EmailDiscussions.com - View Single Post

dragon1 · 21 Nov 2002, 07:26 AM

Skagway, Alaska, USA

In 1897-1898, Skagway was the gateway over the White Pass to the Klondike gold fields of the Yukon Territory in Canada. Back then, the only inhabitants of this "town" was a family headed by a former riverboat captain, William Moore. Captain Moore was astute enough to foresee the possibilities that the 160 acres of land he secured in 1887 might make a very good profit if the promise of the Klondike gold fields held true. Besides his own cabin, he and his son built a wharf to handle the ship traffic that would surely come.

The ones who came, though, took over his homestead and renamed the town from Mooresville to Skaguay, after the Tlingit word, "skaqua," which means windy place. By 1898, after the post office was established, the town's name changed to its present spelling and the population boomed to 10,000-20,000.

Today, the population of the town is several hundred, rising to several thousand each day as the cruise ships pull into port. Besides by sea on the Alaska Marine Highway ships also, you can get to Skagway by air via Juneau, and by car on the Alaska Highway, popularly known as the Alcan, through British Columbia and the Yukon from the lower 48 states.

Things to do include hiking/backpacking the same grueling trail the stampeders took up the White Pass trail, taking the White Pass and Yukon Railway up the same way to Lake Bennett in the Yukon, visiting the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park, flightseeing, and sportfishing. Shopping and dining is pretty good, too.

--sources: Skaguay Alaskan paper, Late Summer 2002 edition; and Automobile Assoc. TourBook for Western Canada and Alaska.

21 Nov 2002, 07:26 AM	#19
dragon1 Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: California Posts: 674	Skagway, Alaska, USA In 1897-1898, Skagway was the gateway over the White Pass to the Klondike gold fields of the Yukon Territory in Canada. Back then, the only inhabitants of this "town" was a family headed by a former riverboat captain, William Moore. Captain Moore was astute enough to foresee the possibilities that the 160 acres of land he secured in 1887 might make a very good profit if the promise of the Klondike gold fields held true. Besides his own cabin, he and his son built a wharf to handle the ship traffic that would surely come. The ones who came, though, took over his homestead and renamed the town from Mooresville to Skaguay, after the Tlingit word, "skaqua," which means windy place. By 1898, after the post office was established, the town's name changed to its present spelling and the population boomed to 10,000-20,000. Today, the population of the town is several hundred, rising to several thousand each day as the cruise ships pull into port. Besides by sea on the Alaska Marine Highway ships also, you can get to Skagway by air via Juneau, and by car on the Alaska Highway, popularly known as the Alcan, through British Columbia and the Yukon from the lower 48 states. Things to do include hiking/backpacking the same grueling trail the stampeders took up the White Pass trail, taking the White Pass and Yukon Railway up the same way to Lake Bennett in the Yukon, visiting the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park, flightseeing, and sportfishing. Shopping and dining is pretty good, too. --sources: Skaguay Alaskan paper, Late Summer 2002 edition; and Automobile Assoc. TourBook for Western Canada and Alaska.