Limestone Inlet, 0.25 miles (0.4 km) wide, extends about 2 miles (3.2 km) into the mainland from the eastern shore of Stephens Passage, approximately 84 miles (135 km) northeast of Sitka and 25 miles (40 km) southeast of Juneau, Alaska. The inlet lies between Arthur Peak to the north and Webster Peak to the south. Commander Richard W. Meade of the U.S. Navy named the inlet in 1869 while aboard the steamer USS Saginaw, inspired by a visible streak of marble on Arthur Peak’s southern flank and the inlet’s northern shore. Stephens Passage was named in 1794 by Captain George Vancouver for Sir Philip Stephens and first charted that year by Lieutenant Joseph Whidbey. Arthur Peak is a pluton composed of quartz diorite and tonalite, formed during the Cretaceous period when magma intruded older volcanic and metamorphosed Permian carbonate rocks. The volcanic rocks are mostly greenstone, while the carbonate rocks are marble. In 1910, marble prospects in Southeast Alaska attracted gold mining companies, leading to claims at Dall Island and Limestone Inlet. The deposit at Limestone Inlet was likely discovered around 1905, with some surface mining occurring before 1911. The main work focused on a prospect known as Enterprise, located on Arthur Peak at an altitude of 1,370 feet (418 m). The ore body consisted of a quartz vein up to 9 feet (2.7 m) thick. Development included a drift tunnel 30 feet (9 m) long and stripping a ledge along the outcrop for several hundred feet. Ore was transported down the mountain via an aerial tram to a mining camp on the north shore. By 1914, 200 tons of ore had been processed in a rod mill, yielding at least 15 ounces (0.4 kg) of gold and a small amount of silver. Later in 1914, Bartlett L. Thane acquired the property, recovering 85 ounces (2.4 kg) of gold from 300 tons of ore processed in a stamp mill. As of 1989, the Enterprise mine had an inferred resource of 24,600 tons of ore with an average grade of 0.23 ounces (6.5 g) of gold per ton.

The earliest inhabitants of Southeast Alaska were likely maritime people who traveled, hunted, and fished using small wooden or skin-covered boats or canoes. About 6,500 to 5,000 years ago, there was a shift in stone tool technology with the introduction of micro blades in the archaeological record. Between 5,000 and 3,000 years ago, microblades were generally replaced by tools made from slate, cut and polished to provide sharp points and edges. These new tools were likely used to carve dugout canoes, make bentwood boxes, and construct large plank clan houses. During this period, there is evidence of increased reliance on salmon and the use of large fish traps and weirs to catch Pacific salmon near spawning streams. The Tlingit homeland is divided into large territories known as “kwaans,” meaning “people of that place.” Limestone Inlet and this part of Stephens Passage are within the traditional territory of the Tʼaaḵu Ḵwáan, or Taku people, encompassing the lower reaches of the Taku River in British Columbia and Alaska. The Taku people’s main village was located up the Taku River in what is now British Columbia. From this winter village, they dispersed to family subsistence camps during spring, summer, and fall. Like many Tlingit clans, the Taku were actively involved in trading between the interior and the coast and controlled the trade routes along the Taku River. This forced interior tribes to use them as intermediaries instead of trading directly with white settlers. In the early 1840s, the Hudson’s Bay Company established Fort Durham in Taku Harbor, approximately 3 miles (5 km) north-northwest of Limestone Inlet, to capitalize on the trade route. This led the Taku to abandon their winter village and move near the fort. Although Fort Durham was abandoned by 1843 as unprofitable, the Taku remained in the area until 1880, when gold was discovered in Juneau. They then moved to Sheep Creek to work for wages with the miners. In 1903, after the boundary dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom was settled, some Taku moved further inland into British Columbia, preserving the coastal Tlingit social system with its matrilineal moiety, clans, and crests.

Limestone Inlet is the release site for hatchery chum salmon reared at the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery in Juneau. Operated by Douglas Island Pink & Chum, Inc., the hatchery was established in response to 1974 legislation allowing the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to issue permits to private non-profit hatcheries to improve the salmon fishery. In 1976, Juneau residents, including Ladd Macauley, formed the company and established the Kowee Creek Hatchery. The Sheep Creek Hatchery followed in 1980, and the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery was added in 1989. In 1996, the company took over the operations of the Snettisham Hatchery. The state permit allows the company to retain a percentage of the catch for cost recovery. The hatcheries incubate, rear, and release chum, Chinook, coho, and sockeye salmon. The chum and sockeye salmon are produced for commercial fleets, while the Chinook and coho are produced for the Juneau and Haines sport fishing fleets. Chum salmon are the primary source of cost-recovery revenue. The salmon are released from 12 sites between Saint James Bay in Lynn Canal and Port Snettisham in Stephens Passage. The Macaulay Salmon Hatchery is currently permitted to produce 135 million chum, 1.5 million coho, 1.25 million Chinook, and 50,000 rainbow trout. In 2022, approximately 15 million chum salmon were released into Limestone Inlet, with an expected total return of about 100,000 fish. The inlet is a special harvest area that is closed to commercial fishing but can be opened by emergency order to better utilize returning chum salmon. Read more here and here. Explore more of Limestone Inlet and Stephens Passage here: