In August 1896 when Skookum Jim Mason, Dawson Charlie and George Washington Carmack found gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory, they had no idea they they would set off one of the greatest gold rushes in history.
Who was involved in the Klondike Gold Rush?
In August 1896 when Skookum Jim Mason, Dawson Charlie and George Washington Carmack found gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory, they had no idea they they would set off one of the greatest gold rushes in history. Beginning in 1897, an army of hopeful goldseekers,...
Who wrote about the Klondike Gold Rush?
The adventures of the gold rush were also captured in popular literature in the writings of people such as Jack London, Robert Service and Pierre Berton. Their writing, and that of hundreds of others, has ensured that the Klondike gold rush will not be soon forgotten.
Where can I find information about Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park?
Many Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park publications are currently available free online through the National Park Service's Park History site.
Who was the first person to find the Klondike?
On August 16, 1896, an American prospector named George Carmack, his Tagish wife Kate Carmack (Shaaw Tláa), her brother Skookum Jim (Keish), and their nephew Dawson Charlie (K̲áa Goox̱) were travelling south of the Klondike River.
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Who led the Klondike Gold Rush?
In August, 1896, Skookum Jim and his family found gold near the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory. Their discovery sparked one of the most frantic gold rushes in history. Nearby miners immediately flocked to the Klondike to stake the rest of the good claims. Almost a year later, news ignited the outside world.
Who was involved in the gold rush discovery?
On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall found shiny metal in the tailrace of a lumber mill he was building for Sacramento pioneer John Sutter—known as Sutter's Mill, near Coloma on the American River. Marshall brought what he found to Sutter, and the two privately tested the metal.
Who was involved in the Canadian gold rush?
By 1896, there were 1,600 prospectors seeking gold within the Yukon River basin. Gold was discovered in mid-August 1896 by George Carmack, an American prospector, Keish (aka Skookum Jim Mason) and Káa Goox (aka Dawson Charlie) — Tagish First Nation members into whose family Carmack had married.
Who is the biggest gold miner in the Klondike?
Alex McDonald (prospector)Alexander McDonaldDied1909 (aged 50) Clear Creek, Yukon, CanadaResting placeDawson City, Yukon, CanadaNationalityCanadianOccupationGold prospector, entrepreneur2 more rows
Who was the first person to discover gold?
Gold! On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold on the property of Johann A. Sutter near Coloma, California.
Who first discovered gold in the world?
One such date is 2600 B.C., when gold was discovered by the ancient Mesopotamians and used to create some of the world's first gold jewelry. A little over a thousand years later, in 1223 B.C., gold was used to construct the tomb of iconic Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun.
How many people made it to the Klondike?
Only about 30,000 weary stampeders finally arrived in Dawson City. Most were gravely disappointed to learn reports of available Klondike gold were greatly exaggerated. For many, thoughts of gold and wealth had sustained them during their grueling journey.
What are 2 facts about the Klondike gold rush?
Klondike Gold Rush FactsDates. 1896-1899.Areas Included. Yukon Region. Klondike Region, Canada. Alaska.Prospectors Involved. 100,000 set out. 30,000 arrived in the Klondike.Success Rate. Around 4,000 found gold. Klondike Gold Rush Articles. Explore articles from the History Net archives about Klondike Gold Rush.
Who died from Yukon Gold?
Colleen passed away earlier this month following a courageous battle with cancer, and while she did not appear on camera, she was an integral part of Big Al's operation. She will be greatly missed. Klaus-Dieter Görsch and 672 others like this. Thank you for your lovely and heartfelt messages.
Who is the King of the Klondike?
Big Alex McDonaldBig Alex McDonald, known as the Klondike King, was one of the lucky and shrewd few who came out of the Klondike with millions in gold in 1898. Just how many millions he had varies between seven and 27, depending on the source.
Who is the richest gold miner ever?
Sign Up for the Precious Metals Digest Mansa Musa made his money in the gold and salt trade. According to CNW he controlled more than half of the world's supply of the commodities at the time.
Who is the richest gold miner?
