National Park Service History Electronic Library & Archive

KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK, Alaska

The NPS History Electronic Library & Archive is a portal to electronic publications covering the history of the National Park Service (NPS) and the cultural and natural history of the national parks, monuments, and historic sites of the (U.S.) National Park System. Also included are documents for national monuments managed by other federal agencies, along with a collection of U.S. Forest Service publications.

The information contained in this Website is historical in scope and is not meant as an aid for travel planning; please refer to the official NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Website for current/additional information. While we are an independent endeavor and not affiliated with the National Park Service, we gratefully acknowledge the contributions by park employees and advocates, which has enabled us to create this free digital repository.

view PARK ARCHIVES

As we give thanks this month, I'd like to take the opportunity to extend my thanks and appreciation to my contributors who've helped to make this little website grow each month: Jeff, Greg, Vince, Nancy, Byrony, Ron and Steve; as well as Ed who keeps his father's dream alive. Thanks also to all NPS employees who tirelessly help protect our national treasures. Suggestions are always welcomed on how to improve this labor of love — NPSHistory.com.

Randall D. Payne

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New eLibrary Additions

Featured Publications

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Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
Julie Johnson and Nora L. Deans
(2010)

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Chilkoot Trail
Heritage route to the Klondike
David Neufeld and Frank Norris
(1996)

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The Klondike Quest
A Photographic Essay, 1897-1899
Pierre Berton
(2005)

Ethnographic Overview and Assessment, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Final Report (Thomas F. Thornton, August 2004)

Historic Resource Study: Proposed Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (Edwin C. Bearss, November 15, 1970)

Design Guidelines for Skagway Historic District (Randall Copeland, 1981)

Historical Archaeology in Skagway, Alaska: Archaeological Overview and Assessment of the Downtown Skagway Unit, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (William Hampton Adams and David R. Brauner, 1991)

Adaptive Restoration, Mascot Saloon Group: Project Manual — Volume 2 (Date Unknown)

The Skagway Historic District Commission: A Brief History (Frank Norris, 1996; Karl Gurcke, revised 2011)

Dyea Area Transportation Feasibility Study, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (Erica Simmons, Eric Burkman, Margo Dawes, Scott Lian and Emma Vinnella-Brusher, April 22, 2019)

El Morro: A Unit History (Douglas W. Sievers, August 14, 1970)

Administrative History of Pipestone National Monument (Robert A. Murray, December 1961)

General Grant National Memorial: Its History and Possible Development (Thomas M. Pitkin, November 1959)

A History of Moores Creek National Military Park (Russell A. Gibbs, 1965)

The History of Timpanogos Cave National Monument (Ralph Iorio, 1968)

"Oh, Ranger!" A Book about the National Parks (Horace M. Albright and Frank J. Taylor, 1928, 1929)

General Information regarding the National Monuments set aside under the Act of Congress approved June 8, 1906 (1917)

2024 National Park Visitor Spending Effects: Economic Contributions to Local Communities, States, and the Nation NPS Science Report NPS/SR-2025/353 (Matthew Flyr, Evan Stockmoe, Catherine Cullinane Thomnas, Lynne Koontz and Christopher Huber, September 2025)

Report of the Superintendent of the Hot Springs Reservation, June 30, 1884 (1884)

An Investigation of Indigenous Presence in the Kittatuck (Blackstone River) Valley: An Ethnographic Overview and Assessment of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park and Kittatuck Valley (D. Rae Gould, Heather Law Pezzarossi and Allyson LaForge, June 2025)

Collaborative Management of Bears Ears National Monument: Perspectives from the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (Hillary M. Hoffmann and Charissa Miijessepe-Wilson, extract from Park Stewardship Forum, Vol. 41 No. 3, 2025)

Deep Roots: A 10,000-Year Indigenous History of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Utah Bureau of Land Management Cultural Resource Series No. 20 / Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Special Publication No. 5 (Jerry D. Spangler and Matthew K. Zweifel, 2021)

National Park Service: Fee Increases for International Visitors In Focus 13098 (Congressional Research Service, September 8, 2025)

A Memoir of the Origins and Evolution of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program, and the Value of UNESCO Programs to the World Today (Chris Groves and Vernon C. (Tom) Gilbert, extract from Park Stewardship Forum, Vol. 41 No. 3, 2025)

An Evaluation of Commercial Fishing Operations Within and Adjacent to Assateague Island National Seashore University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Technical Report TS-697-17 (Geneviève M. Nesslage and Michael J. Wilberg, June 28, 2017)

