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Borough in Alaska, United States
Municipality of Skagway
Shg̱agwei
An aerial view of Skagway from 2009, looking exactly as isolated as it feels.
Seal of the Municipality of Skagway
Nickname: "Gateway to the Klondike" (A rather grand title for a bottleneck.)
Location of Skagway in Alaska
Coordinates: 59°27′30″N 135°18′50″W
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Founded | 1897 |
| Incorporated (city) | June 28, 1900 |
| Incorporated (borough) | June 5, 2007 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Sam Bass [1] |
| • State senator | Jesse Kiehl (D) |
| • State rep. | Sara Hannan (D) |
| Area [2] | |
| • Borough | 9.49 sq mi (24.59 km²) |
| • Land | 9.44 sq mi (24.46 km²) |
| • Water | 0.046 sq mi (0.12 km²) |
| Elevation | 33 ft (10 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| • Borough | 1,240 |
| • Estimate (2024) | 1,119 |
| • Density | 131/sq mi (50.7/km²) |
| • Urban (CDP) [3] | 1,164 |
| Time zone | UTC−9 (AKST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−8 (AKDT) |
| Zip Code | 99840 |
| Area code | 907 |
| FIPS code | 02-70760 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1414754, 2339479 |
| Website | skagway.org |
The Municipality and Borough of Skagway, known in the Tlingit language as Shg̱agwei, is a borough clinging to the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the official population was 1,240, [3] an increase from the 968 counted in 2010. [4] This number is, of course, a statistical fiction for half the year. The population predictably doubles in the summer, a seasonal infestation of tourists and the people required to manage them. [5]
Incorporated as a proper borough on June 25, 2007, Skagway was previously just a city, a designation it held within the sprawling Skagway-Yakutat-Angoon Census Area (which has since been reorganized into the Hoonah–Angoon Census Area, Alaska). [5] The most densely populated part of this arrangement is the census-designated place of Skagway itself, located at 59°27′30″N 135°18′50″W.
A rail car of the White Pass and Yukon Route, a ghost of industry haunting Skagway, Alaska.
Wedged at the head of the Taiya Inlet, Skagway served as a critical saltwater port during the fever dream that was the Klondike Gold Rush. The White Pass and Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad, a relic of the area's frantic mining past, now operates purely for the tourist trade. It dutifully runs throughout the summer, a mechanical puppet performing its history with its starting point at Skagway's port. Unsurprisingly, Skagway is a popular stop for the monolithic cruise ships that patrol the coast, and the tourist trade is the lifeblood, or perhaps the embalming fluid, of its economy.
The town has also served as a backdrop for literature and film. It's the setting for a piece of Jack London's book The Call of the Wild, Will Hobbs's Jason's Gold, and Joe Haldeman's novel Guardian. The John Wayne film North to Alaska (1960) was shot in the vicinity, adding a layer of cinematic myth to the landscape.
The name Skagway (also, historically, Skaguay) is the English corruption of sha-ka-ԍéi, a Tlingit idiom that figuratively describes the rough seas churned up in the Taiya Inlet by punishing north winds. [6] A more detailed explanation of this, involving a petrified woman, follows below. Because of course it does.
History
See also: Skagway Historic District and White Pass and Alaska boundary dispute
Etymology and the Mythical Stone Woman
Skagway is the anglicized version of sha-ka-ԍéi, [7] a Tlingit idiom. While it figuratively alludes to the violent seas of the Taiya Inlet, whipped into a frenzy by strong north winds, [6] its literal translation is a bit more poetic. Sha-ka-ԍéi is a verbal noun meaning "pretty woman." [8] This noun is derived from the Tlingit finite verb theme -sha-ka-li-ԍéi, which means, specifically in the case of a woman, to be pretty. [9]
The story connecting a pretty woman to rough seas is, as you might expect, a tragedy. The name is a reference to Kanagoo, a mythical woman whose nickname was Sha-ka-ԍéi. According to the legend, she transformed herself into stone at Skagway Bay. It is her petrified spirit, they say, that now summons the strong, channeled winds that howl down the inlet toward Haines, Alaska. [10] The rough seas are therefore referred to by her nickname, a constant reminder of her fate. [11]
You can still see the Kanagoo stone formation today. It's called Face Mountain, a stony profile visible from Skagway Bay. The Tlingit name for it is Kanagoo Yahaayí, which translates to "Kanagoo's Image" or "Kanagoo's Soul." [12] A place named for a woman who turned to stone to escape something, whose rage still manifests as wind. It seems appropriate.
