Gold Rush Begins: 100,000 Flood the Klondike
News of gold discovered by local miners triggered a stampede of 100,000 prospectors who hauled a ton of supplies over frozen passes to build Dawson City. This frantic migration exploded a tiny settlement into a 30,000-person boom town before Alaska's new goldfields drew the crowd away in 1899. The rush devastated the local Hän people and left behind a legacy that now drives tourism across the Yukon.
August 16, 1896
130 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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