Dreams of Gold and Ice : Local Miners Head North to Alaska

Why settle for lead and zinc when you could be hunting for gold nuggets? That's what some Cuba City-area men thought, anyway. By the late 1800s, although a zinc mining boom was underway in southwestern Wisconsin, several locals had their sights set on a different color metal three thousand miles away in Alaska and Canada's Yukon Territory. 

Prospective miners climbing up the Chilkoot Pass in 1898. Image available on Wikimedia Commons.

The "stampede" to the Klondike region in search of gold officially began in 1897 when a steamship loaded with newly mined riches docked in San Francisco. Word was published in American newspapers and it took no time at all for folks to start packing their bags, whether they had mining experience or not. One need only look to population statistics to see the impact of the news: the number of White settlers in Alaska grew from 4,298 in 1890 to 30,293 in 1900. [1]

Winn family

While the Alaska gold rush garners most of the attention, many prospectors were drawn north long before 1897. That included men like James and William Winn, whose Cornish parents settled first in Elk Grove Township, northeast of Cuba City, and later put down roots in Wiota. While the Winn family only resided in this area briefly, they stayed connected through relatives and likely inspired more than one local man to try his luck in the Klondike.

At around 30 years of age, James, or "Slim Jim" Winn, as he would later be known, was the first of the Winn brothers to set out for British Columbia and Alaska with a pack horse and canoe in 1872. Legend credits him with being the first White man to explore many parts of the region, and the first to cross the Chilkoot Pass, a trading route of the Tlingit indigenous people that also provided access to the mining fields. [2] The Seattle Post-Intelligencer would call Winn "one of Alaska's veteran miners," "a typical frontiersman and prospector," and say that "his reputation as a reliable miner has long been recognized by the gold hunters of the North." [3]

James "Slim Jim" Winn's portrait from the Pioneers of Alaska Juneau website. Courtesy of Dorene Lorenz.

Unlike his bachelor brother, William Winn made the move to Alaska later, in 1889, and eventually settled there with his second wife and four children. One of those children, Grover Winn, would end up in the Alaska House of Representatives, and even serve as Speaker of the House from 1931-1933. [4]

Portrait of William Winn. Courtesy of Lorelei Hermann.

Alongside chances for striking gold were other opportunities for getting rich in the North, like providing supplies and knowledge to newcomers. James and William Winn's early arrival in Juneau, when compared with other White prospectors, gave them a leg up. In addition to their mining prospects, the brothers were successful businessmen, namely in the saloon and entertainment industries. The Winns were proprietors of The Opera House, which one advertisement referred to as "refreshment and reading rooms," and they later operated the Louvre Theatre. [5]

Published in the Alaska Searchlight in December 1894.

Published in the Douglas Island News on January 4, 1899.

The Louvre Theatre can be seen at the center of this 1914 postcard photograph of Juneau, Alaska, found on eBay.

The Winn brothers returned to visit family and friends in southwestern Wisconsin numerous times, and their appearances never failed to dazzle the locals. On September 20, 1897, the Galena Gazette reported that William was returning from the Klondike with $5,000 worth of gold in his possession. When James visited in 1900, he was hailed as "one of Juneau's most prominent and wealthy citizens." [6]

Unlike many prospectors who eventually returned to their family and friends in the lower forty-eight, James and William Winn made Alaska their home. James would marry and, in 1898, yet another Winn brother--Isaac or "Ike," as he was better known--arrived in Juneau. All three brothers died in Alaska, with Ike passing away in 1906, William in 1914, and James in 1916. [7]

James Winn's obituary published in the Juneau Empire on August 5, 1916.

John McFarlane

Not surprisingly, the Winn family's Alaskan enterprises inspired others to try their luck in the gold fields. Family members, like their sister Eliza's husband, John McFarlane, were particularly susceptible.

John McFarlane was born in Elk Grove and grew up on a farm just northeast of Jenkynsville. [8] After marrying, he and Eliza tried their hand at farming in Iowa with their growing family, but later returned to Wisconsin. Perhaps it was then that the stories of the Winns' successes in the Klondike became too much for John to resist. 

