Richard Harris (prospector) Richard Harris (prospector) Richard Tighe Harris (October 31, 1833 – October 11, 1907) was a Canadian miner and prospector. Richard Harris was born in Drumadonald, County Down, Ireland. He then attended Girard College, a private boarding school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is most famous for co-founding, with Joe Juneau, the city of Juneau, Alaska. The first major gold discovery in Juneau or Douglas Island (across from Juneau) was around 1880. It has been the political capital of Alaska since 1906. His Native American guide in southeastern Alaska was Chief Kowee. Kowee is credited with discovering much of the Juneau area.
Juneau, Alaska stimulates summer employment in the city. In 2010, the city was recognized as part of the "Playful City USA" initiative by KaBOOM!, created to honor cities that ensure their children have great places to play. Juneau is larger in area than the state of Delaware and was, for many years, the country's largest city by area. Juneau continues to be the only U.S. state capital on an international border: it is bordered on the east by Canada. It is the U.S. state capital whose namesake was most recently alive: Joe Juneau died in 1899, a year after Otto von Bismarck,