Editing Skagway, Alaska (section)

===Early Skagway===
[[File:Skagway showing the wharves and harbor area, Alaska, ca 1898 (HEGG 665).jpeg|thumb|Skagway wharves and harbor {{circa|1898}} photo by [[Eric A. Hegg]]]]
One prominent resident of early Skagway was [[William Moore (steamship captain)|William "Billy" Moore]], a former steamboat captain. As a member of an 1887 boundary survey expedition, he had made the first recorded investigation of the pass over the [[Coast Mountains]], which later became known as White Pass. He believed that gold lay in the Klondike because it had been found in similar mountain ranges in [[South America]], [[Mexico]], [[California]], and [[British Columbia]]. In 1887, he and his son, J. Bernard "Ben" Moore, claimed a {{convert|160|acre|m2|adj=on}} homestead at the mouth of the [[Skagway River]] in Alaska. Moore settled in this area because he believed it provided the most direct route to the potential [[Gold mining|goldfield]]s. They built a log cabin, a sawmill, and a wharf in anticipation of future gold [[Prospecting|prospectors]] passing through.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

The boundary between Canada and the United States along the [[Alaska Panhandle]] was only vaguely defined then (see [[Alaska boundary dispute]]). There were overlapping land claims from the United States' purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 and British claims along the coast. Canada requested a survey after British Columbia united with it in 1871, but the idea was rejected by the United States as being too costly, given the area's remoteness, sparse settlement, and limited economic or strategic interest.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

[[File:Kirmses advertisement Skagway 2009.jpg|thumb|left|Gold Rush-era advertisements made on one of the mountains forming the eastern wall of the valley]]
The [[Klondike gold rush]] changed everything. In 1896, [[gold]] was found in the [[Klondike, Yukon|Klondike]] region of [[Canada]]'s [[Yukon Territory]]. On July 29, 1897, the steamer [[Queen (steamship)|''Queen'']] docked at Moore's wharf with the first boat load of prospectors. More ships brought thousands of hopeful miners into the new town and prepared for the 500-mile journey to the gold fields in Canada. Moore was overrun by lot jumping prospectors and had his land stolen from him and sold to others.<ref>{{citation|title=Skaguay News|edition=summer|year=2008|page=16<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed, if any -->}}</ref>
[[File:Cementerio de la fiebre del oro, Skagway, Alaska, Estados Unidos, 2017-08-26, DD 42-44 PAN.jpg|thumb|Gold Rush Cemetery]]
The population of the general area increased enormously and reached 30,000, composed largely of American prospectors. Some realized how difficult the trek ahead would be en route to the gold fields, and chose to stay behind to supply goods and services to miners. Within weeks, stores, saloons, and offices lined the muddy streets of Skagway. The population was estimated at 8,000 residents during the spring of 1898 with approximately 1,000 prospective miners passing through town each week. By June 1898, with a population between 8,000 and 10,000, Skagway was the largest city in Alaska.<ref name="alaskatrekker">{{cite web|url=http://alaskatrekker.com/skagway.htm|title=Skagway Alaska|work=Alaska Trekker|access-date=July 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171127072456/http://alaskatrekker.com/places-go/skagway-alaska/|archive-date=November 27, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Due to the sudden influx of visitors to Skagway, some town residents began offering miners transportation services to aid them in their journeys to the Yukon, often at highly inflated rates. A group of miners upset with the treatment organized a town council to help protect their interests. But as the members of the council moved north to try their own hands at mining, control of the town reverted to the more unscrupulous, most notably [[Soapy Smith|Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith]].{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}
{{multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| header    = Jeff. Smith's Parlor, Soapy's base of operations
| image1    = Skagway-js-parlor-1898.jpg
| width1    = 192
| alt1      = Jeff. Smith's Parlor, Soapy's base of operations 
| caption1  = 1898, during the Klondike gold rush
| image2    = 
| width2    = 196
| alt2      = Jeff. Smith's Parlor in 1948
| caption2  = In 1948
| image3    = Soapy Smith parlor Skagway 2009.jpg
| width3    = 188
| alt3      = Jeff. Smith's Parlor in 2009
| caption3  = 2009, before restoration
}}

[[File:Red Onion Saloon.jpg|thumb|right|Corner of Broadway and 7th Avenue, built 2005]]
[[File:Broadway Avenue, Skagway, Alaska.jpg|thumb|right|Broadway Avenue, Skagway, in the early 1980s. [[Mount Harding (Alaska)|Mount Harding]] on right]]
[[File:Princess Cruiise Lines.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Diamond Princess (ship)|Diamond Princess]]'' (left) and ''[[Pacific Princess]]'']]

Between 1897 and 1898, Skagway was a lawless town, described by one member of the [[North-West Mounted Police]] as "little better than a hell on earth." Fights, prostitutes and liquor were ever-present on Skagway's streets, and con man "Soapy" Smith, who had risen to considerable power, did little to stop it. Smith was a sophisticated swindler who liked to think of himself as a kind and generous benefactor to the needy. He was gracious to some, giving money to widows and halting lynchings, while simultaneously operating a ring of thieves who swindled prospectors with cards, dice, and the [[shell game]]. His telegraph office charged five dollars to send a message anywhere in the world. Consequently, unknowing prospectors sent news to their families back home without realizing there was no telegraph service to or from Skagway until 1901.<ref>{{citation|title=Collier's Weekly|date=November 9, 1901}}</ref>

