Yukon Territory takes its name from the GWICH'IN name
Yu-kun-ah for the "great river" which drains most of its
area. Lying in the northwestern corner of Canada's
continental mainland, isolated by rugged mountains, it
shares a common border and many characteristics with its
American neighbour, Alaska. Historically, it is indelibly
associated with the great KLONDIKE GOLD RUSH.
Canadian Encyclopedia
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Yukon Territory History |
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The Yukon was first explored for the Hudson's Bay
Company in the 1840s. As a result, trading-posts were
established on the Yukon River. The Canadian government
acquired the area in 1870 as part of the purchase of the
Hudson's Bay Company land. After this the region was
administered as part of the Northwest Territories. In
the 1890s gold was discovered, and at one period more
than thirty thousand hopeful prospectors were roaming
the territory.
The Yukon was made a separate district in 1895 and
became a territory in 1898. The capital was originally
at Dawson but was transferred to Whitehorse in 1952.
Source: Baxter, Angus. In search of your Canadian
Roots: Tracing your family tree in Canada.
Macmillan
of Canada, Toronto, 1989. 350pp. Index. ISBN
0-7715-9201-9
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Yukon History Stories |
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Yukon History [YT] - Athabascan culture
and language; Newcomers; The fur trade; Alaska
is sold; Whaling on the Arctic coast;
Missionaries arrive; Looking for gold; The Gold
Rush begins; The Alaska-Canada boundary dispute;
End of the boom; A political entity; Mining more
than gold; The Alaska Highway; Yukon today.
Before the Klondike Gold Rush
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The area now known as the Yukon was home to
people with a vast trading network long before
the arrival of missionaries, fur traders and
goldseekers. By Ken Spotswood.
The Klondike Gold Rush, touched off by
the 17 August 1896 discovery of placer gold on
Rabbit (later Bonanza) Creek, a tributary of the
Klondike River, by George Washington Carmack and
his Indian brothers-in-law, "Skookum Jim" and "Tagish
Charley." This accidental find was the result of
a tip by a Canadian prospector, Robert
Henderson, now credited as codiscoverer. The
gold rush that followed was confined that first
year to the Yukon interior.
Christianity Arrives in the Yukon
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The story of some of the dedicated preachers who
came to the Yukon during the Klondike Gold Rush.
By Delores Smith.
The Dawn of a New Era - Yukon River, 1896
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1896 Annual Report of the North-West Mounted
Police detachment in the Yukon.
This is the complete 1896 Annual Report for the
North-West Mounted Police, written 4 months
after the Klondike gold was discovered.
The 1898 Yukon Act
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At the peak of the Klondike gold rush madness,
the Yukon Territory was created by the Yukon
Act. The complete text is here.
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Yukon Community History |
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The Community History Project [yukonalaska.com]
- A series of Yukon community histories.
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Carcross, Yukon - From the time the
first prospectors came over the Chilkoot
Pass, this place was known as Caribou
Crossing because of the large herds of
caribou that crossed the narrows between
Bennett and Tagish Lakes twice a year on
their annual migration.
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Carmacks, Yukon - Before the outside
world discovered the Yukon, the Carmacks
region was part of the traditional fishing,
hunting, trapping and trading area of the
Northern Tutchone people.
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Dawson City, Yukon - Following the
historic discovery of gold on Bonanza Creek
in August of 1896, Dawson City grew out of a
marshy swamp near the confluence of the
Yukon and Klondike Rivers.
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Ross River, Yukon - The confluence
of the Ross and Pelly Rivers was always a
major crossroads for travelers coming North
from the upper Liard River and those
traveling East over the mountains to points
on the Mackenzie River.
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Tagish, Yukon - This Yukon community
of 100 people is situated on the Six-Mile
River which links Marsh and Tagish lakes.
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Whitehorse, Yukon - Archaeological
work at Canyon City shows evidence that
First Nations people have used this area for
many thousands of years.
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only. Please verify information
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