164 results for: Klondike-Alaska Gold Rush
Photograph
Interior of U.S. Assay Office, circa 1916
The United States monetary system used to be on the gold standard. People used gold coins, as well as paper currency which was backed by gold. When gold started arriving in Seattle from the Klondike in 1898, the government opened an assay office to buy gold and to certify its purity.In this photo, taken around 1916, a workman at the…
ID Number:1983.10.10297
Date:Circa 1916
Photograph
Steamer "Cutch" covered with ice, February 19, 1900
Any ships sailing Alaskan and Canadian waters in cold weather ran the risk of ice. This photo shows the steamer "Cutch" in Skagway harbor in February 1900. The "Cutch" made regular runs between Skagway and Dyea, Alaska, for the North American Transportation & Trading Company. Original title: Steamer Cutch Feb. 19, 1900Webster & Stevens number: 1948
ID Number:1983.10.13082
Date:1900
Photograph
Wagon on the White Pass & Yukon Route, circa 1902
Starting in 1901, summer travelers between Whitehorse and Dawson had a choice of transportation. They could book passage on a river steamer or they could take the White Pass and Yukon Route's Yukon Stage Line. The stage line ran wagons during the summer and sleighs in the wintertime.This photo, taken sometime between 1901 and 1905, shows the Yukon Stage wagon…
ID Number:1983.10.13085
Date:Circa 1902
Photograph
Miner's home in winter quarters, Nome, circa 1905
Winters were long and dark in Nome. Strong winds blew off the Bering Sea, and snowfalls sometimes buried small dwellings. Residents might be isolated in their homes for weeks at a time.This photo of a miner's dwelling nearly covered with snow was taken during the winter of 1905-06 by Seattle photographer Frank Nowell, who spent several years in the Nome…
ID Number:1983.10.13090
Date:Circa 1905
Photograph
View of Eldorado, circa 1900
The first large gold strikes in the Klondike area were found on Bonanza and Eldorado Creeks. In 1898 and 1899, Eldorado was the richest mining area in the region, producing some $4 million dollars of gold.This photo shows a view of the industrial mining operations in the valley of Eldorado Creek (misspelled Edorado). Eldorado Creek is ten miles southeast of…
ID Number:1983.10.13094
Date:1900
Photograph
Shooting White Horse Rapids in a canoe, 1905
People traveling to the Klondike had to survive the dangers of the Yukon River to reach the gold fields. The river's White Horse Rapids were so treacherous that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police allowed only men to run them in boats. Women and children had to walk around the rapids.In this 1905 photo, taken at the Yukon River, three men…
ID Number:1983.10.13100
Date:1905
Photograph
A prospector, Nome, Alaska, circa 1905
The mining in the Alaska gold rush was mainly surface mining. The gold had been washed away from its original location and had collected in river gravel and beach sand. Miners took a sample of sand or gravel, washed it in a pan to separate out any gold, and staked a claim if it looked like there might be more…
ID Number:1983.10.13102
Date:Circa 1905
Photograph
Prospector operating a rocker, Nome, 1904
In 1898, gold was found near Nome, Alaska, setting off a new stampede of fortune hunters. For the next decade or more, crowds of men, women, and children washed gravel and sand through rockers and other equipment, trying to find gold. Rockers were easily built and simple to operate. About $50 million in gold was removed from the Nome area…
ID Number:1983.10.13104
Date:1904
Photograph
A section of the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad, circa 1899
The trek over Chilkoot and White Passes was grueling at best, particularly since gold seekers had to carry a ton or more of food and supplies. In 1898, businessmen got together to build a railroad through White Pass. The terrain and weather made construction very difficult, but the line was completed as far as Lake Bennett in July 1899.This photo…
ID Number:1983.10.13124
Date:Circa 1899
Photograph
Group outside Skagway City Hall, possibly a meeting about gangster Soapy Smith, circa 1898
Jeff Smith, nicknamed Soapy, was one of Skagway's most notorious con men. In 1898, he and his gang started to take advantage of those whose mind was on the gold rush. Their activities ranged from sending fake telegrams for gold seekers to robbery and murder. Skagway's business owners realized that their town was getting a bad reputation. Smith was killed…
ID Number:1983.10.13145
Date:Circa 1898