An Explorer's Guide to Dawson City, Yukon

Dateline: March 3, 1999. Last update: December 25, 2025.

History of Dawson City
An excellent, lengthy history of Dawson's short but exciting life, by the late Ken Spotswood. One of the Community History Project series.

Biographies of Yukon Pioneers
A large percentage of these biographies have Dawson connections.

Klondike Gold Rush
A comprehensive guide to all the best resources for exploring the history of the last great gold rush.

Dawson City Burns - April 21, 1899
A lengthy article from The New York Times of Monday, May 22, 1899.

Theatre in Dawson, 1899
A lengthy column titled 'The Stage' in the Dawson Daily News of November 7, 1899.

Dawson plays, March 1900
A lengthy article from The Klondike Nugget of March 29, 1900.

Dawson market prices, October 1901
An article from the Dawson Daily News of Friday, October 18, 1901, lists the prices of many products.

An evolution of theatres on the Yukon, 1901
A lengthy article from The Semi-Weekly Klondike Nugget of October 19, 1901.

Dawson power plant problems, October 1901
An article from the Dawson Daily News of Saturday, October 19, 1901, desribes the issues that shut the power plant down, and the solutions.

The new Government House
A lengthy article describes what is now called the Commissioner's Residence, as it was almost complete in the Fall of 1901.

Confusion in driving horses in Dawson City, 1901
In 1901, the use of horses instead of dogs for transport was still fairly new, and that caused some challenges, as this article published in the Dawson Daily News on December 28th showed.

Postcard booklet from Dawson City, Yukon, 1908
Photos of sternwheelers, the White Pass railway, a winter tour of the Klondike goldfields by car, and a horse-drawn mail/passenger sled and freight wagon.

The All-Yukon Menu, 1919
The Arcade Cafe in Dawson City was 'Headquarters of the All-Yukon Dinner, the meal that keeps the money at home, and proves that Yukon is in the great food producing belt of the continent.'

The Midnight Dome Road
Until 1925, seeing the view from the top of the Midnight Dome required a stiff climb on foot, but in 1925 and 1926 a road was built.

A Dawson Christmas, 1940
This beautiful card was mailed from Dawson City in December 1940, by Royal Canadian Mounted Police constable A. K. Bond.

Australians in Dawson City, Yukon, 1944
A lengthy article in The Morning Bulletin (Queensland, Australia) of July 8, 1944, describes Dawson City and its few remaining Australian residents from the gold rush days.

The Cassiar Asbestos 'Skyline'
To solve the problem of serving the Clinton Creek mine during break-up and freeze-up, a 1,460-foot-long skyline was built in 1967, carrying freight and asbestos across the Yukon River on a cable.

The Yukon River ferry George Black
The steel ferry George Black has been transporting people and vehicles across the Yukon River at Dawson since 1967.

The Wreck of CPR's Coastal Steamer SS Princess Sophia
A memorial on the bank of the Yukon river memorializes the October 25, 1918, sinking near Juneau that killed 343 people, over 100 of them from Dawson.

RCMP Cemetery
One of many cemeteries in Dawson, and one of 3 RCMP cemeteries in Canada, with 19 graves.

Some historic motels in Dawson City
Various facts about and photos of motels of the past.