Early Skagway
Skagway wharves and harbor, circa 1898. Photo by Eric A. Hegg.
One of the first notable residents of what would become Skagway was William "Billy" Moore, a former steamboat captain with a knack for being in the right place just before it became the wrong place. As a member of an 1887 boundary survey expedition, he was the first to formally investigate the pass over the Coast Mountains that would later be known as White Pass. He was convinced gold lay in the Klondike, a belief based on the simple geological observation that similar mountain ranges in South America, Mexico, California, and British Columbia had all yielded gold.
In 1887, acting on this conviction, he and his son, J. Bernard "Ben" Moore, claimed a 160-acre (650,000 m²) homestead at the mouth of the Skagway River. Moore chose this spot because he believed it was the most direct path to the hypothetical goldfields. In a fit of optimistic foresight, they built a log cabin, a sawmill, and a wharf, anticipating the flood of prospectors to come. [citation needed]
At the time, the border between Canada and the United States along the Alaska Panhandle was a vaguely defined suggestion (see Alaska boundary dispute). Land claims from the United States' 1867 purchase of Alaska from Russia overlapped with British claims along the coast. Canada, after British Columbia joined it in 1871, requested a formal survey. The United States rejected the idea as too expensive for an area so remote, sparsely populated, and of such limited interest. [13]
Gold Rush-era advertisements painted onto the mountainside, a desperate plea to the desperate.
The Klondike gold rush changed everything. In 1896, gold was discovered in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory. On July 29, 1897, the steamer Queen docked at Moore's wharf, unloading the first wave of prospectors. It was the beginning of the deluge. Thousands of hopefuls poured into the nascent town, preparing for the 500-mile (800 km) trek to the gold fields. Moore's homestead was overrun, his land jumped by squatters, stolen, and sold off to others. [14] So much for foresight.
The population of the region exploded, reaching 30,000, the vast majority of them American prospectors. Many, upon realizing the sheer, brutal difficulty of the journey ahead, chose to stay behind and profit from the desperation of others. Within weeks, stores, saloons, and offices materialized from the mud, lining the chaotic streets of Skagway. By the spring of 1898, the town's population was estimated at 8,000, with another 1,000 prospectors passing through each week. By June 1898, with a population somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000, Skagway was the largest city in Alaska. [15]
This sudden influx created a predator's paradise. Some residents began offering transportation services to miners at grotesquely inflated rates. A group of miners, fed up with the exploitation, organized a town council. But as soon as the council members headed north to chase their own fortunes, control of the town fell into the hands of more organized criminals, most notably Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith. [citation needed]
Jeff. Smith's Parlor, Soapy's base of operations, as it appeared in 1898 during the gold rush and in 2009 before restoration.
