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Yukon Territory photograph album, circa 1903-1906

Overview of the Collection

Title
Yukon Territory photograph album
Dates
circa 1903-1906 (inclusive)
Quantity
177 photographic prints in 1 album (1 box) ; sizes vary
Collection Number
PH0041
Summary
Photographs of Yukon Territory locations and activities
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 required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Additional Reference Guides

Languages
English
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Historical Background

Gold was found near Dawson in the Yukon region of Canada in 1896. With the news of gold making its way to Seattle in 1897, the Klondike Gold Rush began. Over 100,000 people set off for the Yukon to find gold, but only 30,000 made it to the Yukon. Many either died or turned back for various reasons. Eventually, the population of Dawson swelled and temporarily became the largest city north of San Francisco.

Whitehorse was a campsite for many gold prospectors, an area rich in copper, and a consistently significant location for the purposes of transportation. The White Pass and Yukon Route railway connected Whitehorse to the port town of Skagway by 1900. To traverse the dangerous Whitehorse Rapids, two tramlines were built along the Yukon River with terminals near downtown Whitehorse. With multiple lines of transporation passing through,Whitehorse boomed.

Silver and gold were first discovered in the Windy Arm area of Tagish Lake in July of 1899, which sparked an intensive mining era in this section of the Yukon just south of Carcross, originally known as Caribou Crossing. By 1905, American mining promoter Col. John Howard Conrad had acquired control of most of the newly-discovered gold, silver, and lead deposits on Montana Mountain. Col. Conrad built a tram to carry ore down from the Montana Mine to the boomtown of Conrad. At the time of its construction, it was the longest tramway in the world at 3700 feet high and four miles long.

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Content Description

Photographs of various locations within the Yukon Territory, British Columbia, and Alaska, including Whitehorse, Caribou Crossing, and, Conrad. Depicts scenes of mining, surveying, packtrains, and dog teams. Includes images of steamboats, railroads, and tramways. Also depicted are dwellings, natural scenes, wildlife, and native people.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

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

Preferred Citation

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Source: Michael Maslan, 1985

Processing Note

Processed by Paul Martinez, 2014; Katie Burke, 2015; processing completed 2015.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographs

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)


2008 (Last modified: 4/19/2018)

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