The town of Juneau is the namesake of Joseph Juneau, a prospector who was one of the men to discover gold in the Gastineau Channel area. Mining made the town flourish and Juneau became a major trading and transportation town.

In 1906, after a decline in whaling and trading, the legislature of Alaska was moved from the territorial capital of Sitka, northeastward to Juneau and maintained the status of Alaska's capital. In 1959, when Alaska became the 49th state of the U.S., Juneau became the state capital. Currently, every other person who lives in Juneau is employed by the government at some level.