896, George Miller also decided to try prospecting. He sold his butcher business to the Alaska Meat Company and joined a party that was going \"inside\" via the Taku Trail. On July 4 they were camped at the shore of Atlin Lake at the mouth of what they called Fourth of July Creek but which later became known as Pine Creek.

While others were preparing dinner, George took a pan and prospected up the creek. He found some good colors but kept still about them until he could inform Fritz. The party prospected many of the stream's tributaries to the Yukon and didn't reach the mouth of the Klondike River until September. By then the news of Carmack's big discovery had spread and a stampede was under way. Fritz Miller was among those who came up from Circle and George revealed his Atlin find.

George Miller returned to Juneau and the following year he and Lockie MacKinnon took a herd of cattle to Dawson. Fritz stayed in the Dawson area until January, 1898, when he went to Atlin Lake and confirmed his brother's find. He then came out to Juneau and organized a party which included Lockie MacKinnon, James McCloskey and a number of others. They went in via Dyea, which they left on July 22,1898. They arrived on Pine Creek eight days later, staked their claims and began mining. It was reported that they took out $20 to $30 a day per man (wages were then $4-5 a day) with the yield improving as they dug deeper.

George Miller did not do much mining himself, probably because of poor health.
He ran the Circle City Hotel at such times as Lockie MacKinnon was away, and looked after his other property interests. He became a director of the First National Bank and was four times elected to the City Council, the last time in 1917. His health forced his resignation and he died in a Seattle hospital on June 16, 1918, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery here.