The Vortex of Small Fortune: The Continental Army at Valley Forge, 1777-1778 — Valley Forge Historical Research Report: Volume I (Wayne K. Bodle, May 1980)

The Fatal Crisis: Logistics and the Continental Army at Valley Forge, 1777-1778 — Valley Forge Historical Research Report: Volume II (Jacqueline Thibaut, 1982)

In the True Rustic Order: Historic Resource Study and Historical Base Maps of the Valley Forge Encampment 1777-1778 Valley Forge Historical Research Report: Volume III (Jacqueline Thibaut, 1982)

Historic Structures Report/Architectural Data Section: Fort Hancock Quartermaster Structures, 1900-1918, Sandy Hook Unit, Gateway National Recreation Area — Part Two (Douglas S. Walter, Barry Sulam and Susan Simpson, April 1979)

Historic Structure Report: Mess Hall Building #58, Fort Hancock, New Jersey, Sandy Hook Unit, Gateway National Recreation Area (John Milner Associates, Inc., March 2011)

A Brief Archæological Reconnaissance of White Canyon, Southeastern Utah (Lloyd Pierson, extract from El Palacio, Vol. 64 Nos. 7-8, July-August 1957)

Dating the Occupation of Site Bc-50 in Chaco Canyon National Monument (Joel L. Shiner, extract from El Palacio, Vol. 71 No. 3, Autumn 1964)

Exploratory Excavations at Fort Vancouver (Lous R. Caywood, 1947)

Is It A House? Archaeological Excavations at English Camp, San Juan Island, Washington Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture Research Report No. 9 (Amanda K. Taylor and Julie K. Stein, eds., 2011; ©Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)

Archaeological Reconnaissance in White Sands National Monument (Peter L. Eidenbach and Mark Wimberly, 1980)

Comprehensive Plan for the Protection, Management, Development and Use of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (September 1981)

Removing Properties from the National Registers Best Practices Review Issue 12 (July 2025)

Considering Unusal Properties Best Practices Review Issue 13 (September 2025)

Using Photogrammetry to Monitor Materials Deterioration and Structural Problems on Historic Buildings — The Dorchester Heights Monument: A Case Study (J. Henry Chambers, c1982)

Battle of Homestead and Carrie Furnaces 6 and 7 Special Resource Study / Environmental Assessment Draft (September 2002)

Women's Suffrage National Monument Site Selection Study (October 2, 2025)

Fallen Journalists Memorial Environmental Assessment (September 2025)

The Harvest and Use of Wild Foods by Four Communities Bordering the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve: Central, Circle, Eagle, and Eagle Village, 2016 and 2017 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Technical Paper No. 469 (Alida Trainor, Brooke M. McDavid, Jeff Park,, Helen S. Cold and David Koster, August 2020)

Rules, Regulations and Instructions for the information and guidance of officers and enlisted men of the United States Army, and of the scouts doing duty in the Yellowstone National Park (1907)

A nationwide assessment of awareness about US national parks (Xiao Xiao, Peizhe Li and Steven Lawson, extract from Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Toursim, Vol. 52, 2025)

Badlands Design Guidelines: Cedar Pass Developed Area, Badlands National Park, SD (The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, 2017)

Pre-Planning & Programming Study: Martin Van Buren National Historical Site (Davis Brody Bond, June 16, 2022)

Space Planning & Programming Study: Colt Armory, Coltsville National Historical Park (Davis Brody Bond, October 26, 2018)

Steel or Sand? Protecting the Indiana Dunes Through Community Activism, The National Park Service, and the Clean Water Act (Sophie Hill, extract from Mitchell Hamline Law Review, Vol. 50 Issue 3 Article 2, 2024)

Amenities Study: Conditions Evaluation and Long-Term Planning for Recreational Amenities on the Erie Canal (March 2025)

Evaluation of Wood Decay and Identification of Fungi Found in the USS Cairo, a Historic American Civil War Ironclad Gunboat (Robert A. Blanchette, Benjamin W. Held, Claudia Chemello and Paul Mardikian, extract from Journal of Fungi, Vol. 11 Issue 10, October 2025)

Climate Communication Toolkit & Preservation Tactics: Antietam National Battlefield (2025)

Passport to Preservation: Antietam National Battlefield (2024)

Kendra's Quest: Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens (2025)

Ranger Toolkit: Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens (2025)

