Dawson’s isolation meant that all goods not made here had to be either packed over the Chilkoot Trail by hand, or shipped via the “all water route” at great cost.

Packing over the Chilkoot Trail was backbreaking work, and even once goods were carried to Lake Bennett at the end of the trail, they still had to be transported through the lakes and down the river to Dawson.

The River

Sternwheelers like the SS Keno on Front St. were extremely important to the community of Dawson, as they represented the life-line to the outside world. All mail, people, goods and supplies came to town on these boats. Sternwheelers remained Dawson’s main connection with the outside world until the early 1950’s when a year-round road was completed to Whitehorse.

The river is still very important in the community today. Many Dawsonites fish salmon, boat and canoe in the summer, while snowmobiles, dog teams and cross-country skiers share the trails on the ice in the winter. Every spring there is a pool to guess the exact time that the ice in the river will break and be carried downstream. This event signals the true end of winter, and Dawsonites rush to the riverbank to watch the event.

The Winter Stage

Overland travel by stagecoach between Dawson and Whitehorse was only possible in the winter. The stagecoach provided a link to the outside during the months when the river was frozen and paddle wheelers were out of service. The trip was long and cold, and the roadhouses along the way were always a most welcome sight as they provided a place to warm up and have a hot meal. Travellers on the winter stage were given buffalo coats and warm robes to help prevent them getting frost bite on the trip.

Railroads

Construction of The White Pass & Yukon Railway from the saltwater port of Skagway, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon made shipping goods to Dawson much cheaper, easier and faster. The height of the gold rush was over by the time the tracks were laid all the way to Whitehorse in 1900. The new rail link did provide an important transportation corridor for the parts and machinery necessary to build the large bucket-line dredges that were taking over from the hand miners at the turn of the century. It was these dredging operations that prevented Dawson from becoming a ghost town after the excitement of the gold rush faded.

In 1906 there was a rail line built here in Dawson. The Klondike Mines Railway was constructed to transport mining materials from Dawson to the gold fields.

Nightlife in Dawson

Spree drinking was common when men who were out in the gold fields for long periods of time came in to town and spend all their hard earned money on alcohol, gambling and women. Much of the payment was made in gold dust. It was customary to turn your back when paying with gold dust as a sign of trust, but many bartenders were less than trustworthy. They kept their fingernails long to trap gold dust, and would periodically clean the gold out from under their nails by running their hands through their hair, which was well oiled so the gold would stick. At the end of the night they would rinse out their hair and collect their “tips”. These dishonest practices had to be conducted discretely as the North West Mounted Police were bound and determined to keep law and order in Dawson. They did not hesitate to give undesirables free one-way passage on the next boat out. This dreaded punishment was known as a “blue ticket”.

Saloons typically had a bar, gambling room, dance hall and theatre. Gambling was permitted until 1902, although it was in fact illegal. The NWMP tolerated the gambling because otherwise, the games would go underground and corruption would escalate.

Prostitution was another vice that was tolerated in Dawson, though it too was illegal. The red light district was located between Front Street and Second Ave, and soon became known as “Paradise Alley”. The girls who worked in Paradise Alley were bound to follow strict rules set out by the NWMP, or they would be given a blue ticket out of town. They were not allowed to advertise or solicit business on the street, they could not start work before 4pm, and they were obligated to have a monthly medical inspection.

The Mounties did not allow any business to be open or any work to be done on a Sunday in Dawson. This rule was so strictly enforced that one man was fined just for chopping his own wood on a Sunday!