Douglas, Alaska
Unincorporated community · Not an incorporated municipality
About Douglas
Douglas (Tlingit: Sayéik) is a community on Douglas Island in southeastern Alaska, directly across the Gastineau Channel from downtown Juneau.
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How Douglas is governed
Douglas appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from the county. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Douglas does have local officials.
Form of government not yet listed.
0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.
Residents of Douglas
Registered voters elect the officials below.
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Mayor
Executive
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The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.
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City Manager / Administrator
Executive
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The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).
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Police Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the police department.
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Fire Chief
Administration & departments
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Leads the fire and emergency services department.
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Public Works Director
Administration & departments
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Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.
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Finance Director
Administration & departments
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The budget, taxes, and city accounts.
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Planning & Zoning Director
Administration & departments
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Land use, zoning, building permits.
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Parks & Recreation Director
Administration & departments
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Parks, programs, and public facilities.
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City Council
Legislative
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The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.
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City Clerk
Administration & departments
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Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.
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City Attorney
Administration & departments
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The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.
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Boards & Commissions
Legislative
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Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.
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Municipal Court
Judicial
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Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.
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Municipal Judge
Judicial
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Presides over the municipal court.
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History
Douglas Island was originally a border of the Auke people’s and Taku people’s territory. It was not usually used for year-round settlement, but rather as a place to spend the summer, or at times a place for battles.
Some historical reports indicate an early settler to the area may be credited for the naming of Douglas Island.
In 1880 gold was discovered in Juneau, Alaska, across the narrow Gastineau Channel, drawing in all kinds of people looking to strike it rich. In 1881 two towns sprouted up on Douglas Island: Treadwell and Douglas. Treadwell was the community for the miners, with its own entertainment, pool, and bar. Douglas, too, had businesses popping up and soon had its own school and post office. A railroad and boardwalk connected the two towns. At this time the Treadwell power plant was large enough to power the entire Treadwell area, Douglas, and Juneau. The power plant continued to serve the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mine until the mine was shut down in 1944 by the War Department as non-essential to the war effort.
1887, Douglas Island Friends Mission School established to forcefully assimilate Indigenous Alaska Native peoples into Western European culture.
1902, Douglas Island Friends Mission School Closed. This site later became a dairy farm
In 1902, the city of Douglas was incorporated. The town sustained significant damage on March 9, 1911, when a fire started in the Douglas Grill. It took the Douglas, Treadwell, and Juneau fire departments working together to stop the entire town from being destroyed.
The towns of Douglas and Treadwell underwent changes after the 1917 cave-in of the Treadwell mine. While one section still operated until 1926, Treadwell shrank and Douglas became the town of Douglas Island.
Douglas continued to have its own dairy (Douglas Dairy, owned by Joe Kendler) until 1923 when it moved across the channel. At this time, there was a regular ferry between the towns of Juneau and Douglas.
On October 10, 1927, another great fire ripped through Downtown Douglas once again, demolishing part of the abandoned Treadwell Mine, the Downtown commercial district and the Native Village.
In 1935, the Douglas Bridge was opened and made transportation between the island and Juneau simpler.
On February 23, 1937, the city of Douglas again experienced a devastating fire, with 600 of the 700 residents losing their homes. However, Douglas rebuilt and restarted.
On March 8, 1955, the city voted to combine schools with the city of Juneau, resulting in the construction of Juneau-Douglas High School, which continues to serve the area's students.
May 1962, Douglas City Council burned the Tlingit Indian Village of Douglas, Anax̱ Ya Andagan Yé (Where Sunlight Touches First).
In a controversial moment in 1970, voters in the cities of Douglas and Juneau, and of the surrounding Greater Juneau Borough, elected to unify their respective governments, forming the present-day City and Borough of Juneau.
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