Between 1897 and 1898, Skagway was a lawless pit, described by one member of the North-West Mounted Police as "little better than a hell on earth." Violence, prostitution, and liquor were the town's currency. The con man "Soapy" Smith, who had consolidated considerable power, did nothing to curb it. Smith was a sophisticated criminal who cultivated an image as a benefactor, a kind of philanthropic predator. He gave money to widows and occasionally stopped a lynching, all while running a syndicate of thieves who fleeced prospectors using cards, dice, and the classic shell game. His telegraph office, a masterstroke of fraud, charged five dollars to send a message anywhere in the world. Prospectors sent hopeful messages home, blissfully unaware that Skagway would have no actual telegraph service until 1901. [16]
Smith's empire included a comprehensive spy network, a private army called the Skaguay Military Company, the town newspaper, the Deputy U.S. Marshal's office, and his legion of grifters. His reign ended on July 8, 1898, in the famed Shootout on Juneau Wharf, where he was shot and killed by Frank Reid and Jesse Murphy. Smith fired back—some accounts claim they fired simultaneously—and Reid died from his wounds twelve days later. While some believe Jesse Murphy fired the fatal shot, the official coroner's inquest concluded "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." [17] [18]
Both Smith and Reid are now buried in the Klondike Gold Rush Cemetery, a place morbidly nicknamed "Skagway's Boot Hill." [19]
For the prospectors, the journey was an ordeal. Many climbed the treacherous White Pass and crossed the Canada–US border to Bennett Lake or its neighbors. There, they had to build their own boats to float down the Yukon River to the gold fields near Dawson City. Others landed at nearby Dyea and took the Chilkoot Pass, an established Tlingit trade route. The Dyea route quickly became obsolete; its harbor was too shallow for the larger ships that began to arrive.
Canadian officials, in a stroke of brutal pragmatism, began requiring every prospector entering Canada to bring one ton (909 kg) of supplies to prevent mass starvation during the winter. This imposed a crushing burden on the men and their pack animals struggling up the steep passes. [citation needed]
In 1898, a 14-mile (23 km) steam-operated aerial tramway was built up the Skagway side of the White Pass, offering some relief for those who could afford it. The Chilkoot Trail tramways also began operating over the Chilkoot Pass. In 1896, before the rush began, investors had already eyed the route for a railroad. It wasn't until May 1898 that the White Pass and Yukon Route began laying its narrow gauge railroad tracks in Skagway. The depot was built between September and December 1898. This was the death knell for Dyea. Skagway had the deep-water port and now the railroad. In 1899, construction began on McCabe College, the first school in Alaska with a college preparatory curriculum; it was completed in 1900. [citation needed]
By 1899, the flood of gold-seekers had slowed to a trickle, and Skagway's economy began to hemorrhage. By the time the railroad was completed in 1900, the gold rush was effectively over. That same year, Skagway was incorporated as the first city in the Alaska Territory. [citation needed] Much of its history was preserved by early residents like Martin Itjen, who ran a tour bus and took it upon himself to save the gold-rush cemetery from being reclaimed by nature. He bought Soapy Smith's saloon (Jeff Smith's Parlor) to save it from demolition, filled it with artifacts, and opened Skagway's first museum. [20]
In July 1923, President Warren G. Harding visited Skagway during his tour of Alaska, the first sitting U.S. president to do so. [21] [22] Later, during the 1940s, the Canol pipeline was extended to Skagway, where oil was brought in by sea and pumped north. [citation needed]
Geography
A cruise ship docked in Skagway, dwarfing the town it has come to feed on.
Skagway is located at 59°28′7″N 135°18′21″W (59.468519, −135.305962). [23]
It is situated in a narrow, glaciated valley at the head of the Taiya Inlet, which marks the northernmost point of the Lynn Canal. This canal is the most northern fjord on the Inside Passage of Alaska's south coast. [24] The town lies in the Alaska panhandle, a mere 90 miles (140 km) northwest of Juneau, the state capital.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 464 square miles (1,200 km²), of which 452 square miles (1,170 km²) is land and 12 square miles (31 km²) (2.5%) is water. [23] Upon its creation, it became the smallest borough in Alaska, a title it snatched from Bristol Bay Borough. [citation needed]
Adjacent boroughs
- Haines Borough, Alaska – south, west
- Stikine Region, British Columbia – north, east
National protected areas
- Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (part, also in Seattle, Washington)
- Tongass National Forest (part)
A panoramic photograph of Skagway, circa 1915.
