Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
H.C. Barley photographs, 1898-1900
Overview of the Collection
- Photographer
- Barley, H. C. (Harrie C.), -1909
- Title
- H.C. Barley photographs
- Dates
- 1898-1900 (inclusive)18981900
- Quantity
- 33 photographic prints (1 box and 1 oversize folder) ; various sizes
- Collection Number
- PH0296
- Summary
- Photographs of railroad construction, crew, and scenes along the White Pass and Yukon Route and views of Skagway, Bennett, Miles Canyon, and the Dalton Trail, taken by H.C. Barley.
- 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
H.C. Barley (also known as Harrie C. and Harry C.) was hired as the company photographer for the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad in the spring of 1898. He worked for two years documenting the construction and early operation of the 110-mile narrow gauge railway which ran from Skagway, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Barley was known for his daring, often risking his life to get the perfect photograph of the construction of the railway. Some construction crews refused to work when Barley was nearby due to the extreme risks he took. He said, "Put me close enough to the blast and I'll stuff the echo." In one of the first accidents at the Rocky Point blasting site, Barley was struck by a rock from the detonation and was unable to walk for a week. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Barley made Skagway his home after relocating north. His first photography studio in Skagway was on Fourth Avenue between Broadway and Spring Street. He later relocated it to the corner of Broadway and Fourth Avenue. He served for a brief period on the Skagway City Council and was a member of the Skagway Elks Lodge. Barley also photographed in the Atlin, British Columbia, area during the gold rush in 1899-1900. Barley died of tuberculosis at his home in San Francisco on November 22, 1909, shortly after the Klondike gold rush.
Historical BackgroundReturn to Top
The 110-mile White Pass and Yukon Route railroad (WP&YR) was completed with the driving of the golden spike on July 29, 1900, in Carcross, Yukon Territory. The railroad connected the deep water port of Skagway, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and beyond to northwest Canada and interior Alaska. Built in 1898 during the Klondike gold rush, construction of the WP&YR was considered an impossible task, but it was literally blasted through coastal mountains in only 26 months, from May 28, 1989, to July 29, 1900.
The railroad was built to replace narrow, dangerous White Pass Trail, also known as Dead Horse Trail, which was taken by prospectors heading from Skagway to the Yukon and Atlin goldfields. Each prospector was required to carry one year's provisions, or about 2,000 pounds of food and supplies, on the trek north. Because a prospector usually could not carry more than 80 pounds at up the trail at one time, each individual had to climb the mountain 25 or more times. To ease the load, nearly 4,000 horses were brought in. The prospectors worked or starved all but a few horses to death, giving the route the nickname "Dead Horse Trail." The completion of the White Pass & Yukon Railroad provided an easier route for crossing the mountains, and prospectors and others thereby escaped the backbreaking work of transporting required supplies to the goldfields.
The $10 million project was the product of British financing, American engineering, and Canadian contracting. Tens of thousands of men and some 450 tons of explosives overcame harsh and challenging climate and geography to create "the railway built of gold." The railroad climbed almost 3,000 feet in just 20 miles and featured steep grades of up to 3.9%, cliff-hanging turns of 16 degrees, two tunnels, and numerous bridges and trestles. The steel cantilever bridge was the tallest of its kind in the world when it was constructed in 1901. To keep British backers of the project appraised of the railroad's progress, both during and after construction, Barley was hired as a full-time photographer.
In the early 1900s, the WP&YR held a near monopoly on traffic to the goldfields, slowing much of the travel on alternate routes into the Yukon. One such route was the 300-mile Dalton Trail, which connected Pyramid Harbor near Haines on the Pacific Coast, to Fort Selkirk on the Yukon River. The WP&YR route began in Skagway, with stops along the route at what were originally major construction camps, including Log Cabin, Bennett, Carcross, and Robinson, before ending at Whitehorse. Today the WP&YR is Alaska's most popular shore excursion, operating on the first 40 miles of the original 110-mile line (Skagway, Alaska, to Bennett, B.C.) and carrying over 300,000 passengers during the May to September tourism season. The narrow gauge White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, a designation shared with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower, and the Statue of Liberty.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The collection consists of photographs of railroad construction, crew, and scenes along the White Pass & Yukon Route, as well as views of Skagway, Bennett, Miles Canyon, and the Dalton Trail.
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
Arrangement
Arranged in 7 series, primarily by location. Series 2, 3, and 4 document scenery and construction along the White Pass and Yukon Railroad route.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
SkagwayReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/1 | 1 |
Moose pulling sulky with girl in front
of house Photographer's original negative number: 2168.
|
circa 1900 |
1/1 | 2 | circa 1900 | |
box:oversize | |||
OS Box 1 | 3 |
Steamer S.S.
