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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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557 results for: Alaska

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Image of Weighing gold at the Jo Jo Hotel, circa 1900
Photograph

Weighing gold at the Jo Jo Hotel, circa 1900

During the Klondike and Nome gold rushes, gold dust and nuggets could be used to pay for almost anything: food, a hotel room, pack horses, a bottle of liquor, and many other business transactions.This photo shows two men weighing gold at the Jo Jo Hotel, probably so that the one on the left can have a room for the night.…
ID Number:SHS15038
Date:Circa 1900
Image of View of Dawson, Yukon Territory, circa 1898
Photograph

View of Dawson, Yukon Territory, circa 1898

Dawson, Yukon Territory, was wilderness in 1896. By 1898, so many Klondike stampeders had come to the area that Dawson was the largest city in Canada west of Winnipeg, Manitoba. At over 40,000 inhabitants, the crowded city was only slightly smaller than Seattle.This photo, taken around 1898, shows a general view of Dawson and its waterfronts on the Yukon (left)…
ID Number:SHS15451
Date:Circa 1898
Photograph

Portrait of Chin Yook-Nui, Seattle, circa 1925

This photograph shows Chin Yook-Nui (circa 1865-1946), the wife of prominent Chinese-American community leader, diplomat, and businessperson Goon Dip (circa 1862 -1933). Chin and Goon married in China in the late 1870s. At that time, Goon had previously lived in Portland, Oregon but returned to China for a few years. He moved back to Portland some time before 1882. Some…
ID Number:SHS15758
Date:Circa 1925
Image of Four men digging tunnel in gold mine at Eldorado, circa 1898
Photograph

Four men digging tunnel in gold mine at Eldorado, circa 1898

In Alaska and the Yukon, placer gold was found along ancient stream beds, some of which were twelve to forty feet underground at bedrock. The gold was frozen in the dirt or gravel. Miners chopped away at the frozen earth with picks or tried to thaw it with fires or steam machines. They "drifted" all winter, digging tunnels in the…
ID Number:SHS15820
Date:Circa 1898
Image of Men with piles of supplies at Chilkoot Pass, circa 1898
Photograph

Men with piles of supplies at Chilkoot Pass, circa 1898

At the top of Chilkoot Pass, the gold seekers stockpiled what they had carried up the steep slope and went back for another load. When they had packed everything to the top of the pass, they were ready to cross the border into Canada. During the stampede of 1898, Canada's Northwest Mounted Police checked some 40,000 people through the border.This…
ID Number:SHS15867
Date:Circa 1898
Image of Gold rush tent city, probably Lake Bennett, 1898
Photograph

Gold rush tent city, probably Lake Bennett, 1898

In early spring 1898, an estimated 10,000 gold seekers were camped on the shore of Lake Bennett waiting for the ice to clear. They assembled their supplies and built boats and scows to take them down the Yukon River. Until the railroad was completed in 1900, Bennett continued to be a major jumping off spot for the Klondike gold fields.…
ID Number:SHS15876
Date:1898
Image of Steamboat
Photograph

Steamboat "W.K. Merwin" coming up Five Finger Rapids, circa 1898

At Five Finger Rapids, the Yukon River divided into five channels around four islands. This was so tricky to navigate that a permanent cable was anchored in the rocky side of one channel and ships pulled themselves through.This photo, taken around 1898 by Eric Hegg, shows the steamboat "W.K. Merwin" headed upstream. In other versions of this photo, one can…
ID Number:SHS15884
Date:Circa 1898
Image of Three women in Skagway, circa 1900
Photograph

Three women in Skagway, circa 1900

By 1900, American and European women made up 23% of Skagway's population. Some were housewives or nuns. Others were secretaries, taught school, wrote for newspapers, cared for the sick, or ran shops and other businesses.This photo portrait, taken around 1900, shows three Skagway women wearing long warm coats and furs. They are (L to R) Mrs. Daisy Bushell, Lou Doubler,…
ID Number:SHS15931
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Seattle's first motor-driven sightseeing bus, Seattle, 1907
Photograph

Seattle's first motor-driven sightseeing bus, Seattle, 1907

In 1907, Seattle residents and visitors could climb on the city's first motor-driven sightseeing bus. The vehicle carried passengers to The Meadows racetrack and other destinations. The bus was also used to show visitors the sights at the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE).
ID Number:SHS16180
Date:1907
Image of Miners meeting at Sheep Camp, Alaska for trial of camp thieves , circa 1896
Photograph

Miners meeting at Sheep Camp, Alaska for trial of camp thieves , circa 1896

At first, miners made and enforced their own laws on the Alaskan frontier. This photo shows a group of miners meeting to decide what to do about camp thieves. It was taken around 1896 at Sheep Camp, Alaska, about 12 miles north of Skagway. James Wickersham, an early Alaskan district judge reported that thieves were given thirty lashes on their…
ID Number:SHS16454
Date:Circa 1896
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MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
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Phone: 206 324 1126
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