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)
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.

Request at UW

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.

Acquisition Information

Acquired from various sources; includes a gift from Ben Card, November 20, 1958.

Processing Note

Processed by Megan Sykes, December 2005, and Megan Peacock, April 2006.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn 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.

Arranged in Barley's original numerical order.
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 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 September1898
1/3 18 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 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 September 1899
1/5 27 September 1899
1/5 28 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