Lemon Creek, Juneau facts for kids
Lemon Creek (called Eix̱'gulhéen by the Tlingit people) is a neighborhood in Juneau, Alaska, United States. It is about 5 kilometers (3 miles) northwest of downtown Juneau. This area gets its name from Lemon Creek, a stream that flows through it. The creek gets its water from nearby glaciers.
Lemon Creek is a busy place with many different uses. You will find homes and businesses here. An industrial area has stores like Costco and The Home Depot. The Alaskan Brewing Company is also located here. The main offices for the Juneau Police Department and Alaska Electric Light & Power are in Lemon Creek. The city's main landfill and a place for collecting hazardous waste are also in this neighborhood.
The name "Lemon" comes from a miner named John Lemon. He is said to have found gold in the creek around 1879.
History of Lemon Creek
The Lemon Creek area is a flat basin where the Gastineau Channel meets Lemon Creek. In 1879, a prospector named John Lemon found gold in the creek. He started a small gold mine there. Mr. Lemon called the creek Lemon Creek, and the name stuck! Later, in 1900, a company from New Jersey called the Lemon Creek Company bought most of the small mining claims. They even advertised for workers in newspapers. Gold mining continued in the area until about 1905.
Early Industries and Growth
Besides gold mining, other important jobs in Lemon Creek included logging, sawmills, and gravel mining. A sawmill was located where Costco is today until the 1940s. Logging continued in the area until the 1980s. Gravel mining started during World War II and is still happening today.
Some of the first people to settle in Lemon Creek were Louie Lund and Charlie Switzer. Louie Lund started living here in 1908. He even ran the first transport company in Alaska! Charlie Switzer owned a large dairy farm starting in 1922. Switzer Creek and Switzer Mobile Home Park are named after him. Dairy farming became less popular after the 1940s when air services made it easier to bring milk to Juneau. By 1965, Juneau's last dairy farms had closed.
In the 1950s, people began buying large pieces of land in Lemon Creek. The area stayed mostly rural until the 1960s. Most homes were built in the 1970s. However, a few older houses from the 1930s and 1940s can still be found along Glacier Highway and on Sunny Point.
Today, Lemon Creek is a mix of homes, businesses, and industrial areas. It is an important center for business and industry in Juneau. It also has many established neighborhoods like Pinewood, Gruening Park, and Eagles Edge.
Lemon Creek Population
Lemon Creek was listed as a small, unincorporated village in the 1970 U.S. Census. At that time, about 1,042 people lived there. In the same year, Lemon Creek became part of the city of Juneau.
