Skagway – Traveling to the Gold
Posted in Historic, Romantic Locations, Ship Travel, Shopping, Travel | By Guest Author | Tags: Alaska, Historic, US Domestic Travel
By Guest Author Peggy Bradsaw
The Alaskan gold rush lured thousands to Skagway, which became known as the gateway to the goldfields. By 1898, it was Alaska’s largest town with a population of about 20,000, not counting the 10,000 people living in the tent city of nearby Dyea. Today, Skagway has less than 1,000 residents but the population more than doubles on the days when the cruise ships pull into the dock.
Skagway boasted the shortest route to the Klondike, but it was far from being the easiest. Over a hundred years ago, the White Pass route through the coast mountains and the shorter, but steeper, Chilkoot Trail, were used by thousands of stampeders. The treacherous Chilkoot Trail, combined with the area’s cruel elements, left scores dead. The hotels, saloons, dance halls and gambling houses prospered, but as the gold supply dwindled, so did the population of the town, as the miners left to go to newly-discovered gold fields.
Skagway, Former Gold Boom Town Photo by George Bradshaw
Today, Skagway retains the look and flavor of the 1898 gold rush era with its false fronts and brightly painted buildings. Although the buildings are still there, restored, the occupancy is quite different. The saloons and brothels now house shops and businesses that cater to the tourist trade that keeps Skagway alive and well.
One of the most prominent men to take up residence in Skagway was Soapy Smith. Soapy was a criminal and con man who left successful careers in the lower states to try his luck in Alaska. He began to control the town, including the town marshal and deputies and schemed to take everyone’s money for himself. He was eventually killed in a gunfight when the townsfolk got fed up with his dishonest ways. His final disgrace was to be buried just outside the boundaries of the city cemetery, set apart from the “decent” residents of the town.
Skagway is located at the northern tip of the Inside Passage and got its name from the Tlingit name “Skagua” which means “the place where the north wind blows.” It became the first incorporated city in Alaska in 1900 and was the second largest settlement in Alaska at the time. Skagway is now home to the headquarters of the Gold Rush National Historical Park. It is also the starting point of the famed White Pass and Yukon Railway.
Tomorrow: Take a ride on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad
Tags: Alaska, Historic, US Domestic Travel
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I am so enjoying this Alaskan excursion. Even though I have been on this very same trip, I am finding all of this to be new and interesting. Can’t wait for tomorrow’s article. Thanks Peggy!