Thane is a neighborhood in the City and Borough of Juneau in the U.S. state of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. Located along

Gastineau Channel Gastineau Channel ( Lingít: ''Séet Ká'') is a channel between the mainland of the U.S. state of Alaska and Douglas Island in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska. It separates Juneau on the mainland side from Douglas (now part ...

, it begins one mile (1.6 km) south of downtown Juneau and consists of approximately five dozen houses spread over five miles (8 km). All the houses are located on Thane Road, which comes to a dead end about six miles (10 km) from downtown; there are no side streets. It was named for

Bartlett L. Thane Bartlett Lee "Bart" Thane (August 26, 1877 – November 7, 1927) was an American mining engineer who pioneered hydroelectric power in Juneau, Alaska. The world's first thin arch dam, Salmon Creek Dam, was constructed by Thane. Early years Tha ...

, Manager and Director of the Alaska-Gastineau Mining Company. The only electric link to Snettisham hydroelectric dam - Juneau’s primary electric power plant - travels through Thane. Avalanches knock out this power line somewhat routinely, forcing the local power company,

Alaska Electric Light & Power Alaska Electric Light & Power, also known as AEL&P, is the power utility for Juneau, the capital city of Alaska. AEL&P gets their electricity primarily through the Snettisham hydroelectric power plant, located in an uninhabited region Southeast ...

, to keep a series of reserve

diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of an engine generator. A diesel compress ...

s on standby.

History

Thane was founded in 1881 as a result of mining operations in the vicinity. Since World War II the population has steadily declined with the curtailment of mining activities. It is now a residential area (DeArmond, 1957, p43-44).

Etymology

The community was named in 1914 for Bartlett L. Thane, 1878–1927, general manager of the Alaska Gastineau Mining Co. which had its mill here. Thane was born in California and went to Alaska in 1897. The name Sheep Creek, which was the original miners' name for the town, was published by

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ( USC&GS; known as the Survey of the Coast from 1807 to 1836, and as the United States Coast Survey from 1836 until 1878) was the first scientific agency of the Federal government of the United State ...

in the 1901 Coast Pilot, but was later changed to Thane by the

United States Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a Federal government of the United States, federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geogr ...

Demographics

Thane first appeared on the 1920 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It continued to appear until the 1960 census. It was annexed into Juneau soon after.

Geography

Thane lies on the eastern shore of

, southeast of

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

and northwest of Point Salisbury,

Coast Mountains The Coast Mountains () are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast, Coast of British Columbia sout ...

Government

assesses personal property and real estate taxes, and distributes a portion of collections to settlements within the Borough. Tax rates are generally low.

Media

Radio and television broadcast are available either via satellite or from local broadcasts in

Juneau, Alaska Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...

References

{{authority control Mining communities in Alaska Neighborhoods in Alaska Populated coastal places in Alaska on the Pacific Ocean Populated places in Juneau, Alaska