According to sources, Tony Beets is the richest miner on Gold Rush. The richest cast member on Gold Rush appears to be Tony Beets by a pretty significant margin. He's been on the series since season 2, and as of 2020, he's amassed a net worth of roughly $15 million (via Celebrity Net Worth).
Who started the Gold Rush in Australia?
Edward Hammond HargravesDeason and Oates were paid £9563 for the nugget, believed to be worth around $3-4 million in today's money. Edward Hammond Hargraves is generally credited with being the man who started the first Australian gold rush.
What states were involved in the Gold Rush?
Successive gold rushes occurred in western North America: Fraser Canyon, the Cariboo district and other parts of British Columbia, in Nevada, in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, and western New Mexico Territory and along the lower Colorado River.
Which countries were the first to discover and use gold?
The Lydians The Kingdom of Lydia, located in what is now western Turkey, was the first nation to use gold and its alloys to create and use as a system of trade.
Did anyone strike it rich in the Gold Rush?
However, only a minority of miners made much money from the Californian Gold Rush. It was much more common for people to become wealthy by providing the miners with over-priced food, supplies and services. Sam Brannan was the great beneficiary of this new found wealth.
When was the Klondike gold rush?
The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 1896 and 1899. Gold was discovered there by local miners on August 16, 1896; when news reached Seattle and San Francisco the following year, it triggered a stampede of prospectors.
Where did the Klondike gold rush take place?
It has been immortalized in films, literature, and photographs. To reach the gold fields, most prospectors took the route through the ports of Dyea and Skagway, in Southeast Alaska. Here, the "Klondikers" could follow either the Chilkoot or the White Pass trails to the Yukon River, and sail down to the Klondike.
What were the boom towns in the Klondike?
The massive influx of prospectors drove the formation of boom towns along the routes of the stampede, with Dawson City in the Klondike the largest . The new towns were crowded, often chaotic and many disappeared just as soon as they came. Most stampeders were men but women also travelled to the region, typically as the wife of a prospector. Some women entertained in gambling and dance halls built by business men and women who were encouraged by the lavish spending of successful miners.
Where did the gold rush occur?
For other gold rushes in Alaska, see Alaska Gold Rush (disambiguation). The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 1896 and 1899.
How much did it cost to mine the Klondike?
A realistic mining operation required $1,500 ($42,000) for wood to be burned to melt the ground, along with around $1,000 ($28,000) to construct a dam, $1,500 ($42,000 ) for ditches and up to $600 ($16,800 ) for sluice boxes, a total of $4,600. The attraction of the Klondike to a prospector, however, was that when gold was found, it was often highly concentrated. Some of the creeks in the Klondike were fifteen times richer in gold than those in California, and richer still than those in South Africa. In just two years, for example, $230,000 ($6,440,000) worth of gold was brought up from claim 29 on the Eldorado Creek.
How many people tried to reach the Klondike?
In the resulting Klondike stampede, an estimated 100,000 people tried to reach the Klondike goldfields, of whom only around 30,000 to 40,000 eventually did. It formed the height of the Klondike gold rush from the summer of 1897 until the summer of 1898.
What was the US Army sent to Circle City?
Early on in the gold rush, the US Army sent a small detachment to Circle City, in case intervention was required in the Klondike, while the Canadian government considered excluding all American prospectors from the Yukon Territory.
Where did the Klondike gold rush take place?
In August 1896 when Skookum Jim Mason, Dawson Charlie and George Washington Carmack found gold in a tributary of the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory, they had no idea they they would set off one of the greatest gold rushes in history. Beginning in 1897, an army of hopeful goldseekers, unaware that most of the good Klondike claims were already staked, boarded ships in Seattle and other Pacific port cities and headed north toward the vision of riches to be had for the taking.
Where did the gold rush end?
By August many of the stampeders had started for home, most of them broke. The next year saw a still larger exodus of miners when gold was discovered at Nome, Alaska. The great Klondike Gold Rush ended as suddenly as it had begun. Towns such as Dawson City and Skagway began to decline.