Twenty-Five Years of Paleontological Research in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah: Public Lands in Service to Science and the Public (Alan L. Titus, Randall B. Irmis, Scott D. Sampson, Lindsay E. Zanno, L. Barry Albright, Joseph J.W. Sertich, Eric M. Roberts and Andrew A. Farke, extract from Park Stewardship Forum, Vol. 41 No. 3, 2025)

Distribution and abundance of the fisher (Pekania pennanti) on the Makah Reservation and surrounding lands in northwestern Washington State (Rebecca M. McCaffery, Shannon Murphie, Patricia J. Happe and Kurt J. Jenkins, February 2020)

Investigation of the August 24, 2019, Cable Mountain Rock Avalanche, Zion National Park, Utah Utah Geological Survey Report of Investigation 281 (Jessica J. Castleton and Ben A. Erickson, 2019)

Baseline Inventory of Biological Resources at Choza, Smith, and Juniper Springs, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas (Erik M. Andersen and James M. Mueller, November 2003)

Reading the Rocks: The Geology of National Parks as a Platform for Climate Change Education (Natalie Bursztyn and Diane Clemens-Knott, extract from Park Stewardship Forum, Vol. 41 Issue 2, 2025)

Invasive Plant Management Teams: 20-Year Program Evaluation (Terri Hogan, Allyson C. Mathis and Garrett Dickman, March 2011)

Water-Resources Inventory and Assessment at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument U.S. Geological Survey Scientific-Investigations Report 2025-5070 (Amanda L. Tudor, 2025)

Flood-Inundation Maps of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers including the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Southeast Missouri, 2023 U.S. Geological Survey Scientific-Investigations Report 2025-5092 (David C. Heimann, Jason L. High, Allison A. Atkinson and Paul H. Rydlund, Jr., 2025)

Using High-Resolution Geospatial Imagery and Data To Document the Evolution of the Wilderness Breach That Was Created by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 at Fire Island National Seashore, New York Open-File Report 2025-1020 (Garry B. Fisher, 2025)

Decision-Support Modeling and Research Priorities for Establishing Baseline Conditions for Outstandingly Remarkable Values, Obed Wild and Scenic River, Tennessee Open-File Report 2025-1035 (Elena R. Crowley-Ornelas, Rebecca Schapansky, Tom Blount and Niki S. Nicholas, 2025)

Sampling Dragonflies for Mercury Analysis in Grand Canyon National Park, 2018-2024 NPS Science Report NPS/SR-2025/283 (Colleen Flanagan Pritz, Colleen Emery, Branden L. Johnson, James J. Willacker, Christopher Kotalik, Katherine Ko, Michael Bell, David Walters and Collin A. Eagles-Smith, May 2025)

White-Nose Syndrom Surveillance and Bat Monitoring Activities in North Coast and Cascades Network Parks, 2016-2024 NPS Science Report NPS/SR-2025/340 (Tara Chestnut, Jenny Urbina, Michael E. Hansen, Rebecca McCaffery, Dylan J. Rhea-Fournier, Jenn Allen and Taal Levi, August 2025)

Valuing wildlife sightings at the species-wide and individual animal levels: an approach and application to bear viewing in Yellowstone National Park (Leslie Richardson and Aaron J. Enriquez, extract from Human Dimensions of Wildlife, Vol. 30 No. 2, 2025)

Multi‐Scale Geophysical Imaging of a Hydrothermal System in Yellowstone National Park, USA (Sylvain Pasquet, W. Steven Holbrook, Bradley J. Carr, Neil Terry, Martin A. Briggs, Carol A. Finn, Paul A. Bedrosian, Esben Auken, Jesper Pedersen, Pradip Maurya and Kenneth W. W. Sims, extract from JGR Solid Earth, Vol. 130 Issue 4, April 2025)

The Intersection of New Deal Policy Works Programs and National Park Service Paleontology (Megan M. Rich, Vincent L. Santucci and Justin S. Tweet, extract from New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 101, 2025; ©New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, all rights reserved)

Discovery of Late Holocene-aged Acropora palmata reefs in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA: The past as a key to the future? (Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Lauren T. Toth, Alexander B. Modys, Selena A. Johnson and Ilsa B. Kuffner, extract from The Depositional Record, Vol. 11 Issue 3, June 2025)

An Eastern Ribbonsnake, Thamnophis saurita (Linnaeus, 1766), scavenging on a roadkilled Cuban Treefrog, Osteopilus septentrionalis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841), in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA (Sarah S. Payne, Eleanor F. Lane, Faith D. Dunlap, Madison P. Vasquez, Matthew F. Metcalf, Lisa M. McBride, Sarah R. Sherburne, Christina M. Romagosa, Amanda M. Kissel, Amy A. Yackel Adams and Mark R. Sandfoss, extract from Herpetology Notes, Vol. 18, 2025)

