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The Klondike Gold Rush began in August 1896 when gold was discovered in Rabbit Creek, near Dawson City in the Yukon region of Canada. While locals began staking claims immediately, word spread relatively slowly until 1897. News reached the United States in July 1897, when the first successful prospectors arrived in San Francisco and Seattle. This set off the Klondike stampede, as thousands of gold-seekers set off for the Yukon.

The route to the Yukon was a difficult one, and many Klondikers died on the trail or turned back along the way. Of the 100,000 gold-seekers who made the attempt, approximately 30,000 made it over the rough trails to arrive in Dawson City. Originally a native summer fishing camp, the gold rush made Dawson temporarily the largest city north of San Francisco, with 40,000 residents. The town blossomed as elaborate hotels, theaters and dance halls were erected. Dawson also had fire hydrants on the streets, and was the first city in western Canada to have electric lights. It also included such amenities as telephone service, running water and steam heat. The growth of Dawson was largely responsible for the creation of the Yukon Territory as a new Canadian Province on June 13, 1898.

Unfortunately, not all who reached the Klondike became rich. By the time the masses arrived, all the creeks had been claimed, and most new arrivals found themselves working for others rather than themselves. With the news of gold in Nome, Alaska, people started to leave in large numbers, with 8,000 people leaving Dawson in the summer of 1899 alone. By 1902, the population was less than 5,000.