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Current Population: Approximately 860 - year round
Approximately 2,500 - May to Sept.
Pronunciation (SKAG-way)
Incorporation Type: Municipality of Skagway Borough
Borough Located In: Upper Lynn Canal
School District: Skagway City Schools
Regional Native Corporation: Sealaska Corporation
Approximately 2,500 - May to Sept.
Pronunciation (SKAG-way)
Incorporation Type: Municipality of Skagway Borough
Borough Located In: Upper Lynn Canal
School District: Skagway City Schools
Regional Native Corporation: Sealaska Corporation
Local Services and Facilities
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Communications
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| The Midnight Sun Pipe Band is a regular feature of the July 4th parade Photo: Mike Olson |
Culture
Skagway is a homogenous community with a population made up of 94% whites and 6%
Alaska Natives. The Skagway Traditional Council is a federally recognized tribe and the
opening of the tribal house in December 2004 has given the tribal members a much
needed visual presence in the community. It is expected that traditional Tlingit (clink-it)
activities will continue to occur including Tlingit language courses, medicinal plant
instruction, and cultural celebrations and that opportunities for new activities will be
explored.
Skagway’s identity is truly based on its role as the “Gateway to the Klondike” during the
Klondike Gold Rush in Dawson City, Yukon back in 1897-1900. Both Skagway and Dyea
(die-ee) were the communities at the heads of the White Pass and Chilkoot Trails,
respectively. These trails were traditional trading routes into the interior and later became
the primary transportation routes to the Klondike.
With the completion of the White Pass& Yukon Route Railroad (WP&YR) and after the
gold rush Skagway’s primary role as a transshipment port and railroad town was
established and forged the community’s character until modern times. The railroad
played an important role in the construction of the Alaska-Canada Highway (Alcan)
during WWII which opened in November 1942.
Skagway continues to be a major transshipment port but now the goods and services
moved tend to be cruise ship passengers, and tourists in general as well as continuing to
be a freight hub for the Yukon Territory.
Skagway is a homogenous community with a population made up of 94% whites and 6%
Alaska Natives. The Skagway Traditional Council is a federally recognized tribe and the
opening of the tribal house in December 2004 has given the tribal members a much
needed visual presence in the community. It is expected that traditional Tlingit (clink-it)
activities will continue to occur including Tlingit language courses, medicinal plant
instruction, and cultural celebrations and that opportunities for new activities will be
explored.
Skagway’s identity is truly based on its role as the “Gateway to the Klondike” during the
Klondike Gold Rush in Dawson City, Yukon back in 1897-1900. Both Skagway and Dyea
(die-ee) were the communities at the heads of the White Pass and Chilkoot Trails,
respectively. These trails were traditional trading routes into the interior and later became
the primary transportation routes to the Klondike.
With the completion of the White Pass& Yukon Route Railroad (WP&YR) and after the
gold rush Skagway’s primary role as a transshipment port and railroad town was
established and forged the community’s character until modern times. The railroad
played an important role in the construction of the Alaska-Canada Highway (Alcan)
during WWII which opened in November 1942.
Skagway continues to be a major transshipment port but now the goods and services
moved tend to be cruise ship passengers, and tourists in general as well as continuing to
be a freight hub for the Yukon Territory.
| This false front is about all that is left of the gold rush in Dyea Photo: Mike Olson |
History
"Skagua" was the Tlingit (clink-it) name, which means "the place of bunched up
water"and often referred to as "home of the north wind". Capt. William Moore and
Skookum Jim, a Tlingit from the Carcross-Tagish area of the Yukon Territory, discovered
the White Pass route into Interior Canada in June 1887. Capt. Moore and his son
Bernard staked a claim and built a cabin on the waterfront in October 1887. They called
the place "Mooresville."
In July 1897, gold was discovered in the Klondike, and the first boatload of prospectors
landed. By October 1897, according to a Northwest Mounted Police Report, Skagway
"had grown from a concourse of tents to a fair-sized town with well-laid-out streets and
numerous frame buildings, stores, saloons, gambling houses, dance houses and a
population of about 20,000." Five thousand stampeders alone landed in February 1898,
according to Customs Office records.