How far did the stampeders travel to reach the gold fields?
They disembarked, then hiked over the Coast Range mountains to reach the head of the Yukon River. On a homemade boat, stampeders traveled over 500 miles by river to reach the gold fields.
Why was the Chilkoot Trail so tough?
The Chilkoot Trail was the toughest on men because pack animals could not be used easily on the steep slopes leading to the pass.
Where did Skookum Jim find gold?
In August, 1896, Skookum Jim and his family found gold near the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory. Their discovery sparked one of the most frantic gold rushes in history. Nearby miners immediately flocked to the Klondike to stake the rest of the good claims. Almost a year later, news ignited the outside world.
Where did the gold nuggets lie?
Once the prospectors had hauled their full array of gear to the lakes, they built or bought boats to float the remaining 560 or so miles downriver to Dawson City and the Klondike mining district where an almost limitless supply of gold nuggets was said to lie.
Where did the Tlingit people go in 1897?
Through the fall and winter of 1897-98, ships delivered gold seekers to Skagway and nearby Dyea, Alaska. Both mushroomed from tents to towns in a matter of months. Merchants built a two-mile dock on beaches where Tlingit people traditionally fished. Criminal boss Jefferson “Soapy” Smith preyed on naive gold seekers.
How many people were there during the Klondike Gold Rush?
Klondike Gold Rush summary: The Klondike Gold Rush was an event of migration by an estimated 100,000 people prospecting to the Klondike region of north-western Canada in the Yukon region between 1896 and 1899.
How many gold prospectors arrived in the Klondike?
In the summer of 1898, gold rushers arrived in the Klondike region by the thousands. Around 30,000 of the 100,000 or so prospectors that set out for the Klondike actually made it there.
What were the boom towns along the Klondike River?
Some set up and sold claims rather than digging for gold themselves. Along the Klondike river, boom towns formed that were supported by the miners. Those that found gold spent their time and money in saloons, while those that found nothing continued to labor.
When was the Yukon gold rush?
It’s also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Last Great Gold Rush and the Alaska Gold Rush. Gold was discovered in many rich deposits along the Klondike River in 1896 , but due to the remoteness of the region and the harsh winter climate the news of gold couldn’t travel fast enough to reach the outside world before the following year.
How many people found gold in the Klondike?
Along the routes different towns sprung up and where given the name ‘boom towns.’. Of the 30,000 that arrived in the Klondike, only approximately 4,000 actually found gold.
Who was the first person to get a nugget from Rabbit Creek?
By Gary L. Blackwood. On August 16, 1896, George Washington Carmack and two Indian friends in the Yukon pried a nugget from the bed of Rabbit Creek, a tributary of Canada’s Klondike River, and set in motion one of the most frenzied and fabled gold rushes in history.
Who was the only woman to work in a mining company in the Yukon Territory?
Mulroney went on to become the only women manager of a mining company, the largest in Yukon Territory. But life in Dawson had become too tame for the Queen of the Klondike. When news came of a bigger gold strike in Nome, Alaska, she headed down the Yukon to conquer this new region.
How did the Klondike gold rush affect the economy?
The continental economy, however, which had been locked in a depression and plagued by unemployment, benefited from the spending during the gold rush. The Klondike gold rush brought about a rapid advance in the development of the Yukon Territory, which was officially formed by Parliament on 13 June 1898.
Where did the Klondike buy miner's licences?
Klondikers buying miner's licences at Customs House, Victoria , BC, 21 February 1898. Much of the early business done in the colony resulted from gold rushes to the interior (courtesy British Library). One of the original discoverers of gold in the Klondike.
What happened in 1896?
This led to the establishment of Dawson City (1896) and subsequently, the Yukon Territory (1898). The discovery of gold in the Yukon in 1896 led to a stampede to the Klondike region between 1897 and 1899. This led to the establishment of Dawson City (1896) and subsequently, the Yukon Territory (1898).
Who were the first people to find gold in the Yukon?