Consumption of a Non-native Walking Catfish (Clarias batrachus) by a Florida Green Watersnake (Nerodia floridana) in Everglades National Park (Carter Haley, Eleanor Lane, Sarah Payne, Gabriella Silva, Matthew Metcalf, Christina Romagosa, Kevin Donmoyer, Lisa McBride, Sarah Sherburne, Amanda Kissel, Amy Yackel Adams and Mark Sandfoss, extract from Reptiles & Amphibians, Vol. 32 No. 1, 2025)

Documenting, quantifying, and modeling a large glide avalanche in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA (James Dillon, Erich Peitzsch, Zachary Miller, Perry Bartelt and Kevin Hammonds, extract from Cold Regions Science and Technology, Vol. 231, March 2025)

Implementation of Controlled Floods for Sediment Management on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon Under Aridification (Paul E. Grams, David J. Topping, Gerard Salter, Katherine A. Chapman, Robert B. Tusso and Erich R. Mueller, extract from River Research and Applications, Vol. 41 Issue 2, February 2025)

Bacterial community structure across a sand dune chronosequence at the Indiana Dunes National Park (Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, Noel B. Pavlovic and Cindy H. Nakatsu, extract from Journal of Great Lakes Research, July 5, 2025)

Monitoring visitor activity and informal trail disturbance in Yosemite Valley meadows to assess temporal changes in use and impacts (Sheri A. Shiflett, Jeffrey S. Jenkins, Rachel F. Mattos, Kai Thiry, Peter C. Ibsen, Melissa Booher, Angela Tricomi and Nicole D. Athearn, extract from Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, Vol. 50, June 2025)

The ichnology of White Sands (New Mexico): Linear traces and human footprints, evidence of transport technology? (Matthew R. Bennett, Thomas M. Urban, David F. Bustos, Sally C. Reynolds, Edward A. Jolie, Hannah C. Strehlau, Daniel Odess, Kathleen B. Springer and Jeffrey S. Pigati, extract from Quaternary Science Advances, Vol. 17, January 2025)

Cold-Induced Vomiting of a White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) by an Invasive Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) in Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida, USA (Travis R. Mangione, Grant S. McCargar, Matthew F. Metcalf, Lisa M. McBride, Eli Suastegui, Josue I. Perez, Cohen W. Eastridge, Matthew F. McCollister, Christina M. Romagosa, Amanda M. Kissel, Amy A. Yackel Adams abd Mark R. Sandfoss, extract from Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 15 Issue 7, July 2025)

Riparian Vegetated Area in Pre-Dam, Post-Dam, and Environmental Flow Periods in Canyonlands National Park From 1940 to 2022 (Dustin W. Perkins, Aneth Wight, Mark Wondzell and Jonathan M. Friedman, extract from River Research and Applications, Vol. 41 Issue 3, March 2025)

National Park Service staff perspectives on how climate change affects visitor use (Sarah Rappaport Keener, Emily J. Wilkins, Wylie Carr, Samantha G. Winder, Julianne Reas, Daniela B. Daniele and Spencer A. Wood, extract from People and Nature, Vol. 7 Issue 10, October 2025)

Adapting visitor use management under a changing climate across the U.S. National Park System (Emily J. Wilkins, Sarah Rappaport Keener, Wylie Carr, Samantha G. Winder, Julianne Reas, Daniela B. Daniele and Spencer A. Wood, extract from Journal of Environmental Management, Vol 391, September 2025)

Accurately Characterizing Climate Change Scenario Planning in the U.S. National Park Service: Comment on Murphy et al. 2023 (Joel H. Reynolds, Brian W. Miller, Gregor W. Schuurman, Wylie A. Carr, Amy J. Symstad, John E. Gross and Amber N. Runyon, extract from Society & Natural Resources, Vol. 38 No. 3, 2025)

Understanding Perceptions of Climate Change Scenario Planning in United States Public Land Management Agencies (Daniel J. Murphy, Laurie Yung, Courtney Schultz, Brett Alan Miller,Carina Wyborn and Daniel R. Williams, extract from Society & Natural Resources, Vol. 38 No. 3, 2025)

Drought and deluge—opportunities for climate-change adaptation in US national parks (Meagan F Oldfather, Amber N Runyon, Kyra Clark-Wolf, Wynne E Moss, Imtiaz Rangwala, Anthony Ciocco, Aparna Bamzai-Dodson, Helen R Sofaer and Brian W Miller, extract from Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 23 Issue 7, September 2025)

