Alaska/Canada 2022-6: Klondike 3 - Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, Klondikers, Luminaries, and Miners of Miners
Our first day in Dawson City, we meandered about town, eventually coming upon the Dawson City Museum, built in 1901 as the Territorial Administration Building.
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The museum's exhibits cover Dawson City's history, beginning with the original First Nations inhabitants of the region.
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Long before it referred to a gold rush, "Klondike" referred to the vast territory of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, and is in fact a mispronunciation of Tr'ondëk. As was typical, from the 1800s to 1960s, Indian children were sent to mission and boarding schools, where they were forbidden to speak their native language or engage in any of their cultural activities.
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Industrious people came to Dawson to mine the miners: fur traders, roadhouse and hotels owners, grocers, sawmills owners, and eventually tourism.
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Among Degraf's dance hall girl clients was Kathleen "Klondike Kate" Rockwell, who was showered with up $750 a night in miners' gold nuggets.
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Belinda Mulrooney turned the hot water bottles and cloth she arrived with into a cafe, construction company, and hotels.
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And of course there were the Madams: "Bombay Peggy" Duval, "Madame Zoom" Corbett, and Mathilde "Ruby" Scott. Frenchwoman Ruby was well-respected in the community and gave generously to charities. After running her house for 27 years, in 1961, she was charged and fined for her operation.
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Next up: The Bard of the North
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A shady respite from the heat on Dawson City Museum front steps.
The museum's exhibits cover Dawson City's history, beginning with the original First Nations inhabitants of the region.
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First Nation artifacts.
Long before it referred to a gold rush, "Klondike" referred to the vast territory of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, and is in fact a mispronunciation of Tr'ondëk. As was typical, from the 1800s to 1960s, Indian children were sent to mission and boarding schools, where they were forbidden to speak their native language or engage in any of their cultural activities.
Ownership of the land was not restored to the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in until 1988.
Town luminaries are showcased in the museum and on the grounds of the nearby former Commissioner's Residence.
Joseph Ladue had long been a miner and trader in the Yukon and was there when gold was discovered on the Klondike. He quickly laid out a 160-acre townsite and later built the first log cabin in Dawson City.
Ladue showed his plot to government surveyor William Olgivie, who had come to the Yukon along with George Dawson to map out the international boundary between Alaska and Canada and was there when gold was struck on the Klondike.
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Town luminaries are showcased in the museum and on the grounds of the nearby former Commissioner's Residence.
Joseph Ladue had long been a miner and trader in the Yukon and was there when gold was discovered on the Klondike. He quickly laid out a 160-acre townsite and later built the first log cabin in Dawson City.
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William Olgivie surveyed Dawson City. He also regulated the miners' staking process and registered their claims.
At Olgivie's suggestion, Ladue named the town for Dawson, Director of the Geological and Natural History Survey of Canada.
Dawson also studied and recorded the Yukon's geology, geogrpahy, botany, native languages, and legends.
Jack McQuesten arrived in the Yukon in the 1870s and was there to supply Klondikers. He partnered with Arthur Harper and Albert Mayo in the Alaska Commercial Company, captained the first steamer on the Upper Yukon River, established forts, married a native woman with whom he had 11 children, and retired in Berkeley, CA.
There are many exhibits about the many ways people sought gold in the Klondike—even by diving to the river bottom.
Dawson also studied and recorded the Yukon's geology, geogrpahy, botany, native languages, and legends.
Jack McQuesten arrived in the Yukon in the 1870s and was there to supply Klondikers. He partnered with Arthur Harper and Albert Mayo in the Alaska Commercial Company, captained the first steamer on the Upper Yukon River, established forts, married a native woman with whom he had 11 children, and retired in Berkeley, CA.
There are many exhibits about the many ways people sought gold in the Klondike—even by diving to the river bottom.
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Industrious people came to Dawson to mine the miners: fur traders, roadhouse and hotels owners, grocers, sawmills owners, and eventually tourism.
Among those industrious people were many women. They played a prominent role in Dawson's history.
The Chilkoot Trail started in Dyea, AK, near Skagway, and was the first leg of the Klondikers harrowing journey to the Yukon.
Martha Purdy of Chicago joined the Klondike Stampede in 1898, climbing the extremely arduous Chilkoot Trail from Dyea, AK, then on to Dawson. She later operated a sawmill, married Commissioner of the Yukon George Black, volunteered in Britain during WWI, was awarded for her research on Yukon flora, and replaced her ill husband as an MP.
At 55, Anna Degraf carried her sewing machine north in search of her son. She didn't find her son but did become a successful dressmaker.
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Anna Degraf, Dressmaker
Among Degraf's dance hall girl clients was Kathleen "Klondike Kate" Rockwell, who was showered with up $750 a night in miners' gold nuggets.
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Dancehall Girl Klondike Kate certainly knew how to mine the miners.
Belinda Mulrooney turned the hot water bottles and cloth she arrived with into a cafe, construction company, and hotels.
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Entrepreneur Belinda Mulrooney
And of course there were the Madams: "Bombay Peggy" Duval, "Madame Zoom" Corbett, and Mathilde "Ruby" Scott. Frenchwoman Ruby was well-respected in the community and gave generously to charities. After running her house for 27 years, in 1961, she was charged and fined for her operation.
Madam Mathilde "Ruby" Scott
There were other entertainers, as well. Gédéon Pépin, also French, arrived as organist for St Mary's Church but also performed concerts on piano, violin, and cornet; founded and directed Dawson City's first brass band; composed such titles as the "Arctic Brotherhood Two-Step"; and accompanied Robert Service in a poetry recital.
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Virtuoso musician Gédéon Pépin
Some came to serve. Georgia Powell arrived with a team of the Victorian Order of Nurses to treat sick and injured miners.
Georgia Powell & her team of nurses.
On the second floor of the museum is the courtroom of the Yukon Supreme Court, still in use today.
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Yukon Territory Supreme Court
Next up: The Bard of the North
Wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Really appreciate it.
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