Alaska Gold Rush Costumes
The Klondike gold rush began in August of 1896 in Yukon, Canada, along the Klondike River. Gold in amounts of more than 12.5 million ounces have been recovered and removed from the area in more than a century since the gold was first discovered. This gold rush is also referred to as the Yukon gold rush or the Alaska gold rush as well.
The big rush for gold in the Yukon Territory started when three people traveled north down the Yukon River to find some family members in 1896, and were shooed away by Robert Henderson, who was mining for gold on the Indian River which was located to the south of the Klondike area. Henderson chased the party away because he didn’t want Indians around his claim.
In August of that year, the 3 members of that family known as the Skookum party found deposits of gold in Bonanza Creek. No one knows who really made the find, but it was credited to George Carmack. This was done because the Skookums were Indians and felt that no one would acknowledge a claim made by an Indian at that time in history. The news moved quickly, and all types of people from mining towns all over the area trekked to the creek looking for gold. In 1897, the news reached the U.S., and the Panics of that decade caused many to seek the financial security they needed by heading off to Yukon to prospect for gold.
The gold rush brought people from all over the world to the area, many of whom never actually mined for gold, but just settled in the area and started businesses to provide goods and services to the miners. This helped the economic development of the area, including Alaska, Western Canada, and the Pacific Northwest. Stampeders that settled in areas outside of Canada were required to bring a year’s supply of food with them to gain entry into the country, because the Klondike gold rush had created a near-famine in Dawson City, Yukon. The Northwest Mounted Police regulated all who entered the area, making sure that no guns came into the area, and to avoid criminals from entering the area.
By the time that many had made the trek to Dawson City, most mining claims had already been made. However, this didn’t stop many people from coming and giving it a try of their own. People settled in the area for years, and even decades, bent on finding that one lucky piece of gold that could start their path to a new life. However, just as in the California Gold Rush very few of the people that came from out of the country and general area were actually successful in their gold prospecting endeavors. It still brought life to an area that was previously uninhabited, increasing the economic development of Western Canada by leaps and bounds for decades to come and continues up to this day.
Alan LeStourgeon runs a popular website about collecting Gold Coins where you can find lots of information on buying and investing in gold coins and bullion.