Fire gives avian populations a rapid and enduring boost in protected forests of California (Chris Ray, Rodney B. Siegel, Robert L. Wilkerson, Lynn Schofield, Morgan W. Tingley, Sonia Aronson, Sylvia Haultain, Sarah Stock and Kent van Wagtendonk, extract from Fire Ecology, 21:56, October 2025)

A Field Guide to Biological Soil Crusts of Western U.S, Drylands: Common Lichens and Bryophytes (Roger Rosentreter, Matthew Bowker and Jayne Belnap, 2007)

2024-2025 Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem Wolf Population Report (Thomas Gable, Austin Homkes, Sophie Heny Joseph Bump, 2025; Voyageurs Wolf Project))

The strength of the Yellowstone trophic cascade after wolf reintroduction (William J. Ripple, Robert L. Beschta, Christopher Wolf, Luke E. Painter and Aaron J. Wirsing, extract from Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol. 58, 2025)

Flawed analysis invalidates claim of a strong Yellowstone trophic cascade after wolf reintroduction: A comment on Ripple et al. (2025) (Daniel R. MacNulty, David Cooper, Michael Procko and T.J. Clark-Wolf, extract from Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol. 63, 2025)

Featured Publications

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Our Forests, Our Future
Honoring the Past, Engaging the Present, and Leading to the Future
Char Miller, ed.
(2025)

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Fighting Fire in the Sierra National Forest
Marcia Penner Freedman
(2015)

Landscape Phenology, Vegetation Condition, and Relations with Climate at Arches National Park, 2000–2019 NPS Science Report NPS/SR—2025/284 (David Thoma, May 2025)

Landscape Phenology, Vegetation Condition, and Relations with Climate at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, 2000–2019 NPS Science Report NPS/SR—2025/280 (David Thoma, May 2025)

Landscape Phenology, Vegetation Condition, and Relations with Climate at Dinosaur National Monument, 2000–2019 NPS Science Report NPS/SR—2025/309 (David Thoma, May 2025)

Landscape Phenology, Vegetation Condition, and Relations with Climate at Golden Spike National Historical Park, 2000–2019 NPS Science Report NPS/SR—2025/324 (David Thoma, June 2025)

Landscape Phenology, Vegetation Condition, and Relations with Climate at Zion National Park, 2000–2019 NPS Science Report NPS/SR—2025/287 (David Thoma, May 2025)

Inventory of fens and rare fen-indicator plant occurrences at Grand Teton National Park and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway NPS Science Report NPS/SR-2025/325 (Joanna M. Lemly, Lauren Laughlin and Gabrielle A. Smith, June 2025)

Natural Resource Conditions at Mesa Verde National Park: Findings and Management Considerations for Selected Resources NPS Science Report NPS/SR-2025/295 (Allison Jones, Sarah McTague, Tina Mozelewski, Rachel Crafford, Andy Maguire and Justin Suraci, May 2025)

Condition and Trends of Estuarine Water Quality in Gateway National Recreation Area: Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, 2003-2022 NPS Science Report NPS/SR-2025/286 (Jessica L. Nagel, Holly K. Plaisted, Christopher P. Peck and Paul Duffy, May 2025)

Seeps and Springs Inventory, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area: Level 1 report NPS Science Report NPS/SR-2025/277 (Thomas McCoy-Bruce, Allyson S. Read and Alan Cressler, April 2025)

A Comparison of Operational Noise Conditions on the Denali Park Road NPS Science Report NPS/SR-2025/355 (Davyd Halyn Betchkal, Sarah E. Hayes and Bryan C. Miller, September 2025)

Bandelier in the Southwest (Hulda R. Hobbs, extract from El Palacio, Vol. XLVII No. 6, June 1940)

The Story of the Delight Makers: From Bandelier's Own Journals (Hulda R. Hobbs, extract from El Palacio, Vol. XLIX No. 6, June 1942)

Adolph Bandelier Was Here: Graffiti Project Protect Ancient Dwellings from Modern Scrawl (Kate Nelson, extract from El Palacio, Vol. 115 No. 2, Summer 2010)

The Repatriation of Adolph F. Bandelier: A Story of Bones (David Grant Noble, extract from El Palacio, Vol. 117 No. 3, Fall 2012)

"Lost" Pecos Church (Stanley A. Stubbs, Bruce T. Ellis and Alfred E. Dittert, Jr., extract from El Palacio, Vol. 64 No. 3, March-April 1957)

