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Events/Rush · 1897

Klondike gold rush

Rush, 1897 to 1900, Canada.

What happened

The SS Portland reached Seattle in July 1897 with over a ton of gold, and thousands set out. Between 1897 and 1900 more than 100,000 people started the journey. No more than 40,000 reached Dawson City. Canada's gold yield rose from 1.24 million pounds in 1897 to 5.74 million in 1900.1,2,3

Why it matters

It was the last of the great northern rushes and built Dawson City and Skagway.1,2,3

How this rush compares

Klondike gold rush

  • Discovery1896-08-164Parks Canada; staking on 17 August per its history text
  • News to outside world1897-071SS Portland reached Seattle with over a ton of gold
  • People who set out (1900)100,000 people1Set out for the Klondike 1897 to 1900 ("more than")
  • People who came (1900)40,000 people1"No more than 40,000" reached Dawson City
  • Canada gold value before (1897)1,240,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2Canada national gold yield, ABS table; Klondike share not separated
  • Canada gold value peak (1900)5,742,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2Canada national gold yield, ABS table
  • World gold value (1900)52,086,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2World gold yield 1900, ABS table
  • Canada share of world gold (1900)11 percent2Computed from the two ABS values (5.742 / 52.086)

California gold rush

  • Discovery1848-01-245Marshall at Sutter's mill
  • Population before rush (1848)14,000 people (non-Indian)6State population estimate when gold was found
  • Population end 1849 (1849)100,000 people6"nearly 100,000"
  • Population 1852 (1852)250,000 people6"some 250,000"
  • Census population (1850)92,597 people71850 US census count
  • Gold recovered (1855)750,000 pounds7Estimated recovered 1848 to 1855. About 340 tonnes at 0.4536 kg per pound (computed).
  • Value recovered then (1900)25,000,000,000 US dollars, modern equivalent6Mother Lode and Klamath fields together, "modern-day equivalent of more than $25 billion" by the turn of the century
  • News reached san francisco1848-037Rumours reached San Francisco in March 1848
  • Population after 50 years (1900)1,485,053 people7California census 1900

Witwatersrand gold rush

  • Discovery1886-078Harrison, Langlaagte; his affidavit date is not on the opened page
  • Camp population (1886)3,000 people8About 3,000 inhabitants by August 1886, mostly White
  • Public diggings proclaimed (1886)9 farms8Proclaimed 8 September 1886
  • Towns founded (1886)1 town8Johannesburg named 3 October and declared 4 October 1886
  • Transvaal gold value (1897)11,654,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2ABS table, Transvaal
  • Transvaal gold value war low (1900)1,481,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2Output collapsed during the South African War
  • Transvaal gold value later (1909)30,988,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2ABS table, Transvaal
  • Transvaal share of world gold (1909)33.7 percent2Computed: 30.988 / 91.91

Victorian gold rush

  • First discovery clunes1850-032Hon. W. Campbell at Clunes, "probably" first
  • Rush notification1851-07-052Gold notified in the Yarra Ranges and the Pyrenees
  • Commonwealth population 1851 (1851)437,665 people2Australia end of 1851
  • Commonwealth population 1861 (1861)1,168,149 people2Australia end of 1861
  • People who came (1861)40,000 people per year, average2"Over 40,000" a year reached Victoria 1851 to 1861
  • Years as top australian producer (1898)47 years2Victoria led until Western Australia passed it in 1898
  • Victoria gold 1901 (1901)730,450 fine ounces2ABS table
  • Deaths at the Eureka Stockade (1854)28 people9Six police and troopers and at least 22 diggers, State Library Victoria
  • Peak year18562Victoria's highest yearly gold output

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. San Francisco ships US$724 million of treasure in 16 years

    Eastern ports took US$462 million, England US$168 million and China US$68 million.10,11

  2. Holtermann reef gold specimen unearthed

    The photographs form part of the Holtermann Collection of goldfield life.12,13

  3. Homestake Mine: inception

    Homestake Mine: inception.14

  4. Gold found in the Kimberley (Halls Creek)

    It was the first Western Australian gold excitement, before the 1890s rushes.15,16

