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The Seattle Unit of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park commemorates
the city's role as the most important staging area for the gold rush of
the 1890s. When the steamer S. S. Portland arrived in the harbor
on July 17, 1897, thousands of local residents cheered as more than a
ton of Yukon gold was unloaded. In August of the previous year three miners
found gold in the Klondike River, a tributary of the Yukon and had to
wait through the winter before making their trek back to civilization.
Quickly the entire nation was enthralled in a rush northward to reach
the Klondike, and these "stampeders" were lured by the chance
to quickly acquire riches. Cities throughout the west launched aggressive
campaigns to convince "stampeders" that they would best serve
their interests. Seattle advertised itself in railroad publications, newspapers
and brochures from coast to coast. They proclaimed that Seattle was the
"only place" to outfit themselves for the gold fields, and tens
of thousands rushed to Seattle. The early arrivals were forced to remain
there until the fierce Canadian winter relented, but spent time, and money,
in the hotels, bars and stores of Seattle until they started their search
in the spring of 1898. Over the next year, this boom helped transform
Seattle into the leading city of the Northwest as its merchants sold more
than $25 million of goods, a figure larger than the gold extracted in
any year of the Klondike Gold Rush. In fact, during this time, the economy
of Seattle surpassed Portland and Los Angeles, and was second only to
San Francisco. Pioneer Square became the center
of this bustling activity, as prospectors bought supplies (called outfits),
booked passage, and, if lucky, returned to cash in their new-found gold.
Today this unit of the National Park Service depicts this story through
exhibits and audio-visual presentations and provides maps that show the
remnants of Seattle a century ago.
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical
Park is administered by the National Park Service, and the Seattle
Visitor Center is located at 319 Second Ave. South. It is open daily from 9:00am
to 5:00pm, closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.
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Cooper and Levy, a Seattle outfitter during the Klondike
Gold Rush
NPS Photo
Maynard Building in the 1890s
Photograph courtesy of Seattle Historical Society
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![[graphic heading] Seattle: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary, National Park Servicer](graphics/sheader.gif "[graphic heading] Seattle: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary, National Park Servicer")