A Rare Stone Humpbacked Figurine from Pecos Pueblo, New Mexico (Marjorie F. Lambert, extract from El Palacio, Vol. 64 No. 3, March-April 1957)

Adolph F. Bandelier: The New Mexico Years (Carroll L. Riley, extract from El Palacio, Vol. 113 No. 2, Summer 2008)

The Long Road Home: Pecos Pueblo Repatriation (Frances Levine, extract from El Palacio, Vol. 118 No. 3, Fall 2013)

Tabira — Identification and Historical Sketch (Richard M. Howard, extract from El Palacio, Vol. 67 No. 2, April 1960)

Heritage Resource Survey of the Sierra Ancha and Cherry Creek Fire Analysis Areas (Richard Ciolek-Torrello and Charles Riggs, 1990)

Visitor Diversity through the Recreation Managers Lens: Comparing Forest Service Regions 8 (U.S. South) and 5 (California) U.S. Forest Service General Technical Report SRS-205 (Cassandra Johnson Gaither, Nina S. Roberts and Kirstin L. Hanula, March 2015)

NPS Reflections

Preserving the Klondike Gold Rush Legacy

Frank Norris

In the late 1960s, United States and Canadian park officials seized a remarkable opportunity to preserve the primary remnants of the 1897-1898 Klondike Gold Rush. The gold rush "stampeders" made their way to the Klondike over a 1,600. mile-long chain of oceans, trails, and rivers that stretched from the State of Washington to Yukon Territory. Because much of the inland portion of that route lapsed into wilderness once the rush ran its course, entire ghost towns, mining landscapes, and trailside artifacts by the thousands remained where they lay. The following account traces how the National Park Service and Canadian park authorities, working with state, provincial, and local agencies, were able to preserve the major gold rush-era resources.

One hundred years ago, the Klondike Gold Rush was in full swing. Tens of thousands of gold-mad "stampeders" were on the way to the Klondike gold fields, located near the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon rivers in the center of present-day Yukon Territory. Some of the northbound throng were getting supplies in one of many west coast ports. Others were on an Inside Passage steamship, threading their way along the coast of British Columbia and southeastern Alaska. Still others hunkered down in the ports of Skagway or Dyea, Alaska, at the northern end of the Inside Passage. Those who had fallen prey to gold rush fever several months earlier were on their way over the coast mountains, camped in huge tent towns along either the Chilkoot Trail or the White Pass Trail. Those farthest along the way were encamped at either Lake Lindeman or Lake Bennett, at the northern end of those trails, building a boat and waiting for the ice to break. Everyone anxiously awaited breakup so that they could race down the Yukon River. They hoped to be among the first to reach Dawson City and the Klondike gold fields where, so rumors had it, the streets were paved with gold. It was a wild, exciting time. It was the "last grand adventure," a chance for the desperate and adventurous to risk everything in the ultimate get-rich-quick scheme.

The gold discovery that started this madness had taken place in the summer of 1896. Skookum Jim, along with companions Dawson Charlie and George Carmack, had found gold lying "like cheese in a sandwich" on a hot August afternoon on the banks of a small Klondike River tributary. However, the Yukon basin was so isolated from the rest of the world—particularly during the long, ice-bound winter—that few outsiders heard of the strike until mid-July 1897. Within two days of each other, two ships—Excelsior and Portland, en route to San Francisco and Seattle, respectively—landed with literally tons of Klondike gold and scores of miners to broadcast the extent of the newfound wealth. The rush was on. During the following year, some 100,000 people headed north.

Vegetation of the Chilkoot Trail (NPS photo)

By the summer of 1898, the dream of Klondike gold had fallen prey to grim reality. Upon reaching Dawson, the stampeders learned that the gold fields, though remarkably rich, were limited in their geographical extent. All land that had any possibility of yielding gold had been staked months earlier. Given that news, most of the stampeders lingered around Dawson City for awhile. However, many left the area and headed home with little to show for their efforts than a few gold nuggets and a wealth of hard-won experience. Those who remained in the Dawson area until the following spring heard an increasing number of rumors about a fabulous gold strike near the Bering Sea in northwestern Alaska. The Nome gold rush was on and the Klondike excitement soon faded into history. The two largest towns that erupted during the gold rush—Dawson City, Yukon Territory and Skagway, Alaska—remained active. But Dyea, Sheep Camp, Log Cabin, and other trailside towns were quickly abandoned. The trails themselves were soon swallowed up by the surrounding forests.

