The existence of gold on the Yukon River has been known since 1869 and the first gold prospectors entered the Yukon in 1878, according to Dawson, and in 1873 as reported by Goodrich. Sand-bar placer mining was carried out on the Big Salmon in 1881 and discoveries of gold-bearing bars on the Lewes, Pelly and Stewart Rivers soon followed. The Stewart River proved the most productive and in 1885 and 1886 was actively worked. The first discovery of coarse gold was made in 1886 on the Forty Mile River, however, the greatest part of the gold field was located in the Alaska Territory. Further discoveries extended the producing area to the drainage streams flowing into the Sixtymile River in the Yukon Territory. The Sixtymile River drainage system was the chief producer of placer gold until the discovery of the rich creeks in the Klondike district in 1896.
In 1892 the Forty Mile gold field was extended to tributaries of the Sixtymile River and Mr. C. Miller received credit for the discovery. Miller Creek flows into the Sixtymile River a few miles south of the old Glacier Creek Post Office Site.
The first organized mining on Miller Creek was conducted during the summer of 1892. About 353 ounces of placer gold were recovered after the discovery claim was first recorded on Miller Creek. During the summer of 1892, gold discoveries were made on Glacier and Big Gold Creeks. The three creeks accounted for the main gold production in the Yukon until 1896 when interest was shifted from the Sixtymile area to the Klondike.
In the winter of 1912, a dredge was installed on Miller Creek by the Northern American Transportation and Trading Company. The dredge was steam-operated and of the Risden type, with an open bucket line and a bucket capacity of 5 1/3 cubic feet. In 1915 the dredge produced about 13,000 ounces and in 1916 about 8,900 ounces of gold. The dredge was closed down for over ten years, probably due to the First World War in 1914 – 1918, and was put back into operation by the Holbrook Dredging in 1929 through 1941.
In the Sixtymile District, a reported total gold production from 1893 – 1901 as approximately 29,412 ounces. The total estimated production of the Sixtymile area between 1892 and 1917 was approximately 149,506 ounces of gold. The reported value of gold does not include production from Matson Creek.
The Sixtymile Gold district placer crude gold has a reported fineness of 775, 808, 810, 844, 847, 830, 860 and 890 fine and is representative of the district.
