Claims were filed on the Garnet Ledge vicinity since the late 1800's.  Here is a basic time line of those claims and the names of the people who filed them.  If you have information on any of these people, please contact me.  

The Wrangell Garnet Ledge is located on the mainland, about 5 miles north of Wrangell Island in Southeast Alaska.  Access to the mainland is by boat and must be accomplished at high water because of the Stikine River delta.  The mine is located about 5-7 miles up from the water's edge.  The main mine property encompasses approximately 37 acres.

The women had to bring supplies and equipment in by barge or boat.  They then had to haul everything up to the mine along a trail or narrow road.  Eventually they constructed a small tram railway at the mine.  The garnets (loose and in matrix) had to be hauled down from the mine, loaded onto a boat or barge and transported to Wrangell where it was shipped out. 

This was not an easy process and no doubt one of the biggest reasons that the claims filed on this location were quickly abandoned. The logistics of getting equipment and supplies into the area and then shipping the product out was no small task.  At least with gold, you haul that out in a small container.  The interesting thing is that the women were successful where men had never been able to make a go of the mine!  They successfully operated the mine for a number of years plus leased the mine out to two British Columbia companies. 

 

First Recorded Claim in 1881

   Barney Johnson, Phillip Starr and R.D. Crittenden filed the first recorded claim (that can be found on record) on April 11, 1881.

Heath and Dempster 1893

    F.F. Heath and Louis R. Dempster mined garnets from the ledge at least during 1893. 

 

Shoemaker and Swift Claim  1889

    David L. Shoemaker and H.T. Swift filed the next claim in 1889.According to The Alaskan, the Sitka newspaper, the men called their claim the “Ruby Lode."

Alaska Garnet Mining Co. 1897
Frank A. Brooks and A.G. Bays filed their claim to the garnet ledge on May 8, 1897.  Their claims were “Brooks Quartz Claim No. 1” and “Brooks Quartz Claim No. 2/"

 

Thinklet Bonanza Mining Claim
 Clark’s claim, Thinklet Bonanza Mining Claim, was filed in 1899.  Next to his claim was Discovery Claim, about one-quarter mile from the Thinklet Packing Company, the first cannery in the Wrangell area.

Discovery Claim
T.D. Stewart and James Harding, who filed their claim the same day as Clark, owned the Discovery claim.  Nothing more is known of their claim, filed in 1899.

Ruby No. 1 and Ruby No. 2
Alex Vreatt and William Taylor formed a partnership to file claim in the garnet ledge area, staking out Ruby No. 1 and Ruby No. 2.

Alaska Ruby Mining and Development Co.a
The Alaska Ruby Mining and Development Co. was formed by a group of Chicago businessmen in 1905.  The company sold stock in the company to the public.  The Chicago businessmen involved in the company were listed as:  Harry Overman, president; P.A. Lewald, vice-president; Orval J. Stephenson, secretary; and Harry F. Parsons, treasurer.  No other members are known.

Foster Claim
Wilson Foster was a "mining and newspaper promoter: from Joplin, Missouri according to the Alaska Sentinel. His claim was filed adjoining the Ruby Mineral Claim, along Garnet Creek in May 1905. 

 

Barkdull Claim
Calvin H. Barkdull filed two claims next to the garnet ledge; one in 1905 and then a second one in 1909.  The first claim was called the “King Solomon Garnet Claim” and the subsequent claim was called “North Star” Garnet Claim.
 
Spaulding Claim
Frank Spaulding had filed claims in the area for the Gem 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 which he sold it to the women in 1913.   These claims surrounded the main claim that the women had purchased from Alex Vreatt and William Taylor.

 

 Alaska Garnet Mining and Manufacturing Co.
No doubt the most active and most profitable claim to the site (other than the current claim owned by the Boy Scouts) was the Alaska Garnet Mining and Manufacturing Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  They eventually filed for ownership of thirteen claims, eleven of those claims surrounding the Ruby No. 1 and Ruby No. 2.
    In 1921, the local newspaper reported that the Western Abrasive Paper Company, Lmt. Victoria, B.C
    In 1925, J.G. Shepard of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, surveyed the garnet ledge. According to his report, the garnet mine was .... was under the option to the Alaska Garnet Mining Co., Ldt., a British Corporation headed by Col. Harrison, of Victoria, B.C.

 

Heiner Claim
Larry and Lola Heiner filed claims in the area of the garnet ledge in 1954 and then again in 1959.

 

Fred Hanford Donates Wrangell Garnet Ledge
After over 80 years of mining activity at the ledge, Fred G. Hanford acquired the ledge in 1962, with the intention of donating the site to the local Boy Scouts for the purpose of scouting activities and for the use by the children of Wrangell.