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Contact: Charles Beall, 206-220-4232
On July 17, 1897, the steamship Portland docked in Seattle with 68 prospectors and two tons of gold from the Klondike.Word quickly spread that a great quantity of gold had been found along a remote river in what is today the Yukon Territory of Canada. Seattle merchants seized the opportunity. Advertisements far and wide declared Seattle as the “Gateway to the Gold Fields,” the place where all one’s Klondike needs could be fulfilled – and 70,000 stampeders from across the world traveled to Seattle for supplies, information, and steamship transportation to Alaska. The torrent of people and money dramatically transformed the city.
The national significance of this event led to the creation in 1976 of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park “to preserve in public ownership for the benefit and inspiration of the people of the United States, historic structures and trails associated with the Klondike Gold Rush.” This unique national park, with units in Seattle and Alaska, was established as community-led preservation movements protected historic buildings but often omitted the history and culture of marginalized communities.
Today, the Seattle unit of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park strives for a more thorough and accurate understanding of people (such as Native Americans; LGBTQIA+ communities; Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders; and the working class) and their contributions to Seattle’s history and culture through the lens of the Klondike Gold Rush and its legacy. The park’s responsibilities have also grown, leading to the creation of Seattle Area National Park Sites as an administrative structure that includes other sites and programs: the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, a unit of Minidoka National Historic Site; the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, an affiliated area of the National Park System; the Mountains to Sound Greenway and the Maritime Washington national heritage areas; the Outdoor Recreation Information Center in the REI Seattle flagship store; the Trails & Rails program partnership with Amtrak; and, youth and community outreach to raise awareness of, increase access to, and facilitate belonging in public lands and waters.
The Klondike Gold Rush Visitor Center and Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; 319 Second Avenue South, Seattle; www.nps.gov/klse
The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience is open Wednesday through Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; 719 South King Steet, Seattle; www.wingluke.org
The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial is open daily dawn to dusk; 4192 Eagle Harbor Drive, Bainbridge Island; www.bijaema.org
The Outdoor Recreation Information Center is open daily 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; 222 Yale Ave North; Seattle; www.discovernw.org/ranger-station-rei-seattle.html
Last updated: July 11, 2022