The search for gold in the Yukon started in 1874 with the arrival of a small handful of prospectors. Among them were Arthur Harper, Al Mayo and Jack McQuesten (the former an Irish immigrant, the latter Americans). The three became traders because they couldn’t make a living as prospectors at that time. These men encouraged, promoted and then supplied the burgeoning prospecting community that developed slowly before the gold rush. At first a trickle, then a steadily increasing stream of hopeful prospectors entered the Yukon River basin, spurred on by the increasingly promising reports of gold on the bars of the Yukon and its tributaries: the Stewart River (1885), the Fortymile River (1886), the Sixtymile (1891) and finally Birch Creek, near Circle City, Alaska (1892). By 1896, there were 1,600 prospectors seeking gold within the Yukon River basin.
Who was Joseph Ladue?
Joseph Ladue, an American who had been in the Yukon since 1882, operated a trading post on the Yukon River, 70 km above the mouth of the Klondike. While others staked claims for gold, Ladue was quick to capitalize on the discovery of gold on Bonanza Creek.
Where was the Klondike gold found?
When the world became aware of Klondike gold in 1897 many people were confused about the location of the gold fields. Some imagined the gold (and the boomtown of Dawson City) to be in American territory. Others knew it was in Canada but anticipated the area would soon be annexed by the United States. Tensions mounted between the two countries over the not-yet-established border at critical mountain passes and whether or not Canada would have an ocean port in southeast Alaska. As for the gold-seekers, they cared less about questions of sovereignty and more about locating a golden horde—wherever it might lie.
Where did the Klondike stampeders come from?
The majority of Klondike stampeders were from the United States, and when they realized they would be subject to Canadian laws and taxation, many left Canada to stake claims in Alaska. Others, hearing that the Klondike was “all filled up,” set their sights on Alaskan gold and never entered Canada at all.
What did the stampeders demand from the Klondike?
Almost as soon as stampeders arrived on Klondike River and its tributaries they began to complain of "petty tyranny" by Canadian officials who limited the size of mining claims and demanded a ten percent tax on gold. As the reporter Sam Wall of the San Francisco Call explained, "The conditions are all so hateful here that the American citizen, who composes so large a proportion of the population, ever has his ear strained for reports of the expected strike somewhere, anywhere, on the American side of the line."
Online Records
Pan For Gold Database This large searchable database contains data on people entering the Yukon, obituaries, mining claim registrations, ship passenger lists, etc. Includes (among others):
History
The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of the Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 1896 and 1899. Gold was discovered there by local miners on August 16, 1896; when news reached Seattle and San Francisco the following year, it triggered a stampede of prospectors.
Overview
The Klondike Gold Rush was a migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of Yukon, in north-western Canada, between 1896 and 1899. Gold was discovered there by local miners on August 16, 1896; when news reached Seattle and San Francisco the following year, it triggered a stampede of prospectors. Some became wealthy, but the majority went in vain. It has been i…
Background
The indigenous peoples in north-west America had traded in copper nuggets prior to European expansion. Most of the tribes were aware that gold existed in the region, but the metal was not valued by them. The Russians and the Hudson's Bay Company had both explored the Yukon in the first half of the 19th century, but ignored the rumours of gold in favour of fur trading, which offered more immed…
Discovery (1896)
On August 16, 1896, an American prospector named George Carmack, his Tagish wife Kate Carmack (Shaaw Tláa), her brother Skookum Jim (Keish), and their nephew Dawson Charlie (K̲áa Goox̱) were travelling south of the Klondike River. Following a suggestion from Robert Henderson, a Canadian prospector, they began looking for gold on Bonanza Creek, then called Rabbit Creek, one o…
Beginning of the stampede (July 1897)
In the resulting Klondike stampede, an estimated 100,000 people tried to reach the Klondike goldfields, of whom only around 30,000 to 40,000 eventually did. It formed the height of the Klondike gold rush from the summer of 1897 until the summer of 1898.