Cutch at port coated in ice Photographer's original negative number: 2145.
|
February 19, 1900 |
Box/Folder | |||
1/1 | 4 |
View of Skagway and docks from White
Pass Railroad Photographer's original negative number: 98.Similar to #11.
|
1898 |
"Scenery on White Pass and Yukon Railroad", 1898-1900Return to Top
Photos in this series are of the White Pass and Yukon Railroad route and construction.
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/2 | 5 |
Construction crew clearing grade of
boulders with team of horses, shovels, pick-axes, and a jury-rigged
hoist Photographer's original negative number: 111.
On item: "Midnight on the grade."
|
August 1989 |
1/2 | 6 |
Side of mountain and
waterfall Photographer's original negative number: 114.
|
circa 1900 |
1/2 | 7 |
Tent and boats along shore of Summit
Lake Photographer's original negative number: 126.The proposed route of the White Pass & Yukon Railroad was
along the edge of the lake.
|
circa 1898 |
1/2 | 8 |
Waterfall at Indian
Crossing Photographer's original negative number: 130.
|
circa 1898 |
1/2 | 9 |
North Prong, Pitchfork
Falls Photographer's original negative number: 150.
|
circa 1898 |
1/2 | 10 |
John Hislop, chief surveyor, on
riverbank with horse and dog Photographer's original negative number: 152.
|
circa 1898 |
1/2 | 11 |
Skagway harbor, docks, and town as seen
from above White Pass Wharf Photographer's original negative number: 156.
Similar to #4.
|
1898 |
1/3 | 12 |
Cooks in front of tent kitchen at a
construction camp Photographer's original negative number: 162.
|
August 1898 |
1/3 | 13 |
Railroad and wagon road near Rocky
Point Photographer's original negative number: 216.
|
circa 1898 |
1/3 | 14 |
Workers using ropes to support
themselves while cutting railroad grade on Tunnel Mountain near White Pass
Photographer's original negative number: 222.
|
September 1898 |
1/3 | 15 |
Dead Horse Trail in summer Photographer's original negative number: 223.
|
circa 1898 |
1/3 | 16 |
Construction crew cutting grade on
Tunnel Mountain Photographer's original negative number: 229.
|
circa 1898 |
1/3 | 17 |
Construction workers clearing and
breaking rock for railway grade on Tunnel Mountain near Fisk's Cut Photographer's original negative number: 236.
|
September1898 |
1/3 | 18 |
Men with sledge hammers on steep rock
face and men carting blasting supplies up rock face Photographer's original negative number: 237.
|
September 1898 |
1/3 | 19 |
Creek with mountain range in
background Photographer's original negative number: 289.Written on item: "Where the first Canadian sod was turned."Location of first construction of White Pass and Yukon Railroad
on Canadian soil.
|
circa 1898 |
White Pass and Yukon Railroad during constructionReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
box:oversize | item | ||
OS Box 1 | 20 | circa 1900 | |
OS Box 1 | 21 | July 1900 |
White Pass Railroad after constructionReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/4 | 22 | circa 1900 | |
1/4 | 23 |
Train at Rocky Point, east fork of
Skagway River in background Photographer's original negative number: 2051.
|
August 1899 |
1/4 | 24 | circa 1900 | |
1/4 | 25 |
An excursion group riding a train over
Summit Turntable, White Pass The excursion was sponsored by the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
newspaper.
|
August 22, 1899 |
Bennett, British Columbia, CanadaReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/5 | 26 |
Scene at Bennett landing with
S.S. Bailey at dock and men and freight along
railroad tracks Photographer's original negative number: 2097.
|
September 1899 |
1/5 | 27 | September 1899 | |
1/5 | 28 |
Men in front of building with first dog
sled team from Nome Written on item: "Tired out."
|
March 1900 |
Miles Canyon, Yukon Territory, CanadaReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/6 | 29 | circa 1900 | |
1/6 | 30 | circa 1900 | |
1/6 | 31 | circa 1900 | |
1/6 | 32 | circa 1900 |
Dalton TrailReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box/Folder | item | ||
1/7 | 33 |
Log bridge over creak Photographer's original negative number: 440.
|
circa 1900 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Canyons--Yukon Territory--Photographs
- Mountain railroads--Alaska--Photographs
- Mountain railroads--Yukon Territory--Photographs
- Mountains--Alaska--Photographs
- Railroad construction workers--Alaska--Photographs
- Railroad construction workers--Yukon Territory--Photographs
- Railroads--Design and construction--Alaska--Photographs
- Railroads--Design and construction--Yukon Territory--Photographs
- Rivers--Alaska--Photographs
- Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)
Corporate Names
- White Pass & Yukon Route (Firm)
Geographical Names
- Miles Canyon (Yukon)--Photographs
- Skagway (Alaska)--Photographs