Smith also controlled a comprehensive [[spy]] network, a private militia called the Skaguay Military Company, the town newspaper, the Deputy U.S. Marshal's office and an array of thieves and con men who roamed about the town. Smith was finally shot and killed by Frank Reid and Jesse Murphy on July 8, 1898, in the famed [[Shootout on Juneau Wharf]]. Smith managed to return fire&nbsp;— some accounts claim the two men fired their weapons simultaneously&nbsp;— and Frank Reid died from his wounds twelve days later. Jesse Murphy is believed by some to be responsible for killing Smith, but the official coroner's inquest ruled "that said Smith [died] by reason of pistol wound piercing the heart. The said wound was the result of a pistol shot fired by one Frank H. Reid."<ref>Inquest Records, 1898–1935, Historic Records of the Office of the Magistrate, City of Skagway, Volume 55, Microfilm 176, Alaska State Archives, Juneau: "Inquest of Jeff R. Smith," p.&nbsp;6</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Jeff|title=Alias Soapy Smith: The Life and Death of a Scoundrel|location=Juneau, Alaska|publisher=Klondike Research|year=2009|isbn=978-0-9819743-0-9}}</ref>

Smith and Reid are now interred at the Klondike Gold Rush Cemetery, also known as "Skagway's [[Boot Hill]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.southeasttours.com/skagway_sightseeing_tours_yukon_skagway_alaska_tour_info.php|title=Skagway Spectacular Sightseeing Tours, Skagway Tours, Skagway Alaska Tours, Skagway Tour, Skagway Train Ride, White Pass, White Pass Railroad Train Ride, AK|work=southeasttours.com|access-date=July 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908074259/http://www.southeasttours.com/skagway_sightseeing_tours_yukon_skagway_alaska_tour_info.php|archive-date=September 8, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The prospectors' journey began for many when they climbed the mountains over the [[White Pass]] above Skagway and onward across the [[Canada–United States border|Canada–US border]] to [[Bennett Lake]], or one of its neighboring lakes, where they built barges and floated down the [[Yukon River]] to the gold fields around [[Dawson City]]. Others disembarked at nearby [[Dyea, Alaska|Dyea]], northwest of Skagway, and crossed northward on the [[Chilkoot Pass]], an existing Tlingit trade route to reach the lakes. The Dyea route fell out of favor when larger ships began to arrive, as its harbor was too shallow for them except at high tide. Officials in Canada began requiring that each prospector entering Canada on the north side of the White Pass bring with him one [[ton]] (909&nbsp;kg) of supplies, to ensure that he did not starve during the winter. This placed a large burden on the prospectors and the pack animals climbing the steep pass.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

In 1898, a 14-mile, steam-operated [[aerial tramway]] was constructed up the Skagway side of the White Pass, easing the burden of those prospectors who could afford the fee to use it. The [[Chilkoot Trail tramways]] also began to operate in the Chilkoot Pass above Dyea. In 1896, before the Klondike gold rush had begun, a group of investors saw an opportunity for a railroad over that route. It was not until May 1898 that the [[White Pass and Yukon Route]] began laying [[narrow-gauge railway|narrow gauge railroad]] tracks in Skagway. The railroad depot was constructed between September and December 1898. This destroyed the viability of Dyea, as Skagway had both the deep-water port and the railroad. Construction of [[McCabe College]], the first school in Alaska to offer a college preparatory high school curriculum, began in 1899. The school was completed in 1900.{{citation needed|date=April 2016}}

By 1899, the stream of gold-seekers had diminished and Skagway's economy began to collapse. By 1900, when the railroad was completed, the gold rush was nearly over. In 1900, Skagway was incorporated as the first city in the Alaska Territory. Much of the history of Skagway was saved by early residents such as [[Martin Itjen]], who ran a tour bus around the historical town. He was responsible for saving and maintaining the gold- rush cemetery from complete loss. He purchased Soapy Smith's saloon (Jeff Smith's Parlor) from going the way of the wrecking ball, and placed many early artifacts of the city's early history inside and opened Skagway's first museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/klgo/learn/historyculture/jeffsmithsparlor.htm|title=Jeff. Smiths Parlor Museum - Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)|website=nps.gov|access-date=July 8, 2018}}</ref>

In July 1923, President [[Warren G. Harding]] visited Skagway while on his historic tour through Alaska. Harding was the first President of the United States to travel and tour Alaska while in office.<ref>{{cite web|title=Skagway, Alaska&nbsp;... Then & Now|date=May 31, 2008 |url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/66733752@N00/2539667749|access-date=February 5, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Warren G. Harding - Life Facts|url=http://americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=28|publisher=C-SPAN|access-date=September 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000708130148/http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=28|archive-date=July 8, 2000}}</ref> The [[Canol pipeline]] was extended to Skagway in the 1940s where oil was shipped in by sea and pumped north.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}