Dawson City Grew to 40,000 People — Briefly the Largest Canadian City West of Winnipeg

The great irony of the Klondike Gold Rush is that the merchants, outfitters, and service providers made far more reliable fortunes than most gold miners. Entrepreneurs like Samuel Benfield Steele and businesses that supplied food, tools, and lodging prospered enormously. One of the most famous examples: Levi Strauss & Co. sold durable denim pants to miners — and built a lasting American clothing brand.

The Klondike Gold Rush essentially ended in 1899 when gold was discovered on the beaches of Nome, Alaska. Thousands of disappointed Klondike miners abandoned Dawson City and streamed toward Nome, an easier location accessible by sea. By 1900, Dawson City's population had plummeted. Only about $1 of every $20 invested in the Klondike rush was ever recovered in gold.

Jefferson Randolph 'Soapy' Smith was the most notorious figure of the Klondike era. Operating out of Skagway, Alaska, he ran a sophisticated criminal operation that robbed prospectors through rigged card games, fake telegraph offices, and outright theft. His reign ended on July 8, 1898 when he was shot and killed in a confrontation with town surveyor Frank Reid, who also died in the gunfight.

Jack London, the future author of 'The Call of the Wild' and 'White Fang,' arrived in the Klondike in 1897 at age 21. He spent the winter of 1897–1898 in a cabin near the Yukon River, surviving scurvy and intense cold. Though he found little gold, the experience became the raw material for dozens of wilderness adventure stories that made him one of America's most beloved authors.