Tourists—"excursionists" in the jargon of the day—had been gawking at the wonders of southeastern Alaska's Inside Passage for more than a decade before the gold rush. The construction of the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad in 1898-1900 gave visitors the opportunity to head inland and see the rugged gold rush routes for themselves. Rail trips paralleling the White Pass trail from Skagway, Alaska, to Bennett, British Columbia, were a standard part of the tourist regimen by 1910. By 1920, a small but increasing number of tourists were taking the railroad all the way north to its terminus at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. The truly adventurous then boarded a White Pass riverboat and sailed down to Dawson. Travelers found that both Skagway and Dawson had a pleasant, tumble-down appearance that was seemingly unchanged from the "Days of '98," and old-time residents were often on hand to enliven the visitors' experience.

Private businesses thrive along Broadway Street in downtown Skagway. Many were rehabilitated, using federally-sponsored matching grants, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. (NPS photo)

By the 1930s, many of the old-time residents had died or moved away, and the gold rush-era buildings were beginning to fall prey to time and the elements. Far-sighted individuals recognized that the gold rush was one of the major events in north country history and that something needed to be done to preserve, for future generations, some of the gold rush buildings and trails. Elmer A. Rasmuson, a Skagway banker, advanced the idea of a "Skagway National Park" in 1933. The idea was kicked around the National Park Service for the next couple of years, but then died away. Several factors militated against preservation during that period. Neither the United States nor the Canadian government had much of an interest, nor much of a track record, of expending funds for preservation purposes. In addition, both Alaska and the Yukon were territories and thus received little attention from Washington and Ottawa, respectively. Local governments and private entities were either unconcerned or were financially unable to help. Buildings and trails on both sides of the border continued to deteriorate.

By the late 1950s, the preservation possibilities began to improve. Tourism to the north country increased to levels never seen previously. In 1959, Alaska became a state. Attitudes toward preservation improved. A small corps of local residents began to lobby for restoration work, both for civic beautification purposes and because of its long-term benefit to heritage tourism.

White Pass (NPS photo)

The first big step to popularize the gold rush era took place near Skagway in early 1961. The Alaska Youth and Adult Authority (the new state's corrections department) decided, as a work project, to reopen the Chilkoot Trail to recreational hikers. Over the years, the original trail surface had become largely if not totally invisible. The new trail went over only part of the original right-of-way. The trail on the United States' side of the border was completed by the summer of 1964. In 1968, Canadian corrections crews extended the route from the border (on the summit of Chilkoot Pass) north to Lake Bennett.

The 1960s brought other signs of interest in the area's gold rush history. In 1962, the National Park Service designated the Skagway-White Pass area as a National Historic Landmark. The National Park Service Advisory Board also showed an interest in the area; board members visited Skagway in both 1963 and 1965. For their part, Skagway citizens did what they could to perpetuate the gold rush atmosphere. The town council decided not to replace its old plank boardwalks with concrete, and it moved to rehabilitate the Arctic Brotherhood, a well-known city-owned landmark.

During this same period, Canadian officials were also active in gold rush preservation efforts. In 1961, the National Historic Sites Branch repaired S.S. Keno, an old Yukon River stern-wheeler located in Dawson City. The following year, the craft was used as a casino during the town's Gold Rush Festival. In 1966, another old sternwheeler, S.S. Klondike, was moved across town to a display site in a Whitehorse park. Soon afterward, Canada's Historic Sites and Monuments Board designated both vessels as National Historic Sites. On both sides of the border, the efforts taken during the early- to mid-1960s were piecemeal, but they signaled a growing interest in gold rush history and in the respective national governments' willingness to fund preservation efforts.

Artifacts at the Historic Canyon City Townsite (NPS photo)

In 1968, both nations became more serious in their efforts to preserve the gold rush corridor. After gaining permission from Alaska governor Walter Hickel, National Park Service planners compiled "Skagway, A Study of Alternatives." The document envisioned three scenarios for the agency and recommended a course of action that called for a 977-acre park that would include just two buildings in the Skagway business district and a narrow corridor along the recently-opened Chilkoot Trail. The Canadians showed their interest by stationing a parks-agency staff person in Whitehorse. They expressed a growing interest in preserving the old Presbyterian church on the shore of Bennett Lake as an interpretive site. Beyond that, Canadian officials studied Klondike's history "with the object of determining how best to preserve the relics and interpret the story of those exciting days."