In 1896, a year before the official gold stampede to Alaska, 42-year-old John McFarlane headed north. According to a local newspaper, he found himself "a fine mine" and must have done well enough to warrant returning to the gold fields after multiple visits to Wisconsin in the years that followed. Unlike his brothers-in-law, however, McFarlane would never make Alaska his home. By 1900, he shook the gold dust from his boots and returned to Cuba City, where he had recently moved his family. [9] 

Even before moving back permanently, McFarlane had taken advantage of the mining opportunities in southwestern Wisconsin and was involved with The Last Chance mine near Hazel Green, and the Wicklow mine, located near the St. Rose Catholic Cemetery. [10] Ironically, though he survived mining in the wilds of Alaska, the occupation proved dangerous to him in Wisconsin. In 1902, McFarlane broke both legs in a fall down a 45-foot mine shaft located across from the St. Rose Cemetery. Five years later, he fell down the same shaft, though "only" twenty feet this time, breaking his left arm and banging up his face. [11]

McFarlane and his family spent much of their lives apart. His wife and children moved to Rockford, Illinois, while John continued his mining enterprises in Cuba City and later turned to farming near Marshfield, Wisconsin, spending just the winter months of the year with his family. In his later years, McFarlane gave up farming and accepted a less nomadic lifestyle in Rockford. It was there that he was killed in an automobile accident at 84. As the articles below illustrate, his time in Alaska remained a large part of his identity, and those who knew him recalled that "he often spoke of his experiences in Alaska during the Gold Rush of the 1890's." [12]

Published in the Rockford Register Republic on October 11, 1937.

 

Published in the Rockford Morning Star on October 10, 1937.

Victor C. Jenkyn

Like John McFarlane, Victor C. Jenkyn headed to Alaska in 1896. Jenkyn was also supposedly related to the Winn family. He is referred to as the nephew of James Winn in newspaper articles, though I have yet to confirm that connection. [13]

Victor was born in Jenkynsville in 1876, the son of John Jenkyn, future Cuba City lumberyard owner. As a young man, Victor mined and operated a milk wagon for a local creamery. He set out for Alaska in February 1896 at around 20 years of age--much younger than our other gold prospectors. [14]

Less than a month after his arrival in Juneau, Jenkyn gave the Cuba City News a positive impression of his new home. He found love in Alaska and was married within two years of his arrival, and, in addition to mining, he clerked in a restaurant and managed a Juneau theater. Given his connections to the Winn family, perhaps it was the Louvre Theatre owned by James and William Winn. [15]

Victor's good opinion of Alaska did not last long, however. As more and more prospective miners flooded the gold fields, Jenkyn's impressions of the place deteriorated. In a letter to the Cuba City News, he reported that "7,000 people passed through there this year en route to the gold field, and every ship comes loaded with others. It is the opinion of the people at Juneau that they will be eating each other up on the Klondike before next spring." [16]

"Prospectors on the Summit of the Chilkoot Pass during the Klondike Gold Rush," New York Public Library Digital Collections.

Jenkyn's warning to prospective gold miners was heard well beyond Cuba City when one of his letters was published in Chicago's German and Polish newspapers. His words offer invaluable insights into his experience in Alaska. Jenkyn acknowledged that, while there was gold to be found, "it requires hard work and bloody sweat" to access it. Further, all successful claims were already in the hands of others and would cost thousands of dollars to purchase. The newspapers reported (and greatly embellished) when someone struck it rich but ignored the majority of miners who were financially ruined and often lacked the means to return to their homes.