Two trails were used by the gold seekers to reach the headwaters of the Yukon River.
The 33-mile-long Chilkoot Trail began at nearby Dyea; and the 40-mile White Pass Trail
began at Skagway and paralleled the present-day route of the White Pass & Yukon
Railway. Thousands of men carried supplies up the 33-mile Chilkoot Trail, or took the
40-mile White Pass trail to Lake Bennett, where they built boats to float down the Yukon
River to Dawson City and the gold fields, 500 miles distant. In 1898 a 14-mile,
steam-operated tramway was constructed, which eased the burdens of those able to pay.
Skagway became the first incorporated City in Alaska in 1900; the population was 3,117
at that time, the second-largest settlement in Alaska. Tales of fortune seekers,
lawlessness and Soapy Smith are legendary. Once the gold rush ended in 1900,
Skagway might have become a ghost town if not for the White Pass and Yukon Railroad
construction in 1898. The railroad was the first in Alaska, and provided freight, fuel, and
transportation to Whitehorse and served the Anvil Gold Mines in the Yukon. It employed
many locals until 1982, when the railroad closed. Construction of the Klondike Hwy in
1979 gave Skagway a link to the Alaska Highway and to the rest of North America.
"Skagua" was the Tlingit (clink-it) name, which means "the place of bunched up
water"and often referred to as "home of the north wind". Capt. William Moore and
Skookum Jim, a Tlingit from the Carcross-Tagish area of the Yukon Territory, discovered
the White Pass route into Interior Canada in June 1887. Capt. Moore and his son
Bernard staked a claim and built a cabin on the waterfront in October 1887. They called
the place "Mooresville."
In July 1897, gold was discovered in the Klondike, and the first boatload of prospectors
landed. By October 1897, according to a Northwest Mounted Police Report, Skagway
"had grown from a concourse of tents to a fair-sized town with well-laid-out streets and
numerous frame buildings, stores, saloons, gambling houses, dance houses and a
population of about 20,000." Five thousand stampeders alone landed in February 1898,
according to Customs Office records.
Two trails were used by the gold seekers to reach the headwaters of the Yukon River.
The 33-mile-long Chilkoot Trail began at nearby Dyea; and the 40-mile White Pass Trail
began at Skagway and paralleled the present-day route of the White Pass & Yukon
Railway. Thousands of men carried supplies up the 33-mile Chilkoot Trail, or took the
40-mile White Pass trail to Lake Bennett, where they built boats to float down the Yukon
River to Dawson City and the gold fields, 500 miles distant. In 1898 a 14-mile,
steam-operated tramway was constructed, which eased the burdens of those able to pay.
Skagway became the first incorporated City in Alaska in 1900; the population was 3,117
at that time, the second-largest settlement in Alaska. Tales of fortune seekers,
lawlessness and Soapy Smith are legendary. Once the gold rush ended in 1900,
Skagway might have become a ghost town if not for the White Pass and Yukon Railroad
construction in 1898. The railroad was the first in Alaska, and provided freight, fuel, and
transportation to Whitehorse and served the Anvil Gold Mines in the Yukon. It employed
many locals until 1982, when the railroad closed. Construction of the Klondike Hwy in
1979 gave Skagway a link to the Alaska Highway and to the rest of North America.
| The Gold Rush Cemetery in Skagway where the infamous "Soapy" Smith is buried. |
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Period of Record: July 1, 1965 - December 31, 2005
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| Climate Skagway experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. Average summer temperatures range from 45 to 67; winter temperatures average 18 to 37. Skagway receives less rain than is typical of Southeast Alaska, averaging 26 inches of precipitation per year, and 49 inches of snow. |
Community Profile
| The second most giving community in Alaska 17.5% of discretionary income goes to charities Source: Chronicle of Philanthropy 2003 |