When you come to Skagway
Of this you can be sure
It has a slogan ready
For then and now, no blur
Colorful, historical,
The town for you awaits
Pick your destination
Then off! Don't hesitate!
Large painted sign in Centennial Park (1st and Broadway) greets folks coming in from the ship docks. It reads
Welcome to Skagway
Gateway to the Klondike
Visitor Information
(street map) (vicinity map)
(legend)
The Garden City of Alaska
GATEWAY TO THE KLONDIKE? =====
Yes, indeed! For 100s of 'Stampeders' seeking to strike it rich in the Yukon Gold Rush of 1897-1898:
www.skagway.org/
Welcome to Skagway, Alaska, incorporated on June 28, 1900, as the first first-class city in the Territory of Alaska. During the early 1900s Skagway was known as the "Gateway to the Klondike." On June 5, 2007, voters approved dissolution of the City of Skagway and incorporation of the first first-class borough in the State of Alaska. The State of Alaska certified this election and the Municipality of Skagway Borough was incorporated on June 20, 2007. Our goal continues to be one of information for you, our residents, businesses and visitors.
National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places Lesson Plans (
visit link)
Skagway:Gateway to the Klondike
Majestic mountains rise abruptly on either side of Skagway, a town situated in a narrow glaciated valley at the head of the Taiya Inlet in Alaska. Positioned along one of the main transportation corridors leading to Canada's interior, Skagway was established as a result of a gold strike in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory. Beginning in the summer of 1897, thousands of hopeful stampeders poured in to the new town and prepared for the arduous 500-mile journey to the gold fields. Realizing the grueling challenges that lay ahead on the route and the economic potential of supplying goods and services to other stampeders, some chose to remain in Skagway and establish a permanent community. Although it lasted but a brief period, and few obtained the wealth they dreamed of, the Klondike Gold Rush left a lasting mark on the Alaskan and Canadian landscapes. Today, Skagway's "boomtown" era remains alive in the many turn-of-the-century buildings that survive. The city now hosts half a million tourists annually and has a year-round population of approximately 800.
If you'd like to pursue this 'lesson' further, the contents are
About This Lesson
Getting Started: Inquiry Question
Setting the Stage: Historical Context
Locating the Site: Maps
1. Routes from Seattle to Klondike
2. Chilkoot and White Pass Trails
Determining the Facts: Readings
1. Gold is Discovered in the Klondike
2. Settlement and Commerce
3. Transportation: Key to Survival
Visual Evidence: Images
1. Skagway, Alaska, 1898
2. Trail Street, Skagway, 1897
3. Moore Cabin and Moore House
4. Moore and Family, 1904
5. Golden North Hotel
6. Arctic Brotherhood Hall
7. McCabe College Building
Putting It All Together: Activities
1. Gold Rushes
2. History and the Use of Local Buildings
Supplementary Resources
THE GARDEN CITY OF ALASKA ==========
Yukon Info -dot- Com Home > Skagway > Garden City of Alaska (
visit link)
Visitors have long remarked about the enormous vegetables produced on Alaska’s farms. Although most farms are now located near Palmer of Delta Junction, Alas-ka’s agriculture really took root here in Skagway. Our good soil, adequate moisture and long summer days translate into bountiful crops.
The height of the Gold Rush had barely passed when local residents began exercising their green thumbs. One family grew potatoes in 1898, and the following year a visitor gushed that “all sorts of vegetables are grown in the gardens” here. The area’s potential as a farming center grew. Local farms were prominently mentioned in several early Agricultural Department publications, and the town was seriously considered as a site for an agricultural experiment station.
It was flower gardens, however, that soon overshadowed vegetable production. By 1905, a White Pass Railway brochure proclaimed the beauty of Skagway’s “flowers, trim lawns and prolific gardens.” The Blanchard Garden was the most publicized and for years held the record for America’s largest dahlia. Local jeweler Herman Kirmse sponsored a local garden contest, which became so successful that many people from outside Alaska were attracted to it. The local Order of the Eastern Star chapter continues this tradition every August.
In 1910, the Skagway Commercial Club declared the town “Garden City of Alaska.” The name has stuck for many years, but the title was not official until former Governor Steve Cowper signed the garden city proclamation in 1988.
The garden club is responsible for the row of mountain ash trees on the road to the ferry terminal and many of the flower boxes you see in the Historic District. We hope you enjoy our gardens...they are part of a great Skagway heritage.