Everything about Skagway Alaska totally explained
Skagway is a city in
Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area,
Alaska, on the
Alaska Panhandle.
This city is part of the setting for
Jack London's book
The Call of the Wild. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 862. The port of Skagway is a popular stop for
cruise ships, and the tourist trade is a big part of the city's business. The
White Pass and Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad, part of the area's mining past, is now in operation purely for the tourist trade and runs throughout the summer months.
Skagway (originally spelled
Skaguay) is from the
Tlingit name for the area, "Skagua." The name has several meanings, "the place where the north wind blows," "stiffly wind-rippled water," etc.
History
The area around present-day Skagway was inhabited by
Tlingit people from prehistoric times. They fished and hunted in the waters and forests of the area and had become prosperous by trading with other groups of people on the coast and in the interior.
One prominent resident of early Skagway was
William "Buddy" Moore, a former steamboat captain. As a member of an
1887 boundary survey expedition, he'd made the first recorded investigation of the pass over the
Coast Mountains, which later became known as White Pass. He believed that gold lay in the Klondike because it had been found in similar mountain ranges in
South America,
Mexico,
California, and
British Columbia. In 1887, he and his son Ben claimed a 160-acre (650,000 m²) homestead at the mouth of the
Skagway River in Alaska. Moore settled in this area because he believed it provided the most direct route to the potential
goldfields. They built a log cabin, a sawmill, and a wharf in anticipation of future gold
prospectors passing through.
In
1896,
gold was found in the
Klondike region of
Canada's
Yukon Territory. Beginning in the summer of
1897, thousands of hopeful miners poured into the new town and prepared for the 500-mile journey to the gold fields in Canada.
One of the effects of the sudden rush of people was that some of the more experienced offered miners transportation services, often at highly inflated rates. A group of miners, upset with the treatment, organized a town council to help protect their interests. The outcome was that as the miners in the council moved north one by one the control of the town reverted to the more unscrupulous among the newcomers and locals organized by "Soapy" Smith.
This journey began for many when they climbed the mountains over the
White Pass above Skagway and onward across the Canadian border to
Lake Bennett, or one of its neighboring lakes, where they built barges and floated down the
Yukon River to the gold fields around
Dawson City. Others disembarked at nearby
Dyea, northwest of Skagway, and crossed northward on the
Chilkoot Pass, an existing Tlingit trade route to reach the lakes. The Dyea route fell out of favor when larger ships began to arrive, as its harbor was too shallow for them except at high tide.
Some prospectors also realized how difficult the trek would be that lay ahead on the route and chose to stay behind to supply goods and services to miners. Within a year, stores, saloons, and offices lined the muddy streets of Skagway. The population was estimated at 8,000 residents during the spring of
1898 with approximately 1,000 prospective miners passing through town each week. By June 1898, with a population between 8,000 and 10,000, Skagway was the largest city in Alaska.
In 1898, Skagway was a lawless town, described by one
Canadian Mountie as "little better than a hell on earth". Fights, prostitutes and liquor were ever-present on Skagway's streets. The most colorful resident of this period was outlaw
Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith. He was a sophisticated swindler who liked to think of himself as a kind and generous benefactor to the needy. He had gracious manners and he gave money to widows and stopped lynchings, while at the same time operating a ring of thieves who swindled prospectors with cards, dice, and the
shell game. His telegraph office charged five dollars to send a message anywhere in the world. Prospectors sent news to their folks back home without bothering to look behind the telegraph shack where the telegraph wires ended in the brush. Soapy also controlled a comprehensive spy network, a private militia called the Skagway Military Company, the newspaper, the Deputy U.S. Marshall and an array of thieves and
con-men who roamed about the town. Soapy was shot by Frank Reid on July 8, 1898. It is agreed by several historians, and the descendants of Soapy Smith, that there was another man who also shot Soapy.
Officials in Canada began requiring that each prospector entering Canada on the north side of the White Pass bring with him one
ton (909 kg) of supplies, to ensure that he didn't starve during the winter. This placed a large burden on the prospectors and the pack animals climbing the steep pass.
In 1898, a 14-mile, steam-operated
aerial tramway was constructed up the Skagway side of the White Pass, easing the burden of those prospectors who could afford the fee to use it. The
Chilkoot Trail tramways also began to operate in the Chilkoot Pass above Dyea. In 1896, before the Klondike gold rush had begun, a group of investors saw an opportunity for a railroad over that route. It wasn't until May of 1898 that the
White Pass and Yukon Route began laying
narrow gauge railroad tracks in Skagway. The railroad depot was constructed between September and December 1898. This destroyed the viability of Dyea, as Skagway had both the deep-water port and the railroad.
