MP-0000.103.23 | Front Street, Dawson, YT, 1899
Front Street, Dawson, YT, 1899
Hegg
1899, 19th century
Silver salts on glass - Gelatin dry plate process
8 x 8 cm
MP-0000.103.23
© McCord Museum
Description
Keywords: Cityscape (3948) , event (534) , History (944) , Photograph (77678) , streetscape (1737)
Keys to History
Dawson City was founded on swampy land where the Klondike River flows into the Yukon immediately after the discovery of gold. The founder was Joe Ladue, a miner turned merchant who realized that there were fortunes to be made supplying the men on the creeks nearby. When the goldseekers began to arrive in the spring of 1898, Dawson City, named after George Mercer Dawson (1849-1901), head of the Geological Survey of Canada, became a boomtown. For about a year it was the largest city in Canada west of Winnipeg.
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What
This is a view of a thriving mining town: stores, hotels, saloons, a bustling crowd.
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Where
The place is Dawson City, Yukon.
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When
The picture was taken in 1899, probably in summer. It looks like a holiday-Dominion Day (July 1)? The Fourth of July? Both were celebrated by the townspeople.
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Who
A crowd has gathered, but it is uncertain what for.
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