History & Museums
A boomtown frozen in its false fronts — the park, the railway, the saloon and the cemetery.
Skagway history, and where to see it
The best reading online about Skagway's past, each beside the places and tours that bring it to life. Articles open on the original site.
Soapy Smith's Showdown With the Vigilantes
Soapy Smith's great-grandnephew and biographer retells the July 1898 gunfight on Juneau Wharf in which Smith and Frank Reid shot each other. He argues that a second guard, Jesse Murphy, fired the fatal shot and that town leaders made Reid the hero to cover it up.
Read on historynet.com ↗See it in Skagway
Gold Rush Cemetery46 min walk from the docks
City & White Pass Summit TourTour · About 2.5 hoursScooter Gold Rush TourTour · About 3 hoursBooks on this story
Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a ScoundrelJeff Smith · Find it on AmazonSoapy Smith: King of the Frontier Con MenFrank G. Robertson and Beth Kay Harris · Find it on Amazon
White Pass & Yukon Route
An overview of the narrow-gauge railway begun in 1898 to link Skagway with Whitehorse. It describes the blasting, tunneling and bridge work, the toll among workers, the February 1899 arrival at the summit, and the meeting of the two crews at Carcross in 1900.
Read on thecanadianencyclopedia.ca ↗See it in Skagway
White Pass & Yukon Route Railway6 min walk from the docks
White Pass Summit ExcursionBookable ExcursionsWhite Pass Summit TrainTour · 2.5–2.75 hoursBooks on this story
The White Pass: Gateway to the KlondikeRoy Minter · Find it on AmazonKlondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1896–1899Pierre Berton · Find it on Amazon
Dyea
The story of Dyea, from a Tlingit fishing camp and trade staging point to a gold rush boom town at the foot of the Chilkoot. It explains the Healy & Wilson trading post, the Tlingit packing business, and how the avalanche, Skagway's rise and the river nearly erased the town.
Read on nps.gov ↗See it in Skagway
Chilkoot Trail Hike & FloatWildlife & Outdoors
Skagway Float ToursWildlife & OutdoorsBooks on this story
The Chilkoot Trail: Heritage Route to the KlondikeDavid Neufeld and Frank Norris · Find it on AmazonThe Klondike Quest: A Photographic Essay, 1897–1899Pierre Berton · Find it on Amazon
History - Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site
Describes the Chilkoot as a trade route owned by the Raven clan of Chilkoot village, where the Tlingit traded eulachon grease and dried fish for interior furs. It also explains the Tlingit and Tagish packing monopoly during the rush and how competition and the railway ended it.
Read on parks.canada.ca ↗See it in Skagway
Chilkoot Trail Hike & FloatWildlife & OutdoorsBooks on this story
Haa Shuká, Our Ancestors: Tlingit Oral NarrativesNora Marks Dauenhauer and Richard Dauenhauer, eds. · Find it on AmazonThe Chilkoot Trail: Heritage Route to the KlondikeDavid Neufeld and Frank Norris · Find it on Amazon
Hegg (Eric A.) Photographs of Alaska and the Klondike, 1897-1901
A searchable digital collection of about 730 photographs by Eric A. Hegg, the best-known photographer of the rush. Browse his views of Skagway, the trails, Dawson City and Nome.
Read on content.lib.washington.edu ↗See it in Skagway
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park6 min walk from the docks
Liarsville Gold Rush Trail CampHistory & MuseumsBooks on this story
The Klondike Quest: A Photographic Essay, 1897–1899Pierre Berton · Find it on AmazonKlondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1896–1899Pierre Berton · Find it on Amazon
Skagway, District of Alaska, 1884-1912: A Historic Overview (Part I: The Golden Dream)
A detailed park history chapter on how Skagway grew from Moore's homestead into the main gateway to the Klondike, with its own architecture and elected government. It goes on to the land disputes, customs fights and 1907-09 panic that shrank the town before territorial status in 1912.
Read on npshistory.com ↗See it in Skagway
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park6 min walk from the docksLiarsville Gold Rush Trail CampHistory & Museums
Liarsville Gold Rush Camp & Salmon BakeTour · 2 hoursBooks on this story
Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1896–1899Pierre Berton · Find it on AmazonGold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the KlondikeCharlotte Gray · Find it on AmazonSummaries are ours. Archive photos: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division, 1897–1900, public domain. Tour links go to our listings, where you can book with partners. Book links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Skagway Times earns from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra.
Walking map: the docks and downtown Skagway
The cruise docks sit at the south end of town. Broadway, the historic main street, runs north from the waterfront, and most shops, saloons and museums are within a few blocks of it.
3D walking map with times → · Park Service maps
Map: USGS elevation; streets and buildings © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Suggested Reads
The definitive narrative history of the stampede through Skagway and over the passes.
Find it on Amazon →Six people who went north in 1898, from a dance-hall star to a Mountie.
Find it on Amazon →The con man who ran Skagway, written by his great-grandson.
Find it on Amazon →The dance-hall performers, entrepreneurs and prospectors history often skipped.
Find it on Amazon →Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Skagway Times earns from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra. More Gold Rush books →
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Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Skagway Times earns from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra.
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