Alaska wreaked havoc on miners' health as well as their finances. Jenkyn wrote that the harsh climate and the toil of carrying heavy equipment over the mountains undermined even the strongest constitutions. "It is no fun to put a bundle on your back and, knee-deep in mud, follow a trail while the sun burns your face and the mosquitoes grant the travelers no rest, day and night." He had seen people grow old within a year of their arrival, and Jenkyn himself lost 44 pounds in 35 days. In short, Victor warned that "all that glitters is not gold," and implored any thinking of traveling to the Yukon to stay home. [17]

Despite his deteriorating impressions of the Klondike, folks in Cuba City eagerly followed Jenkyn's adventures. When he sent a photograph home to his parents, friends called at the house to see it. In 1898, Jenkyn and his wife visited Wisconsin with "some of the very finest gold quartz and other specimens." In 1900, he returned with "Slim Jim" Winn and local newspapers stated that the two "struck it rich" and "they have the appearance of prosperity." That appearance could have had something to do with the fact that Jenkyn purchased a gold watch for $51 from Cuba City jeweler H.D. Harker and "brought back one of the largest chunks of gold ever seen" in Cuba City. [18]

Victor did not stay in Alaska permanently. He took up several residences throughout the Northwest, though he did return to Alaska on occasion, and even opened a cafe in Juneau in 1914. Jenkyn remarried and had three children, and in his later years, he went into the lumber business like his father, while also dabbling in farming. Victor C. Jenkyn died near Portland, Oregon, in 1932 at the age of 56. [19]

Nicholas Wagner

The last of our gold miners to leave for the Klondike was Nicholas Wagner. Wagner was born to German parents who were farming in Galena by the time of his birth during the Civil War. Nick's brother, John, had headed to Alaska by 1897, the year of the gold stampede, and rumors back home were swirling about his successes. [20]

Nick resisted for a few years. In his thirties, he settled in Cuba City and operated a livery business. But, when a letter arrived in early 1900, informing him that John had "struck it big in Juneau" and he was to join "if he wants the gold," Nick's fate was sealed. [21]

The Winn brothers would have been envious at how quickly one could now get to Alaska. Nick Wagner left Wisconsin in the middle of May and arrived that same month, just in time to appear in the Juneau census, which was taken June 1 and 2. Nick's home address was listed as Cuba City. [22]

Entry for Nicholas Wagner from the 1900 Federal Census for Juneau, Alaska.

By all accounts, Wagner did well for himself in Alaska. In 1904, the Galena Gazette reported that his "considerable mining property...is yielding him a nice revenue and is worth a considerable fortune." [23] One of the Wagner brothers' mining ventures can still be visited today. The Wagner Mine is part of a tourist attraction in Juneau where visitors can pan for gold and enjoy a salmon bake.

When Wagner wasn't back visiting in the Tri-State Area, he kept in close contact with folks back home, sending Alaskan newspapers and letters like the one below that describe in great detail his visit to a nearby glacier. Nicholas had a more favorable impression of his new home than Victor Jenkyn, and he found that "a person does not catch a cold so easily there as he does here and enjoys better health on the average." [24]

Published in the Galena Gazette on March 3, 1902.

In addition to his mining pursuits, Wagner purchased the Chicken Ridge Dairy in Juneau around 1903. He advertised in the Cuba City Herald, looking for two men to milk and tend to thirty cows, and one man to deliver milk about town. He was offering $88 without board, which was considered hefty wages back in southwestern Wisconsin. Wagner operated the Juneau dairy until 1911 when his new wife was badly burned and needed to seek medical treatment elsewhere. [25]

Nicholas did not return to Alaska, but rather ended up near San Jose, California, where he owned a large prune orchard. In 1918, he landed farther south in Long Beach, where he spent his last several decades until dying in 1943. [26]

I was inspired to research this topic after reading The Call of the Wild, never dreaming that there would be enough material to explore a local connection to the Klondike gold rush. The Winn brothers, John McFarlane, Victor C. Jenkyn, and Nicholas Wagner, were undoubtedly not the only Cuba City-area residents who tried their luck in the gold fields, but they were the most followed by local newspapers. And if you were to expand your search to nearby towns, you would likely find that all were connected in some way to the enticing dreams of striking it rich in the gold mines of the North.

 

Notes

[1] "The Stampede North: The Alaska Gold Rushes, 1897-1904," National Park Service, 2016, accessed April 20, 2025, https://www.nps.gov/articles/alaska-goldrush-national-historic-landmarks.htm; Gold in Alaska: a Century of Mining History in Alaska's National Parks (Anchorage: National Park Service, Alaska Support Office, 1997). Available online https://npshistory.com/publications/alaska/gold-in-alaska.pdf

[2] "Winn, Slim Jim," Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau, accessed March 3, 2025, https://poajuneau.nationbuilder.com/winn_james; "The Northland," Douglas Island News (Douglas, AK), December 3, 1913, 1; Bloomington Record (Bloomington, WI), August 24, 1916.