It began on July 15, 1897, in San Francisco and was spurred further two days la…
Routes to the Klondike
The Klondike could be reached only by the Yukon River, either upstream from its delta, downstream from its head, or from somewhere in the middle through its tributaries. River boats could navigate the Yukon in the summer from the delta until a point called Whitehorse, above the Klondike. Travel, in general, was made difficult by both geography and climate. The region was mountainous, the river…
Mining
Of the estimated 30,000 to 40,000 people who reached Dawson City during the gold rush, only around 15,000 to 20,000 finally became prospectors. Of these, no more than 4,000 struck gold and only a few hundred became rich. By the time most of the stampeders arrived in 1898, the best creeks had all been claimed, either by the long-term miners in the region or by the first arrivals of the year b…
Life in the Klondike
The massive influx of prospectors drove the formation of boom towns along the routes of the stampede, with Dawson City in the Klondike the largest. The new towns were crowded, often chaotic and many disappeared just as soon as they came. Most stampeders were men but women also travelled to the region, typically as the wife of a prospector. Some women entertained in gambling an…
End of the gold rush
By 1899 telegraphy stretched from Skagway, Alaska, to Dawson City, Yukon, allowing instant international contact. In 1898, the White Pass and Yukon Route railway began to be built between Skagway and the head of navigation on the Yukon. When it was completed in 1900, the Chilkoot trail and its tramways were obsolete. Despite these improvements in communication and transport, the ru…
Geology
Discovery
- The search for gold in the Yukon started in 1874 with the arrival of a small handful of prospectors. Among them were Arthur Harper, Al Mayo and Jack McQuesten (the former an Irish immigrant, the latter Americans). The three became traders because they couldnt make a living as prospectors at that time. These men encouraged, promoted and then supplied the burgeoning pr…
Early history
- Joseph Ladue, an American who had been in the Yukon since 1882, operated a trading post on the Yukon River, 70 km above the mouth of the Klondike. While others staked claims for gold, Ladue was quick to capitalize on the discovery of gold on Bonanza Creek. He staked out 65 hectares of swamp and moose pasture at the mouth of the Klondike River, call...
Route
- The stampeders laboured over a trail clogged with ice, snow and people; avalanche, drowning and disease; exhaustion, failure and heartbreak. Over the mountains and down the icy valleys along the Chilkoot and the White Pass Trails, they laboured until they reached the headwaters of the Yukon River. By the time the stampeders had relayed their tonne of supplies the 53 km over the …
Setting
- At Dawson City, they found a bustling and rapidly growing city at the mouth of the Klondike River where scruffy Klondike millionaire veterans (a years residence in the Yukon entitled them to bear the name Sourdough) rubbed shoulders with newly arrived Cheechako (a Cheechako could only earn the title of sourdough after having survived an Arctic winter). It was a place where the mun…
Results
- By the time the stampeders arrived in the Klondike to search for gold, it was too late to leave because the summers are short in the North. Each man (there were few women in Dawson at first) had to build shelter for the winter, and then endure seven months of cold, darkness, disease, isolation and monotony. For those lucky enough to find gold, nothing was beyond limits. Many s…
Population
- The population of the Klondike dwindled from the 25,000 or more during the hey-day of the gold rush, to a few hundred within a decade. A century later, however, gold mining is still the economic mainstay of the region.
Aftermath
- The Klondike gold rush brought about a rapid advance in the development of the Yukon Territory, which was officially formed by Parliament on 13 June 1898. The gold rush left an infrastructure of supply, support and governance that led to the continued development of the territory. Had it not been for the discovery of gold, development of this region would have been a slow and gradual p…
Effects
- The gold rush brought tremendous upheaval and disenfranchisement for the people indigenous to the region. The Han people of the Yukon valley were pushed aside and marginalized. Only a century later, as a result of land claim settlements have the Trondëk Hwechin found redress and self-governance.
Legacy
- The most lasting legacy of the Klondike gold rush is the impression it left in the public mind. It was a shared experience which all participants faced, rich or poor, on a relatively similar footing, and which left its mark indelibly etched in their memories. Words like Klondike and Chilkoot evoke images of gold, adventure, challenge and the North. There is a Klondike ice cream bar and a Chil…