Climate
Skagway exists in a humid continental climate (Köppen Dsb). It lies in the rain shadow of the coastal mountains. This effect isn't as dramatic as the one found in Southcentral Alaska in the Susitna River valley, but it's enough to ensure Skagway receives only half the precipitation of Juneau and a paltry sixth of what drenches Yakutat. The precipitation patterns mimic a mediterranean climate with their summer minimum, though the winters are far too cold for that classification. The highest temperature ever recorded here is 92 °F (33.3 °C), a sweltering anomaly reached in three different years, most recently in 2019. The lowest was a bitter −24 °F (−31.1 °C) on February 2, 1947.
North winds prevail from November to March. South winds dominate from April to October. [25]
Climate data for Skagway, Alaska, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1898–present
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record high °F (°C) | 55 (13) | 55 (13) | 63 (17) | 76 (24) | 82 (28) | 90 (32) | 92 (33) | 92 (33) | 83 (28) | 68 (20) | 56 (13) | 57 (14) | 92 (33) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 45.8 (7.7) | 46.1 (7.8) | 50.5 (10.3) | 62.5 (16.9) | 73.4 (23.0) | 79.0 (26.1) | 77.8 (25.4) | 77.0 (25.0) | 67.1 (19.5) | 56.6 (13.7) | 47.3 (8.5) | 45.3 (7.4) | 82.3 (27.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 29.2 (−1.6) | 32.8 (0.4) | 38.3 (3.5) | 50.4 (10.2) | 60.6 (15.9) | 66.3 (19.1) | 67.1 (19.5) | 65.0 (18.3) | 56.9 (13.8) | 47.3 (8.5) | 36.5 (2.5) | 31.5 (−0.3) | 48.5 (9.2) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 24.7 (−4.1) | 27.5 (−2.5) | 31.6 (−0.2) | 41.2 (5.1) | 50.4 (10.2) | 57.1 (13.9) | 59.1 (15.1) | 57.4 (14.1) | 50.4 (10.2) | 41.8 (5.4) | 31.8 (−0.1) | 27.5 (−2.5) | 41.7 (5.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 20.2 (−6.6) | 22.2 (−5.4) | 24.9 (−3.9) | 32.0 (0.0) | 40.1 (4.5) | 47.7 (8.7) | 51.1 (10.6) | 49.7 (9.8) | 44.0 (6.7) | 36.2 (2.3) | 27.1 (−2.7) | 23.5 (−4.7) | 34.9 (1.6) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 4.0 (−15.6) | 9.3 (−12.6) | 14.0 (−10.0) | 25.6 (−3.6) | 33.8 (1.0) | 41.4 (5.2) | 46.2 (7.9) | 43.9 (6.6) | 35.1 (1.7) | 27.7 (−2.4) | 16.3 (−8.7) | 9.3 (−12.6) | −0.3 (−17.9) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −21 (−29) | −24 (−31) | −10 (−23) | 7 (−14) | 22 (−6) | 25 (−4) | 35 (2) | 24 (−4) | 20 (−7) | 8 (−13) | −6 (−21) | −22 (−30) | −24 (−31) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 2.65 (67) | 1.98 (50) | 1.98 (50) | 1.67 (42) | 1.14 (29) | 1.42 (36) | 1.62 (41) | 2.65 (67) | 4.51 (115) | 4.42 (112) | 3.42 (87) | 4.02 (102) | 31.48 (798) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 9.2 (23) | 8.1 (21) | 8.6 (22) | 1.5 (3.8) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 1.1 (2.8) | 5.9 (15) | 10.5 (27) | 44.9 (114.6) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 13.8 | 10.5 | 9.5 | 11.5 | 9.0 | 11.2 | 12.2 | 14.9 | 17.4 | 18.2 | 13.6 | 13.1 | 154.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 7.4 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 3.3 | 6.6 | 27.5 |
| Source: NOAA [26] [27] |
Demographics
Historical population
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 3,117 | — | |
| 1910 | 872 | −72.0% | |
| 1920 | 494 | −43.3% | |
| 1930 | 492 | −0.4% | |
| 1940 | 634 | 28.9% | |
| 1950 | 758 | 19.6% | |
| 1960 | 659 | −13.1% | |
| 1970 | 675 | 2.4% | |
| 1980 | 768 | 13.8% | |
| 1990 | 692 | −9.9% | |
| 2000 | 862 | 24.6% | |
| 2010 | 968 | 12.3% | |
| 2020 | 1,240 | 28.1% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 1,119 | [28] | −9.8% |