The park idea gained considerable momentum in 1969 when Canadian and United States park officials arranged a joint Chilkoot Trail hike. Some 20 officials from the federal, state, territorial, provincial, and local levels hiked the 33-mile trail over Labor Day weekend. Immediately afterward, they continued on to Dawson for an inspection tour. The group then flew back to Whitehorse, where United States and Canadian park officials produced a confidential report outlining a proposal for an international historic park based upon the Klondike gold rush theme. The idea was approved by National Park Service Director George Hartzog, and subsequently by Secretary of the Interior (and former Alaska governor) Walter Hickel. On the Canadian side, park designations all along the gold rush corridor—at Bennett, Whitehorse, Dawson City, and in the gold fields—were enthusiastically backed by Jean Chretien, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (and Canada's current Prime Minister). On December 31, 1969, the two countries issued a joint press conference calling for the collaborative development of a Klondike Gold Rush International Historic Park.

Mascot Saloon (NPS photo)

On the United States side, events moved in fits and starts from the proposal stage to legislative reality. In 1970, Edwin Bearss wrote a historic resources study of the proposed park. The following spring, the National Park Service issued a draft master plan. However, momentum then slowed and it was not until the spring of 1973 that the final master plan was approved. The plan was fairly uncontroversial. Both the State of Alaska and the City of Skagway liked the park idea. But the increased size and complexity of the park proposal—three separate units in Alaska, an additional small unit in Seattle, Washington, the proposed purchase of several Skagway commercial buildings, and a variety of public land jurisdictions in the area—slowed down the overall park development process. The first bill calling for a Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park was introduced in April 1973, but a crowded congressional agenda (including the Watergate controversy) delayed hearings until May 1975. The bill passed Congress on a voice vote and President Ford signed the park bill on June 30, 1976. The resulting Act called for a 13,000-acre park, including a mile-wide corridor along the Chilkoot Trail, a similar corridor along the upper portion of the White Pass Trail, the acquisition of 16 gold rush-era buildings within the Skagway Historic District, and a visitor center in Seattle's Pioneer Square District.

North of the border, the idea of a national park in the Chilkoot Trail corridor was advanced by a land-exchange agreement, announced in June 1973, between Canadian minister Jean Chretien and provincial official Jack Radford. However, the agreement was never finalized. In anticipation of a park that would have emerged from that agreement, Canadian park officials joined together with their counterparts from the United States to patrol recreational travel along the Chilkoot Trail. Each year, from early June through mid-September, United States rangers and Canadian wardens worked together to ensure a safe experience for the thousands of visitors who trekked over the Chilkoot Trail.

The creation of a park on the Canadian side of the Chilkoot Trail corridor bogged down in negotiations between the federal and provincial governments. Anticipating a resolution of the administrative logjam, Parks Canada steered a planning process for the proposed park between 1986 and 1988. But the land transfer was not completed until the early 1990s. Environmental Minister Tom McMillan then moved to officially declare the Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site. It was established, at long last, on April 7, 1993.

Chilkoot Trail (Lake Bennett) (NPS photo)

Given that long-anticipated declaration, the park corridor that planners had first envisioned back in the late 1960s had finally been realized. Park units commemorating the gold rush had been established in Seattle, Washington; in Skagway and Dyea, the two port cities at the north end of the Inside Passage; along the two major trails surmounting the rugged Coast Mountains; in Whitehorse and Dawson City; and in portions of the Klondike gold fields.

Only one goal remained—that of an international historic park. Legislation creating the United States park had stated that an international park could not be declared until a similar park had been established in Canada. Shortly after the April 1993 designation, officials on both sides of the border explored the idea of an international park. All agreed that the concept was largely symbolic. After all, the two governments had been cooperating on Chilkoot Trail operations for more than 20 years and the designation of an international park did not imply that either government would need to surrender any of its management authority. Based on that mutual recognition, United States and Canada park officials have sounded out the international park idea to the top officials in their respective agencies. It is hoped, and anticipated, that the concept can be realized in time to declare an international park this year—the centennial of the Klondike gold rush. A dedication ceremony is planned for mid-August at the Bennett, British Columbia, train station. The ceremony will feature governmental dignitaries, current park officials, and those who helped make the park a reality.

Frank Norris is a historian at the Alaska Support Office in Anchorage. During the 1980s, he spent several years at Klondike Gold Rush NHP in Skagway. He is the author of an administrative history of the park, and the co-author (with David Neufeld of Parks Canada) of Chilkoot Trail, Heritage Route to the Klondike, published by Lost Moose Press of Whitehorse in 1996.

Text from CRM, Vol. 21 No. 9, 1998.

Historic Dyea Townsite (Taiya River) (NPS photo)

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