  5. Gold find at Southern Cross

    A find at Southern Cross caused excitement in 1888, before the Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie rushes.17

  6. Jameson Raid

    Jameson Raid.18

  7. Steamship Portland docks at Seattle with a ton of Klondike gold

    The ship carried 68 miners from St. Michael, and news of the gold set off the stampede.19,20,21

  8. Goldfields Water Supply Scheme opens

    It let the dry goldfields grow after the 1890s rush.22,23,24

Open the full timeline

Where next

People

Worked hereJack LondonHe sailed for the Klondike at 21 and crossed the Chilkoot Pass by 31 August 1897.25Worked hereTappan AdneyHe explored Skagway, Dyea and the trails north in 1897 as a Harper's Weekly correspondent.25Worked hereLulu Mae Johnson (Eads)She came north in 1899 with a troupe and stayed to run a dance hall.26Worked hereJoseph Whiteside BoyleHe reached Dawson in July 1897 with the boxer Frank Slavin.27

Mines

Located inKlondike (Bonanza Creek)A mine from the same area and mineral story: Klondike (Bonanza Creek).1

Events

Inspired byHannan finds gold at KalgoorlieHannan found Kalgoorlie in 1893. In July 1897 a ship landed over a ton of gold in Seattle.1Came out ofGold found on Rabbit (Bonanza) CreekFrom a find on 16 August 1896 to a ton of gold landed in Seattle in July 1897.1Inspired byFraser River gold rushCanada's next big rush came in 1897, when more than 100,000 set out for the Klondike.1

Places

Located inDawson CityMore than 100,000 set out, but no more than 40,000 reached Dawson.1Located inSkagwayThe last great northern rush built Dawson City and Skagway.1

Trade routes

Shipped throughKlondike gold from St. Michael to Seattle (SS Portland, 1897)The SS Portland reached Seattle on 17 July 1897 with more than a ton of gold.19

Sources

  1. Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (Teaching with Historic Places) US National Park Service
  2. Year Book Australia 1911, gold chapter Australian Bureau of Statistics
  3. Dawson City (item Q372324), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  4. Discovery Claim National Historic Site Parks Canada
  5. The California Gold Rush (California National Historic Trail) US National Park Service
  6. Gold Rush Overview California State Parks
  7. History and the Census: The 1848 California Gold Rush (Jan 2018) US Census Bureau
  8. Discovery of the Gold in 1884 South African History Online
  9. Eureka Stockade (Golden Victoria, ErgoSlv) State Library Victoria
  10. Peabody A., Early voyages to California (treasure shipped from San Francisco 1854-1869) Library of Congress (Essex Institute Historical Collections)
  11. Wikidata item Q62 (San Francisco)
  12. The Holtermann Collection State Library of New South Wales
  13. Hill End (item Q14202724), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  14. Wikidata item Q2351504 (Homestake Mine: inception)
  15. The Rush for Gold (WA Goldfields) Western Australian Museum
  16. Halls Creek (item Q992686), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  17. The Rush for Gold Western Australian Museum
  18. Wikidata item Q916340 (Jameson Raid)
  19. Klondike Gold Rush begins on July 17, 1897 (Essay 699) HistoryLink.org
  20. History and Culture, Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park US National Park Service
  21. Wikidata item Q5083 (Seattle)
  22. Building a Pipeline (WA Goldfields) Western Australian Museum
  23. CY O'Connor's Golden Pipeline celebrates 120 years of service (media statement, 24 Jan 2023) Government of Western Australia
  24. Mundaring Weir (item Q1800878), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  25. Gold Rush Writers US National Park Service, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
  26. JOHNSON, LULU MAE Dictionary of Canadian Biography
  27. BOYLE, JOSEPH WHITESIDE Dictionary of Canadian Biography

Pictures on this page: 1918 - Colonelul Joseph (Joe) Boyle.png, Unknown author (Public domain).

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Underground mining equipment by Kaupo Kikkas, CC BY-SA 4.0. Pictures: Gold prospectors constructing a long box with a filter for panning gold. Process print after H.M. Paget, 1899., Henry Marriott Paget (Public Domain Mark 1.0).