Dawson City, Yukon

Most of the buildings have been restored from the originals built in 1897-1905

After three days of absorbing Dawson's history, we are begining to get a grasp on what makes Dawson so unique. When George Carmack picked up that first gold nugget in 1896, he set off a truly amazing event, that would last for several years. More than 100,000 men and women planned the trip to Dawson, but only 50,000 even made it as far as Skagway Alaska by ship. Of those only about 25,000 actually arrived in Dawson, the rest, due to the incredibly harsh winter conditions, either died or returned to their homes.
You have probably seen the famous picture of the long line of men in thier black coats and heavy packs making their way up and over the Chilcoot pass. Everyone who made the trip had to have 1,000lbs of food and almost the same in equipment. Their packs were 100 to 150 lbs, so many trips were taken by each one to bring all their goods over the pass. For many it took a month to carry all their packs over the pass. In the winter of 1896 with -40 to -50 degrees and winds to match, 70 feet of snow fell on the Chilcoot. Those who made it over the pass, then had to build boats during the spring to take them and their packs the 700 miles down the Yukon River to Dawson City before the next winter froze the river.
Finally having made it into Dawson there was no land left to claim as it had all been claimed by the first arrivals in 1896. Again most went home pennyless with a few staying to start businesses.
We saw pictures of the town as it was in the 1950s. Almost all of the buildings were in ruins. At one time Dawson was the capital of Yukon, but then the capital was moved to Whitehorse and most of the people followed. It is wonderful now to see that the majority of the businesses, hotels and homes are restored to what is probably better than the originals were. There are also many new hotels and businesses in the style of the era.