Welcome to the Dawson City Museum… At the Heart of the Klondike

Established in the early 1950s, the Dawson City Museum houses the largest and most important collection in the Yukon. Collections include geology, pre-history, First Nations, early exploration, the gold rush, gold mining and the birth and development of Dawson City and the Klondike Region.

Also included in the collection are four restored narrow-gauge locomotives used by the Klondike Mines Railway from 1905-1913. On this site, you can see images of the restoration of Locomotive #1 and read the conservation reports describing what was done and how it was accomplished.

Future exhibits online include “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives.” Meet the people of Dawson City online. Hear their stories of how they came to the Klondike. Some came for the gold, some came for the land and some came for a vacation and never left.

DCM is also home to the Klondike History Library that every year helps visitors trace their ancestors time in the Klondike. The Archives also has approximately 20,000 photographs, some of which you will see and purchase here online.

From mid-May to mid-September the museum hosts a number of programs focussing on the gold rush. Daily “miner’s meetings” will give visitors a taste of Yukon justice at the turn of the century. Rockerbox and gold pouring demonstrations introduce visitors to the realities of gold mining. Costumed interpreters help bring the collection to life. Winter programs are targeted to the permanent population of Dawson City and include among others a classic movie series and a variety of school programs. The Programs page will keep you up to date on the happenings at the museum.

Visitors can also visit the gift shop online and sample some of the unique hand-crafted products or perhaps select a title from our extensive Klondike collection of books.

We hope you enjoy your visit to the heart of the Klondike!