| U.S. Decennial Census [29] |
Skagway first materialized on the 1900 U.S. Census, the same year it incorporated as a city. It had a brief, shining moment as the second-largest city in Alaska, trailing only the other gold rush boomtown, Nome. It reported 3,117 residents: 2,845 White, 113 Native American, 98 Black, and 61 Asian. [30] The decline was immediate and brutal. By 1910, the population had collapsed to 872, dropping it to the 8th largest city. The new breakdown was 802 Whites, 61 Native Americans, and 9 "Others." [31] It would take 90 years, until the 2000 census, for the population to even approach that post-rush number again.
The slow slide continued. It was the 15th largest community in 1920. It bottomed out at 492 residents in 1930, though it ironically rose to 13th largest in the state. By 1950, it was 19th. By 1970, 45th. In 2007, when it became the Municipality of Skagway, it ceased being an incorporated city and was reclassified as a census-designated place (CDP). As of 2010, it ranked as the 71st largest community in Alaska.
As of the census [32] of 2000, the city held 862 people, 401 households, and 214 families. The population density was a sparse 1.9 people per square mile (0.73 people/km²). There were 502 housing units. The racial makeup was overwhelmingly 92.3% White, with 3.0% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 3.0% identifying with two or more races. 2.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 401 households, 23.2% had children under 18. 46.9% were married couples living together. 46.4% were non-families. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.81.
The age distribution was as follows: 20.5% under 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40. For every 100 females, there were 109.2 males.
Government and politics
Skagway has consistently voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 2004. It stands as one of the most reliably Democratic boroughs in the state, a political island in a sea of red.
United States presidential election results for Skagway [33]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | |
| 1960 | 100 | 31.15% | 221 |
| 1964 | 75 | 22.32% | 261 |
| 1968 | 155 | 57.41% | 95 |
| 1972 | 236 | 68.01% | 90 |
| 1976 | 230 | 67.45% | 99 |
| 1980 | 185 | 48.18% | 128 |
| 1984 | 215 | 59.39% | 132 |
| 1988 | 205 | 55.11% | 155 |
| 1992 | 178 | 37.32% | 154 |
| 1996 | 163 | 36.30% | 179 |
| 2000 | 247 | 49.90% | 156 |
| 2004 | 165 | 41.15% | 207 |
| 2008 | 217 | 38.07% | 317 |
| 2012 | 188 | 30.67% | 356 |
| 2016 | 232 | 27.65% | 449 |
| 2020 | 217 | 22.75% | 679 |
| 2024 | 265 | 25.63% | 717 |
Economy
Personal income
The median income for a household was 62,188. Males had a median income of 30,956 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,700. About 1.0% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, which included none of those under 18 and 4.5% of those 65 or over.
Tourism
A wooden building in Skagway's historic center, preserved like a museum piece. Broadway Avenue in summer, teeming with the seasonal tourist migration.
The town's economy is almost entirely dependent on visitors who come to see the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park and hike the White Pass and Chilkoot Trails. Skagway's historical district comprises about 100 buildings from the gold rush era, a town preserved in amber. It receives about a million tourists a year, [citation needed] most of whom—roughly three-quarters—arrive on cruise ships. These floating cities disgorge their contents onto the town for a few hours before consuming them again.