[3] "James Winn from Juneau," Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, WA), August 25, 1900, 5. 

[4] "Winn, William M.," Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau, accessed March 3, 2025, https://poajuneau.nationbuilder.com/winn_william_m; "Winn, Grover C.," Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau, accessed March 3, 2025, https://poajuneau.nationbuilder.com/winn_grover_c 

[5] "James Winn from Juneau." 

[6] "Southwestern Wisconsin," Galena Gazette (Galena, IL), September 20, 1897, 2; Grant County Witness (Platteville, WI), September 5, 1900, 8.

[7]  "Col. William Winn Dies," Post-Intelligencer, April 11, 1914, 8.

[8] McFarlane's younger brothers, George and Charles owned the McFarlane Bros. general store, first in Elmo and later moved to Cuba City in 1887. The business, which would eventually shift to a drug store, is still standing and is now home to Hindu's Corner Bar.

[9] "Meeker's Grove," Galena Gazette, February 21, 1896, 4; "Cuba," Galena Gazette, May 10, 1899, 4.

[10] Benton Mining Times (Benton, WI), May 5, 1899; Dubuque Herald (Dubuque, IA), September 10, 1899. 

[11] "Mining Notes," Platteville Journal (Platteville, WI), April 30, 1902; Platteville Witness (Platteville, WI), February 8, 1922.

[12] "Early Fremont Township Settlers, Clark Co., Wisconsin," Clark County History Buffs, accessed April 20, 2025, https://usgennet.org/usa/wi/county/clark/fremont/history/EarlySettlers.htm

[13] Grant County Witness, September 5, 1900, 8.

[14] "Elmo," Galena Gazette, March 15, 1893, 2; "Cuba," Mining Times (Benton, WI), July 18, 1895, 5; "Cuba," Galena Gazette, February 20, 1896, 2.

[15] "Cuba," Galena Gazette, March 19, 1896, 4; "Southwestern Wisconsin," Galena Gazette, September 9, 1897, 3; "Cuba City," Platteville Journal, October 5, 1900; "Locals," Mining Times, July 8, 1898, 1.

[16] "Southwestern Wisconsin," Galena Gazette, September 9, 1897, 3. 

[17] Abendblatt (Chicago, IL), March 28, 1898. 

[18] "Southwestern Wisconsin," Galena Gazette, September 9, 1897, 3; "Cuba," Galena Gazette, June 8, 1898, 4; "Vicinity News Gleanings," Galena Gazette, August 28, 1900, 3; "Cuba," Galena Gazette, August 29, 1900, 4; "Cuba," Galena Gazette, October 3, 1900, 2.

 [19] "Langdon and Jenkins Open Heidelburg Cafe," Juneau Empire (Juneau, AK), December 21, 1914; "Yacolt," Columbian (Vancouver, WA), February 14, 1921; "Slides Explain Lumber Grading," Coos Bay Times (Coos Bay, OR), May 29, 1924, 8; "Wanted to Rent--Farms," Sunday Oregonian (Portland, OR), September 24, 1924, 29.

[20] "Short City News Items," Galena Gazette, August 20, 1897, 3. 

[21] Galena Gazette, September 30, 1897; "Cuba," Galena Gazette, February 1, 1900, 2; "Cuba," Galena Gazette, February 1, 1900, 4. 

[22] "Neighborhood News," Grant County Witness, May 23, 1900, 8.

[23] "Day's Events at Galena," Galena Gazette, June 9, 1904, 4.

[24] "Day's Events at Galena."

[25] Juneau Dairy Farming Historic Resources Survey (Juneau: City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska Community Development Department, September 1991), 12. Available online https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/23721402/juneau-dairy-farming-historic-resources-survey-september-1991; Darlington Democrat, September 19, 1907.

[26] "Obituaries," Long Beach Sun (Long Beach, CA), July 22, 1943, 2.