1896

Herschel Island

Herschel Island was named, in 1826, by the British Arctic explorer, Sir John Franklin, after the famous English astronomer William Herschel, who studied the planets and the stars in the 17th century. He was the first to spot the far-off…

1900

Frances Muncaster: Pioneer Woman of Squaw Creek

She was an American woman who gave up the life of high society, comfort and privilege to live the tough life of a miner in the wilds of the Yukon and northern British Columbia.

She was small and slim, with…

1920

First Aircraft in Whitehorse

In June 1920, Captain Douglas of the U.S. Air Force and Captain Leroyer of the Canadian Air Board arrived in Whitehorse. Both came with the authority of the US and Canadian governments to present a plan for a record-breaking airplane…

1920

Kate Carmack

She was born into the Wolf clan in the Tagish lake district of what was later to be known as the Yukon. Her Indian name was ShaawTlaa. She was living in her native village on the shores of Tagish Lake,…

1921

Grand Forks

You probably never heard of Grand Forks, Yukon. That's not surprizing since it doesn't exist anymore. But for a fleeting glorious moment, it was the Klondike's real gold rush town. Oh sure, Dawson City was known the world over and…

1922

Erastus Brainerd

Seattle was not destined to be the major jumping-off place for miners heading to the Klondike gold fields. San Francisco, or even Vancouver, should have been, or could have been. Prior to 1897, San Francisco dominated maritime trade with Alaska…

1922

Robert Lowe Bridge

Back in the 1920s, tourism was not a big ticket item in the Yukon. The territory was accessible only by the White Pass Railway, which carried some tourists during the summer, but it was mainly used for freight operations --…

1922

The First Dam on the Yukon River

There was a time when the Yukon River was the Yukon’s highway and the river boats were the life blood of the economy. The boats delivered everything from soup to nuts and bolts from the railhead at Whitehorse to…

1922

William Desmond Taylor

According to a friend who knew him in the Yukon, William Taylor was the dude of Dawson City. Not much was really known about the background of this flamboyant character who worked for the Yukon Gold Corporation, on and off,…

1923

Joe Boyle, Businessman

He was an industrialist, and inventor, a promoter, a sports enthusiast, and a millionaire. He was truly the King of the Klondike.

Joe Boyle was born in Toronto on November 6th, 1867. When he came to the Klondike in 1897,…

1923

The Man who cremated Sam McGee

"Now Sam McGee was from Tennessee," said Robert Service in his famed story of a man cremated in the boiler of a steamboat called the Olive May. Of course, we know the real McGee wasn’t cremated, nor was he from…

1925

First Climb of Mount Logan

On June 23rd, 1925, four men stood on top of Mount Logan. They had become the first to climb Canada’s highest mountain. The story of the climb began three years earlier. In 1922, the Alpine Club of Canada decided Mt.…

1925

Hollywood and the Movies

The most famous motion picture about the Klondike is surely Charlie Chaplin's world-acclaimed 1925 classic called "Gold Rush". Yet is it by no means the only Hollywood movie to use the Klondike as a backdrop for stars of the days.…

1926

Bill Robinson

A small townsite on the Carcross road is named after a big man. Weighing in at over 300 pounds, Stikine Bill gave the community of Robinson its name.

William Robinson was a railroad man who was born in North Anson,…

1926

The Pantages Theatre

He joined the gold rush in 1898, along with tens of thousands of others would be Klondike millionaires. Though he staked no ground and found no gold, he became one of the wealthiest and most controversial characters of his time.

1927

William Dall

He was the Dean of Alaskan explorers. But his extraordinary life was - to him - ordinary. William Dall was born in 1845 and began his scientific career as a member of the Scientific Corps of the Alaskan Western Union…

1928

George Johnson’s Car

You have to wonder why someone would start a car dealership in a country where roads were - at best - thinly disguised wagon trails. Just as curious is why someone would buy one. Both events happened in the Yukon…

1928

John Conrad

In the early 1900s, John Conrad, an American financier, took a bold million dollar move and consolidated gold and silver claims on Montana Mountain, which overlooks Carcross and Windy Arm. With the value of silver rising, development of the…

1928

Lillian Alling

In the fall of 2010, the Vancouver Opera Company will present its first full-length commissioned piece for its main stage. The opera is based on the real-life story of Lillian Alling. You probably never heard of her, but if she…

1929

Charlie Taylor

Many years ago, on a journey down the Yukon River in the company of Cam Cameron and Charlie Taylor, I heard first-hand many of the stories lived by these two unforgettable Yukoners. Both are gone now, but their memories…

1929

From the OK Corral to the Nome Gold Rush

Among the gold-fevered stampeders who tried to cash in on the Gold Rush was a professional gunfighter named Wyatt Earp. Yep! The same man who was once the Sheriff of Dodge City. The same guy who carved his name in…