The Klondike Gold Rush

Still renowned as the richest gold strike in North American mining history, the Klondike Gold Rush set off a “stampede” of over 100,000 people on a colossal journey from Alaska to the gold fields of Canada’s Yukon Territory between 1896 and 1899.

It’s an incredible story of determination, luck, fortune and loss. The boomtown Dawson City emerges as the heart of the story. During the gold rush, it’s known as the “Paris of the North,” and is one of the largest cities in Canada. Filled with banks, saloons, stores and hotels, for the stampeders and the outside world, it confirms itself as a place where lives can in fact be revolutionized. Described by one author as “a complete circus,” its population peaked at 30,000 people. Although Dawson is home to only 2,000 people today, it still remains a “place of dreams” that draws those looking for that “something else.”

Award-winning author Charlotte Gray and historians Terrence Cole and Michael Gates bring new insights and perspective to the event. Harper’s Weekly correspondent Tappan Adney—is brought to life through excerpts from his celebrated book The Klondike Stampede (1900). (Source: PBS)