Treasure in the Wild—Alaska’s Gold Rush Legacy

How the promise of gold changed Alaska forever

by Bob Hammerling, for Grand Circle

“Gold! Gold! Gold! Sixty-eight rich men on the steamer Portland. Stacks of yellow metal!”

This short headline in the July 17, 1897 edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer broke the news of the discovery of gold in the Canadian Yukon, beginning the Klondike Gold Rush—the first of several great stampedes that would change the fate of the remote territory of Alaska forever.

Gold in the Klondike: The beginning of the boom

More than 100,000 Americans—some eager for adventure, others seeking desperately to reverse their fortunes amidst the economic depression that was gripping the nation at the time—set out for the Klondike to stake their claims.

At every step of the way, these amateur fortune-hunters were beset by adversity. Stepping off the boat in Skagway—a rough-and-tumble port city near modern-day Juneau—these starry-eyed prospectors found themselves easy targets of outlaws and con men, eager to cheat the new arrivals of their possessions and wealth.

The road to the Klondike was no easier. Travelers faced a treacherous journey through snowy mountain passes and lethally frigid temperatures. To make things even more challenging, each party was required by law to obtain and carry a year’s supply of mining and survival gear, which could weigh up to 2,000 pounds. The trek was a perilous one for even the most experienced outdoorsmen, leaving many to die or abandon their expeditions.

Ultimately, only 30,000 made it to the Klondike, and those who did quickly learned that all that glitters is not gold. The richest veins were rapidly claimed by early arrivals, leaving little for the newcomers to do but seek work for the existing stakeholders. Others tried to strike a different sort of gold, setting up banks, bars, brothels, and other businesses of varying repute to capitalize on the needs and desires of the miners who continued to arrive.

The end of the Klondike rush came in 1899, when America’s eyes turned toward Nome, a remote settlement far on Alaska’s western edge, where rumors of new wealth were beginning to stir.

Glittering sands—the Nome Gold Rush

Alaska’s next big gold rush began when a trio of men nicknamed the “Three Lucky Swedes” (one of whom was Norwegian) struck a vein in Anvil Creek. A trickle of new prospectors soon turned into a flood when gold was discovered shortly thereafter on the shores of the Bering Sea.

Since the beaches couldn’t be legally claimed, and didn’t require a perilous mountain journey, the revelation caught the attention of thousands. Most arrived by steamship from the United States, while others raced by dogsled from the Klondike, eager to try their luck for a second time. Sifting through the beaches required minimal equipment, and the sands soon became a free for all, where one’s tenacity was the only limit.

As in the Klondike, civilization followed in chaos’ wake, and a boomtown propped up to support the arriving prospectors. Once a sleepy settlement of only 250, Nome was home to more than 20,000 by 1900; eventually simmering down to a permanent population of around 2,600 in 1906, after the last of the easy gold had been claimed.

Fairbanks—treasure in the heartland

In 1902, Alaska’s last great gold rush began when a prospector named Felix Pedro struck it rich and shared the news with E.T. Barnette, the owner of a local trading post. Barnette, whose eye for profit often overwhelmed his moral compass, dispatched a messenger to the Klondike to spread the word, hoping to attract new customers to his burgeoning business.

Eager for the chance to recoup their losses from their failed adventures in the Klondike, thousands of miners heeded the call, only to find their hopes dashed once again. The richest veins had already been claimed, and the only wealth to be had would be coming in the form of a salary—working for Barnette.

Nevertheless, Barnette’s plan worked, and the influx of fortune-seekers led to the establishment of the new city of Fairbanks. Unlike other Alaskan boomtowns, Fairbanks remains a flourishing population center today, the second-largest city in the state after Anchorage. While much of this can be attributed to the construction and maintenance of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which runs through the city, Fairbanks still boasts several active gold mines, as well as a cottage industry offering travelers the chance to pan for gold and bring home a glittering souvenir.

A gilded legacy

Alaska’s gold rush proved lucrative for a lucky few who managed to claim its glittering prizes, but for many, its blessings were mixed. For thousands of unlucky or unprepared adventurers, Alaska’s frozen tundras proved too difficult an obstacle to overcome.

Additionally, the influx of thousands of new arrivals presented a massive disruption in the way of life for the indigenous people. While some adapted with mixed success, others found themselves permanently displaced, and many communities were afflicted with smallpox and other diseases brought by the new settlers.

For better or for worse, the gold rush was the beginning of a new era for Alaska. Once the domain of a handful of frontier fur traders, Alaska found itself the home of thousands of new citizens who established permanent cities, towns, homes, businesses, and industries. A surging population brought an increased need for law and order, hastening the call to transform Alaska into an American territory—and eventually, its 49th state.

Treasure in the Wild—Alaska’s Gold Rush Legacy