By the turn of the century, much of the roughness of Dawson had been smoothed away by the wealth generated from mining. More women and children arrived, and families rather than single miners became the dominant social force in the community.

People living in Dawson were richer and better equipped than in many other Canadian cities and Dawson was often referred to as “the Paris of the North”. Dawsonites were very concerned that Dawson be “just as good as any southern city, and took great pains to keep up with all the latest fashions.

Architecture in Dawson took on the flamboyance of the late Victorian age with accentuated trimmings, white picket fences and frame houses replacing the log cabins.

American Women’s Club Excursion and Picnic, c1905-1910, Dawson City Museum 1983.182.2.1