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William E. Meed collection, approximately 1898-1953

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Meed, William E.
Title
William E. Meed collection
Dates
approximately 1898-1953 (inclusive)
1898-1907 (bulk)
Quantity
2 boxes (327 photographic prints, 42 clippings, 1 journal, 4 panorama photographs)
Collection Number
PH0246
Summary
Photographs, clippings, letters and a journal documenting the Klondike gold rush
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Selected images can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was partially provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

William E. Meed, with his wife Mabel, traveled to Dawson, Yukon Territory, Canada, in 1898 to work in river transportation during the Klondike gold rush. Meed became the freight and passenger agent for the Bennett Lake and Klondike Navigation Co. shortly after his arrival at Dawson in 1898. The company operated the vessels Ora , Nora , and Flora between Whitehorse and Dawson. He soon also became an agent for the Canadian Development Co., which operated the steamboats Victorian , Columbian , and Canadian .

At the turn of the century, Meed became chief owner and manager of the Yukon Dock Company at Dawson. He then formed the Stewart River Co. on Dec. 22, 1900, for the purpose of building and operating the first boat that was suitable for navigating the Stewart River. The sternwheel steamer Prospector was built in Whitehorse in 1901, the name indicating the exploratory purpose of the boat, and also identifying it with those men whom it was intended to serve. The Prospector was designed by a prominent Victoria boat builder, and Capt. James A. Ritchie was given command of the vessel.

The Meeds moved in 1907 to Victoria, British Columbia, where William was an orchardist and manager of a shipyard. Little is know of intervening years, but by 1936, William Meed was a salesman living alone in Vancouver, B.C., near his daughter Edna. In the 1940s, he wrote reminiscences of his Klondike experiences for a Vancouver newspaper.

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Content Description

The collection primarily contains photographs compiled by William E. Meed documenting the Klondike gold rush and related activities in the vicinity of Dawson, Yukon Territory. Some images were taken by prominent commercial photographers such as Eric A. Hegg, Kinsey & Kinsey (Clark Kinsey and Clarence Kinsey), H.J. Goetzman, H.C. Barley, and George G. Cantwell. These depict Klondike mines and mining activities in the Dawson vicinity, Dawson street scenes, views along the Chilkoot Trail and the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad, steamboats and steamboat landings, and other Klondike scenes. Meed was an amateur photographer himself and took a number of photographs that document his own activities, his family and friends, and his fellow workers for the Stewart River Co. and aboard the steamboat Prospector . The snapshots show Dawson's cabin residences, the Dawson docks and freighting activities, outings by dogsled, wilderness roadhouses, and domestic scenes. The collection is accompanied by a series of captions derived from Meed's journal, a narrative account of his Klondike experiences that is keyed to the photographs. Also included are related newspaper clippings and correspondence.

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Other Descriptive Information

Lake Laberge is variously referred to as Lake Laberge, Lake LaBarge, and Lake LeBarge in the text accompanying the photographs.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

View selections from the collection in digital format.

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The original order of the collection has been retained. A subseries contains an album of photographs, described in page order.

Acquisition Information

Source: Edna Meed; received 1986.

Processing Note

Processed by Rebekah Dalby, 2003. Revised by Kate Norgon, 2020.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Cabins--Yukon Territory--Photographs
  • Dogsledding--Yukon Territory--Photographs
  • Frontier and pioneer life--Yukon Territory--Photographs
  • Gold miners--Yukon Territory--Photographs
  • Gold mines and mining--Yukon Territory--Photographs
  • Hunting--Yukon Territory--Photographs
  • Steamboats--Yukon Territory--Photographs
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Meed family--Photographs
  • Meed, Mabel--Photographs
  • Meed, William E.--Photographs

Corporate Names

  • White Pass & Yukon Route (Firm)

Geographical Names

  • Chilkoot Trail--Photographs
  • Dawson (Yukon)--Photographs
  • Klondike River Valley (Yukon)--Gold discoveries--Photographs
  • Macmillan River (Yukon)--Photographs
  • Pelly River (Yukon)--Photographs
  • Stewart River (Yukon : River)--Photographs
  • Yukon River (Yukon and Alaska)--Photographs
  • Yukon Territory--Gold discoveries--Photographs

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Barley, H. C. (Harrie C.),  -1909 (photographer)
    • Cantwell, George G., d. 1948 (photographer)
    • Goetzman, H. J (photographer)
    • Hegg, Eric A., 1867-1948 (photographer)
    • Kinsey, Clarence (photographer)
    • Kinsey, Clark (photographer)
    • Meed, William E (photographer)

    Corporate Names

    • Kinsey & Kinsey (photographer)


2003 (Last modified: 7/11/2025)

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