The Yukon Gold Rush time line

August 16, 1896	Discovery of gold in the Klondike by George and Kate Carmack, Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie.
August 17, 1896	George Carmack, Skookum Jim and Dawson Charlie stake their claims on Bonanza Creek
August 31, 1896	Discovery of gold on Eldorado Creek (a tributary of Bonanza).
September 1896	All of Bonanza Creek is staked and many claims are already producing rich harvests.
Spring 1897	The Population of Dawson grows to approximately 1,500.
Summer 1897	The population of Dawson grows to approximately 3,500.
July 14, 1897	The steamship Excelsior arrives in San Francisco with a half a million dollars worth of gold on board. Stories of the Klondike Gold Rush hit the news wires.
July 17, 1897	The steamship Portland docks in Seattle and 68 miners unload one million dollars worth of gold in front of a crowd of 5,000.
October 1897	A Seattle newspaper prints and eight-page Klondike edition which is sent to every postmaster and public library in the country and to thousands of businessmen and politicians.
Summer and Autumn 1897	Portland, Victoria and Vancouver arrive in Dyea and Skagway, Alaska or steam directly up the Yukon River to Dawson City.
Autumn 1897	Oliver Millett of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia stakes on claim on Cheechako Hill, far above Bonanza Creek, and it produces a half a million dollars worth of gold. A staking rush of the nearby hills begins.
Winter 1897/98	The Chilkoot and the White Pass trails reach their zenith of stampeders scrambling towards the Klondike. Among these is writer Jack London who trudged over the White Pass.
April 1898	An avalanche kills over 60 people on the Chilkoot Trail.
Spring 1898	The population of Yukon peaks at over 30,000. Dawson City the largest Canadian city west of Winnipeg.
May 29, 1898	The ice on Lake Lindemann and Bennett Lake goes out and an armada over 7,000 boats begin their water journey to Dawson City.
June 13, 1898	Yukon is made a Territory.
July 1898	Skagway, Alaska shyster Jefferson "Soapy" Smith is killed by Frank Reid in a shoot out.
Summer 1898	The Yukon Field Force, a Canadian army force of 200 soldiers and four nurses is sent to the Klondike to maintain sovereignty of Yukon and assist the North West Mounted Police in keeping the peace.
April 1899	More than a million dollars worth of property and 117 buildings are destroyed in a fire in Dawson City.
July 1899	The first White Pass and Yukon Route train runs from Skagway, Alaska to Carcross Yukon. A year later, the line is completed to Whitehorse.
Summer 1899	Gold is discovered on the beaches in Nome, Alaska and the next gold rush begins. The Klondike Gold Rush is officially over.
1900	The year of greatest Klondike gold production. Over 22 million dollars worth is pulled out of the creeks. $2.5 million was pulled out in 1897 and $10 million in 1898.
1901	Prostitution and gambling are outlawed in Yukon.
1921	The population of Yukon has dropped to just over 4,000 - nearly half of which are of First Nations descent.

For More Information Contact: Tourism Yukon Box 2704 Whitehorse, Yukon Canada YlA2C6 Tel: (867) 667-5388 Fax: (867) 667-3546