Construction of
McCabe College, the first school in Alaska to offer a college preparatory high school curriculum, began in
1899. The school was completed in
1900.
By 1899, the stream of gold-seekers had diminished and Skagway's economy began to collapse. By 1900, when the railroad was completed, the gold rush was nearly over. In 1900, Skagway was incorporated as the first city in the Alaska Territory. Much of the history of Skagway was saved by early residents, such as
Martin Itjen, who ran a tour bus around the historic town. He was responsible for saving and maintaining the gold rush cemetery from complete loss. He purchased
Soapy Smith's saloon (Jeff Smith's Parlor), from going the way of the wrecking ball, and placed many early artifacts of the cities early history inside and opened Skagway's first museum.
The Skagway area today is home to the
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and
White Pass and
Chilkoot Trails. Skagway has a historic district of about 100 buildings from the gold rush era. It receives about a million tourists annually, most of whom (about three quarters) come on
cruise ships. The
White Pass and Yukon Route still operates its narrow gauge train around Skagway during the summer months primarily for tourists. The WPYR also ships copper ore from the interior.
Skagway was one of the few towns in Alaska (along with
Petersburg and
Seward) to endorse the 1939
Slattery Report on Alaskan development through immigration, especially of Jews from
Germany and
Austria.
On June 5, 2007 voters approved dissolution of the City of Skagway and incorporation of the first first class borough in the State of Alaska. The Municipality of Skagway will be transitioning from city to borough status over the next two years.
Geography
Skagway is located at (59.468519, -135.305962).
Skagway is located in a narrow glaciated valley at the head of the
Taiya Inlet, the north end of the Lynn Canal, which is the most northern
fjord on the
Inside Passage on the south coast of Alaska. It is in the
Alaska panhandle 90 miles northwest of
Juneau, Alaska's capital city. Although the city borders only the
Haines Borough and
British Columbia, it remains a part of the
Unorganized Borough of Alaska. It is in fact an
exclave of its own Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 464.4
square miles (1,202.7
km²), of which, 452.4 square miles (1,171.8 km²) of it's land and 11.9 square miles (30.8 km²) of it (2.56%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 862 people, 401 households, and 214 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1.9 people per square mile (0.7/km²). There were 502 housing units at an average density of 1.1/sq mi (0.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.34%
White, 3.02%
Native American, 0.58%
Asian, 0.23%
Pacific Islander, 0.81% from
other races, and 3.02% from two or more races. 2.09% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 401 households out of which 23.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were
married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.4% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.5% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 109.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $49,375, and the median income for a family was $62,188. Males had a median income of $44,583 versus $30,956 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $27,700. About 1.0% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the
poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
Skagway is one of three
Southeast Alaskan communities that's connected to the road system; Skagway's connection is via the
Klondike Highway, completed in 1978. This allows access to the
lower 48,
Whitehorse, the
Yukon, northern
British Columbia, and the
Alaska Highway. This also makes Skagway an important port-of-call for the
Alaska Marine Highway — Alaska's ferry system — and serves as the northern terminus of the important and heavily-used
Lynn Canal corridor. (The other Southeast Alaskan communities with road access are
Haines and
Hyder.)
The
Skagway Airport receives service from two bush carriers:
Wings of Alaska, and
L.A.B. Flying Service, a third air service,
Skagway Air Service was closed due to lack of local mechanics in the summer of 2007.
A small majority of Skagway residents are vehemently, some would say irrationally, opposed to the proposed road out of Juneau. Although
National Park Service regulations prohibit the road from continuing all the way to Skagway, a sensible number of residents see the long road and commuter ferries as a boon to their transportation interests, providing access to medical facilities, the University of Alaska Southeast, shopping for necessities, wonderful vistas for tourists in RVs, as well as a connection to jet service continuing on to the lower 48 states.
Media
Skagway is served by its local semimonthly newspaper, the
Skagway News, as well as regional public radio station
KHNS, which has its principal studios in nearby
Haines but also has studios and programs based in Skagway.
Skagway also receives copies of the free regional newspaper
Capital City Weekly.
In the
Three Stooges short
In the Sweet Pie and Pie, the city receives a humorous mention: "Edam
Neckties, with three convenient locations: Skagway, Alaska;
Little America; and
Pago Pago."
Further Information
Get more info on 'Skagway Alaska'.
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