Following the discovery of gold by Joe Juneau and Richard Harris in 1880, the Juneau area was flooded with hard-working prospectors and miners. Working in Juneau's mining camps was strenuous. There was little relief from the noise of the mines, except for two days a year...the 4th of July and Christmas. Detailed accounts of the pride and enthusiasm displayed on Independence Day can be found in newspaper reports dating as far back as 1898 - 61 years before Alaska became the 49th state.

On July 4th, mining operations ground to a halt and the constant roar of the stamp mills ceased, filling the town with a rare kind of quiet. A new kind of noise would fill the streets as parades wound over the planked streets and past wooden storefronts decorated with American flags. Energized and enthusiastic residents competed in canoe races, ran three-legged dashes, participated in pie eating and marksmanship contests, and listened to the fire department band perform.

The influx of gold prospectors and the flourishing mines in the early years formed the first wave of Fourth of July enthusiasts in Juneau. Merchants, fishermen, and government workers followed the prospectors, and throughout all of the booms, the traditions of Independence Day celebration carry on today.