Patrick Eugene Kennedy, a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, came to Alaska to work as a mining engineer and eventually settled in Juneau, as assistant superintendent at the Treadwell Mine. In 1912, he married Teresa Keenan of San Francisco and they had two sons. In 1915, Kennedy and his partners formed a corporation under the laws of California named the "Speel River Project" to establish a power plant based on the "Norwegian plan" for electro-chemical factories (Alaska Daily Empire, May 5, 1915). They planned to explore the possibility of chemical extraction in that region. Subsequently, Kennedy helped organize the Alaska Pulp and Paper Company in 1920 at Speel River. According to the Douglas Island News (2/4/1921), "The first wood pulp manufactured in Alaska was made at Speel River by the Alaska Pulp and Paper Company on January 24." After a promising beginning, low prices made the plant not viable and it seems to have closed after a year of operation. After several attempts at revitalization, the company liquidated in 1950. Kennedy commuted between San Francisco and Juneau in the early 1920s, but returned to San Francisco for good after the plant closed. His sister Veronica married Robert A. Kinzie, general superintendent of the Treadwell, Alaska Mexican Gold Mining Co., Alaska United Gold Mining Company, and the Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Company from 1905-1914. The Library's Collections of the Kinzie Papers and Photographs contain references to Speel River (MS 21 and PCA 13).
From the description of Patrick Eugene Kennedy collection [graphic], ca. 1917-1921. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 56630034