The White Pass and Yukon Route operates its narrow-gauge train primarily for these tourists, a scenic loop into the past. The railway also ships copper ore from the interior, a faint echo of its industrial origins. For live entertainment, The Days of '98 Show is performed in Skagway's Fraternal Order of Eagles Hall, another ritualized performance of the town's history. [34]
Transportation
The port of Skagway, where floating hotels deliver their daily human cargo. A tourist train arriving at the cruise ship dock, a perfectly closed economic loop.
Skagway is one of only three communities in Southeast Alaska connected to the continental road system. This connection comes via the Klondike Highway, which was completed in 1978. The highway provides access to the lower 48, Whitehorse, the Yukon, northern British Columbia, and the Alaska Highway. This road also makes Skagway a vital port-of-call for the Alaska Marine Highway—the state ferry system—and marks the northern end of the heavily trafficked Lynn Canal corridor. The other two Southeast communities with road access are Haines and Hyder.
The White Pass and Yukon Route is a railway that once connected Whitehorse, Yukon, to its southern terminus in Skagway. Today, the trains run several times a week from May to September, taking tourists from Skagway to the small community of Carcross, about 45 miles (72 km) from Whitehorse. From there, passengers connect via bus to Whitehorse.
Current services at White Pass Summit station
| Preceding station | White Pass and Yukon Route | Following station |
|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Bennett Scenic Journey Major stops |
|
| Terminus | Steam Excursion Major stops |
|
| Terminus | White Pass Summit Excursion Major stops |
|
| Terminus | Skagway To Denver Round Trip Major stops |
|
| Terminus | Skagway To Laughton Round Trip Major stops |
The Skagway Airport provides the city with commercial airline service via Alaska Seaplanes (which is not to be confused with Alaska Airlines).
Media
Local radio and newspapers
Skagway is served by its local semimonthly paper, The Skagway News, and the regional public radio station KHNS. KHNS has its main studios in nearby Haines but maintains studios and produces programs in Skagway. The Juneau-based station KINY also operates a translator in town. Copies of the free regional newspaper, the Capital City Weekly, are also available.
Featured in media
- Skagway and its environs during the 1897–1898 gold rush are the main setting for George Markstein's 1978 novel Tara Kane, which includes fictionalized versions of Soapy Smith and his gang.
- In the Three Stooges short In the Sweet Pie and Pie, Skagway gets a mention: "Edam Neckties, with three convenient locations: Skagway, Alaska; Little America; and Pago Pago."
- The town is a setting in the 1946 film Road to Utopia, starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.
- In Jack London's short story "The Unexpected," the characters winter in "the mushroom outfitting-town of Skaguay" before heading out to stake a claim.
- Skagway is featured in the 1955 Western The Far Country, directed by Anthony Mann.
- It is a town in the computer game The Yukon Trail.
- An episode of Homeland Security USA featured the Skagway border crossing, noting it as the least-used crossing in the United States.
- The cartoon character Dudley Do-Right was often dispatched by Chief Inspector Fenwick to the nearby "big city" of "Skagway" to capture his nemesis, Snidely Whiplash.
- Skagway's Mo Mountain Mutts gained a strange sort of fame in 2023 when a video of its "puppy bus" went viral. Even in isolation, the internet finds you.
Health care
Skagway is served by the Dahl Memorial Clinic, the only primary health clinic in the area. It is typically staffed by three advanced nurse practitioners and three medical assistants, open on weekdays year-round, with some limited Saturday hours in the summer. [citation needed] The clinic also handles after-hours emergencies. The borough has 24/7 local EMS.
For anything serious, you're leaving. Individuals in need of dire medical attention are evacuated by helicopter or air ambulance to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, a 45-minute flight away. The nearest hospital accessible by road is Whitehorse General Hospital in Whitehorse, Yukon, a two-hour drive. Plan your emergencies accordingly.