Biography - Father Edward Brown

Father Edward Howard Brown, S.J., was born in Baltimore, Maryland, May 15, 1860. He attended Loyola College and Georgetown University, taught for three years at Georgetown and two at Fordham, and studied theology at Holy Cross. He then volunteered for the Rocky Mountain Mission. Ordained at Spokane, Washington, in 1894, he was minister and Prefect of Discipline at Gonzaga College during the next three years. He also spent four years at Seattle College as Prefect of Studies and Discipline. Father Brown arrived at Juneau on August 12, 1904, to assume charge of the parish, and remained here until September 25, 1913. Skilled in carpentry, he supervised the construction of an addition to St. Ann's Hospital and built the church and pastor's residence. In 1913 he was appointed Chaplain of the First Territorial Senate. After leaving Juneau he was at Tacoma and Spokane, Washington and Pendleton, Oregon. He died at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital at Pasco, Washington, June 21, 1925, and was buried in the Cemetery of the Scholasticate at Hillyard near Spokane.

Father Brown's Trail - the early name for the trail up Mount Roberts. Named for Father Edward Howard Brown who was active in its original construction. In the summer of 1906 Thomas P. Wickes, who had been active in the promotion of trails in the Adironak Mountains, proposed the formation of a Trail Association at Juneau and the development of a local system of trails. Father Brown took up the idea and with volunteer help began work on the Mount Robert's trail. It was finished to the top of the mountain in June 1908. In 1922 the lower part of the trail was relocated and the entire trail was rehabilitated by the Forest Service. The trail starts from the east end of Sixth Street and old-timers still call it the Father Brown Trail.

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