Golden is a former mining settlement on the eastern shore of Port Wells, a fjord in northwestern Prince William Sound, about 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Valdez and 27 miles (44 km) northeast of Whittier, Alaska. Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy named Port Wells in 1794, possibly after Edward Wells, an English mathematician, geographer and theologian known for his unorthodox religious views.

Gold and copper mining in Prince William Sound peaked in the early 1900s. In 1915 the region had four producing copper mines and five gold mines, with total mineral output worth $1,340,996. Local stamp and roller mills processed the gold-quartz ore, and the resulting concentrates were shipped to smelters in Tacoma, Washington. The Beatson mine on Latouche Island and the Ellamar mine at Ellamar on Tatitlek Narrows were the region’s most consistent producers; smaller operations worked claims at Landlock Bay, Port Fidalgo, Knight Island, and Port Wells.

Port Wells’s largest mines were the Granite mine at Hobo Bay and the Golden mine. Golden had a post office from 1904 to 1916, and ocean-going steamers called regularly with mail and passengers. A 1915 survey found that the Cordova Mining & Development Company had installed a stamp mill and aerial tram at Golden, on the Nugget and Golden Wonder No. 9 claims, employing about 25 men, but operations ceased later that year. The Golden Eagle mill also stood idle in 1915 despite underground work the previous winter. A tunnel was driven at the nearby Golden Wonder No. 1 prospect, and in spring a crew of 15 began sinking a shaft on the Keynote claim. Mining at Golden ended in 1916, a year before the United States entered the First World War. Read more here and here. Explore more of Golden and Port Wells here: