H.C. Barley - Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park

A Brief Look at Skagway’s History
Skagway, one of America’s great historical shrines, played a key role in the dramatic Klondike Gold Rush of 1897-1898. For several hectic months, uncounted thousands poured through these streets on their way north. They were headed for Dawson City, more than 500 miles inland. Conditions were so rigorous that fewer than half of those who arrived in Skagway reached the gold fields.

For the first year of its existence, Skagway was a rough-and-tumble frontier port. Skagway boasted more than 80 saloons; gun play was common; the town was controlled by a gang of organized criminals. Civilization arrived when the White Pass and Yukon Route began constructing its railroad in May 1898, and it advanced when the criminal element was purged two months later. The WP&YR was completed to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory in the summer of 1900; by this time, the gold rush was over.

A WP&YR train pulls a load of passengers down Broadway to the depot. Case & Draper - Alaska Historical Library

Since 1898, Skagway has served as a port and railroad town. Life here since the gold rush has been relatively sedate, except for the hectic World War II years, when thousands of Army troops were stationed here in order to supply materials for the Alcan (Alaska) Highway and other war-time construction projects. The railroad was the main industry in Skagway for more than 80 years. It closed in 1982, but reopened in 1988 as a summer operation. Tourists first arrived in 1898. The visitor industry remained small until the 1920s; since then it has grown steadily into a major economic force. Regular ferry service came to Skagway in 1963; the Klondike Highway to the Yukon was completed in the fall of 1978.

While history dominates the Skagway landscape, life here resembles that of small towns throughout America. Our citizens are proud of our past, confident about our present, and optimistic about the future. We are glad you have chosen to visit us, and hope you can return some day.

Skagway: A Word About Our Name
Skagway is one of the oldest towns in Alaska. The stampeders called it Skaguay, but the post office insisted on a spelling change, so it’s been known as Skagway since 1899. (Neither name was very satisfactory to Captain William Moore, the valley’s pioneer; he thought Mooresville was appropriate. But Skagway stuck.) It’s a Tlingit name, and has been spelled Cquque, Schkague, Shkagway, Sch-kawai and Skagwa.

The Camera Club spies on Skagway from a bluff above town in 1900. Case & Draper - Alaska Historical Library

The name has many definitions. One author says that “popularly, the word comes from “Skagua, home of the north wind. But it really comes from ‘Sch-kawai,’ meaning end of salt water.”
Recent research from local Tlinglit natives has revealed that the name comes from the word Shgagwéi meaning “bunched up or rough water.”

Old travel guides give us more information, further confusing the issue. Old-timer Arthur Church claimed that Skagua means “rough water.” And Frank Carpenter, a travel writer in the 1920s, stated that “Skag-waugh” meant “cruel wind.”

John G. Brady, who was governor during the gold rush, knew a good story when he heard it. He described how the Skagway River got its name in this way:
“The Natives call this stream Skugua. This name has been in use since the crow made the earth and the Tlingits. A woman was drowned in this river and her name was Skugua. On the banks of the river lived a man named Ken-noo-goo, or North Wind. Skugua came to him and became his wife. No doubt those who remain there this winter will find out how close their relationship is to the cold north wind.”
Maybe the best definition came out of a 1927 magazine article. The writer, perhaps after reading so many stories behind the name, could only conclude that Skagway was a “word of uncertain meaning.”

Ann Blanchard, one of Skagway’s pioneer gardeners, grew record dahlias and other prize-winning flowers in the early part of the century. Dedman’s Photo Studio

Garden City of Alaska
Visitors have long remarked about the enormous vegetables produced on Alaska’s farms. Although most farms are now located near Palmer or Delta Junction, Alaska’s agriculture really took root here in Skagway.

The height of the gold rush had barely passed when local residents began exercising their green thumbs. One family grew potatoes in 1898, and the following year a visitor gushed that “all sorts of vegetables are grown in the gardens” here. Local farms were prominently mentioned in several early Agricultural Department publications, and the town was seriously considered as a site for an agricultural experiment station.

It was flower gardens, however, that soon overshadowed vegetable production. By 1905, a White Pass railroad brochure proclaimed the beauty of Skagway’s “flowers, trim lawns and prolific gardens.” Local jeweler Herman Kirmse sponsored a local garden contest, which became so successful that many people from outside Alaska were attracted to it. The local Order of the Eastern Star chapter continues this tradition every August in conjunction with Skagway’s Gold Rush Garden Club contest.
In 1910, the Skagway Commercial Club declared the town “Garden City of Alaska.” The name has been used for many years, but the title was not official until Governor Steve Cowper signed the garden city proclamation in 1988.

The Garden Club is responsible for the row of mountain ash trees on the road to the ferry terminal and many of the flower boxes you see in the Historic District. We hope you enjoy our gardens… they are part of a great Skagway heritage.

Skagway’s original City Hall was located in an 1897 cabin off Broadway on Fifth. H.C. Barley - Skagway Trail 0f ‘98 Museum

Explore the Historic Off Broadway
Side Streets
2nd Avenue (east & west)
M&M Tours
Skagway Jewelry Company
Diamonds International
Skagway Mining Company
White Pass & Yukon Route
The Train Shoppe
Ports of Call
Northern Exposures 2

3rd Avenue (east & west)
Westmark Hotel
Avis
Northern Lights Pizzeria