Steamship WILLAMETTE unloading freight at Skagway, Alaska

• Other Authors: University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Division
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Steamboats > Alaska > Skagway; Livestock > Alaska > Skagway; Piers & wharves > Alaska > Skagway; Willamette (Steamship); Freight and freightage > Alaska > Skagway; Yukon; Skagway; Alaska
• Online Access: http://cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org:80/cdm/ref/collection/alaskawcanada/id/252

Caption on image: Steamer "Willamette" discharging freight at Skagway. Filed in Alaska--Cities/Locations--Skagway Majestic mountains rise abruptly on either side of Skagway, a town situated in a narrow glaciated valley at the head of the Taiya Inlet in Alaska. Positioned along one of the main transportation corridors leading to Canada's interior, Skagway was established as a result of a gold strike in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory. Beginning in the summer of 1897, thousands of hopeful stampeders poured in to the new town and prepared for the arduous 500-mile journey to the gold fields. Realizing the grueling challenges that lay ahead on the route and the economic potential of supplying goods and services to other stampeders, some chose to remain in Skagway and establish a permanent community. Although it lasted but a brief period, and few obtained the wealth they dreamed of, the Klondike Gold Rush left a lasting mark on the Alaskan and Canadian landscapes. Today, Skagway's "boomtown" era remains alive in the many turn-of-the-century buildings that survive. The city now hosts half a million tourists annually and has a year-round population of approximately 800. [Source: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/75skagway/75skagway.htm]