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THE KLONDIKE
GOLD RUSH: |
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TIMELINE
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August 16,
1896 |
Discovery of
gold in the Klondike by George and Kate Carmack, Skookum
Jim and Dawson Charlie. |
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August 17,
1896 |
George
Carmack, Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie stake their claims
on Bonanza Creek |
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August 31,
1896 |
Discovery of
gold on Eldorado Creek (a tributary of Bonanza). |
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September
1896 |
All of
Bonanza Creek is staked and many claims are already
producing rich harvests. |
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Spring 1897 |
The
Population of Dawson grows to approximately 1,500. |
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Summer 1897 |
The
population of Dawson grows to approximately 3,500. |
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July 14,
1897 |
The
steamship Excelsior arrives in San Francisco with a half a
million dollars worth of gold on board. Stories of the
Klondike Gold Rush hit the news wires. |
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July 17,
1897 |
The
steamship Portland docks in Seattle and 68 miners unload
one million dollars worth of gold in front of a crowd of
5,000. |
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October 1897 |
A Seattle
newspaper prints and eight-page Klondike edition which is
sent to every postmaster and public library in the country
and to thousands of businessmen and politicians. |
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Summer and
Autumn 1897 |
Portland,
Victoria and Vancouver arrive in Dyea and Skagway, Alaska
or steam directly up the Yukon River to Dawson City. |
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Autumn 1897 |
Oliver
Millett of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia stakes on claim on
Cheechako Hill, far above Bonanza Creek, and it produces a
half a million dollars worth of gold. A staking rush of
the nearby hills begins. |
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Winter
1897/98 |
The Chilkoot
and the White Pass trails reach their zenith of stampeders
scrambling towards the Klondike. Among these is writer
Jack London who trudged over the White Pass. |
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April 1898 |
An avalanche
kills over 60 people on the Chilkoot Trail. |
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Spring 1898 |
The
population of Yukon peaks at over 30,000. Dawson City the
largest Canadian city west of Winnipeg. |
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May 29, 1898 |
The ice on
Lake Lindemann and Bennett Lake goes out and an armada
over 7,000 boats begin their water journey to Dawson City. |
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June 13,
1898 |
Yukon is
made a Territory. |
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July 1898 |
Skagway,
Alaska shyster Jefferson "Soapy" Smith is killed by Frank
Reid in a shoot out. |
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Summer 1898 |
The Yukon
Field Force, a Canadian army force of 200 soldiers and
four nurses is sent to the Klondike to maintain
sovereignty of Yukon and assist the North West Mounted
Police in keeping the peace. |
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April 1899 |
More than a
million dollars worth of property and 117 buildings are
destroyed in a fire in Dawson City. |
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July 1899 |
The first
White Pass and Yukon Route train runs from Skagway, Alaska
to Carcross Yukon. A year later, the line is completed to
Whitehorse. |
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Summer 1899 |
Gold is
discovered on the beaches in Nome, Alaska and the next
gold rush begins. The Klondike Gold Rush is officially
over. |
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1900 |
The year of
greatest Klondike gold production. Over 22 million dollars
worth is pulled out of the creeks. $2.5 million was pulled
out in 1897 and $10 million in 1898. |
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1901 |
Prostitution
and gambling are outlawed in Yukon. |
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1921 |
The
population of Yukon has dropped to just over 4,000 -
nearly half of which are of First Nations descent. |
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For More
Information Contact:
Tourism Yukon
Box 2704
Whitehorse, Yukon
Canada YlA2C6
Tel: (867) 667-5388
Fax: (867) 667-3546
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