Evan A. Sather photographs of the Klondike Gold Rush

Evan A. Sather photographs of the Klondike Gold Rush, circa 1895-1897

Overview of the Collection

Photographer: Sather, Evan, 1860-1962
Title: Evan A. Sather photographs of the Klondike Gold Rush
Dates: circa 1895-1897 (inclusive)
18901902
Quantity: 20 photographic prints (1 box) ; various sizes
Collection Number: PH0764
Summary: Photographs of miners, mining claims and landscapes in Alaska and the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush, 1895 -1897
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: Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials Curator is required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.
Languages: English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Evan A. Sather was born on March 15, 1860 in Saxumdalen, Norway. He moved to America in 1880 and settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1889 Sather and his family moved west to Tacoma, Washington where he worked as a photographer. He made three trips to the Yukon during the gold rush where he searched for gold and took photographs. In 1901 Sather and his family settled in Bend, Oregon where he eventually opened a general merchandise business called the Pine Tree Store and played a role in the community as a public figure, serving on various boards, the city council, and the Deschutes Pioneers' Association. He was also the first fire chief for the town. Sather died in 1962.

Historical BackgroundReturn to Top

Although the official start of the the Klondike Gold Rush is considered to be July 1897 when two ships came into San Francisco and Seattle carrying miners returning with gold from the Yukon, there were prospectors in the Yukon and Alaska during the years before the real rush began. Much of the gold rush activity was centered in the Yukon Territory of Canada in the Dawson City area along Bonanza Creek.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Photographs taken between 1895 and 1897 showing miners traveling on the Yukon River in rafts and steamboats, mining operations and landscapes along Bonanza Creek in the Yukon Territory. Also included is a view of people watching the ice breakup on the river at Circle City, Alaska.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

View the digital version of the collection

Restrictions on Use

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

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Custodial History

Many of these images may have been owned by William Douglas Johns.

Processing Note

Processed by Natalia Ronquillo y DePaula and Marion Brown in 2007.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box/Folder	item
1/1	1	Miners rafting down the Yukon River	Spring 1895
1/1	2	Three miners and a dog in a boat on the Yukon River	1895
1/2	3a	Man carrying dead deer Written on verso: Funter boy... with deer I killed. Man in photo is probably William Douglas Johns.	1895
1/2	3b	Miners with supplies on Yukon ice Written on front: 1895 - Miners on [thees?] down the Yukon. Written on verso: Early miners going as far down as they could on ice before the Yukon ice broke - to have a longer working season. Wm. Douglas Johns.	1895
1/2	4	Crowd on bank of icy river watching ice breakup at Circle City, Alaska (#26)	May 21, 1897
1/3	5	Landscape and single miner in a valley Handwritten on verso: Eldorado. Early Spring 1897.	Spring 1897
1/3	6	Horse freighters starting for Dawson	Winter 1897
1/4	7	A C. Company steamboat Bellaat shore getting ready to leave Circle City for Dawson (#29)	circa 1895-1897
1/4	8	A man with two huskies pulling a sled Handwritten on verso: Ready to start to Dawson!	circa 1895-1897
1/5	9a-b	Cabins at the foot of a hill (#37) Caption: Indians Drying fish at Klondike River, Alaska. Written on verso of 9b: Fish camp at mouth of Klondike River. Early day - Wm. Douglas Johns.	circa 1895-1897
1/5	10	Landscape and men mining at Claim No. 53 Below on Bonanza Creek (#46)	circa 1895-1897
1/6	11	Men, boats and tents on shore	circa 1895-1897
1/6	12	Cabins and mining claim at base of mountain (#51)	circa 1895-1897
1/7	13	Three men standing outside cabin in snow	circa 1895-1897
1/7	14	Group of miners at claim	circa 1895-1897
1/7	15	Number not used
1/7	16	Group of men, dogs and a sled	circa 1895-1897
1/8	17	Horses pulling men on sleighs through snow	circa 1895-1897
1/8	18	Man with packhorses	circa 1895-1897
1/8	19	Portrait of a man	circa 1890

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