Dawson Historical Complex National Historic Site The famous Klondike Gold Rush in the late 1890s drew thousands of optimistic prospectors to the Yukon. Dawson City was the hub. It was called the "San Francisco of the north.' Businesses flourished with all the activity and at night, there was lot to entertain the fortune seekers. The Dawson Historical Complex National Historic Site dates from the golden era of the late 1890s and the early years of the 20h century. Sixteen buildings in the complex are included in this complex. The complex includes banks, a blacksmith shop, a library/masonic temple, newspaper office, post office, the former court house, a thawing machine company building, a theatre, Robert Service's cabin, a brothel, a church, a store and a hotel.   Address: Klondike National Historic Sites   Box 390   Dawson City, Yukon Territory   Y0B 1G0   Telephone: (867) 993-7200   Fax: (867) 993-7299 S.S. Keno National Historic Site So quickly did the word of the wealth of the Klondike reach the outside world that 57 registered steamboats, carrying more than 12,000 tons of supplies, docked at Dawson City between June and September 1898. None of the steamers in service at the time of the Gold Rush survive. The S.S. Keno was built in Whitehorse in 1922. It transported silver, lead, and zinc ore from the mines in the Mayo district. The steamer Keno was part of the fleet which played a major role in the history of the Yukon Territory. Without the riverboats, the gold of the Klondike would have remained in the hills for at least another half century.   Address and Contact: See Dawson Historical Complex The Gold Room at Bear Creek National Historic Site The Gold Room is part of a large complex of buildings and works located at Bear Creek that exemplify the post-1905 era when large corporations came to dominate gold mining in Klondike. The Bear Creek complex was built from 1905 to 1916 by Joseph Boyle's Canadian Klondyke (sic) Mining Company: the International Headquarters for CKM and later Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation. The Bear Creek complex was the centre for refining, administrative and residential facilities.   Address and Contact: See Dawson Historical Complex Dredge No.4 National Historic Site The first dredges were brought to the Yukon soon after gold was discovered. Dredge Number Four is the largest wooden hull dredge in North America. Dredges were first powered by river currents and later by electricity. They moved along chewing up the earth and gravel in front of them, sorting out the gold and spewing out the wast debris behind them. Dredge Number Four worked the creeks of the Yukon until the late 1950s. It was raised by the Army Corps of Engineers from a pool into which it had partially submerged. It is now restored and preserved by Parks Canada as a testament to the ingenuity of those who mined the Yukon gold fields.   Address and Contact: See Dawson Historical Complex S.S. Klondike National Historic Site S.S. Klondike National Historic Site is the only restored sternwheeler in the Yukon that is open to the public. Steam-powered boats were one of the mainstays of transportation in the Yukon and indeed in many parts of Canada. Between the 1860s and the 1930s, some two-hundred and fifty sternwheelers were built to travel the Yukon River system. S.S. Klondike has been totally restored to its late-1930's appearance by Parks Canada and is open for visitors.   Address: S.S. Klondike National Historic Site   Yukon National Historic Sites   P.O. Box 5540,   Whitehorse, Yukon Territory   Y1A 5N4   Telephone: (403) 668-2116 The Chilkoot Trail National Historic Site The Chilkoot Trail served as a gateway to the Yukon during the Gold Rush. The traditional route of Tlingit traders moving through the Coastal Mountains, this fifty-three kilometre trail traverses an international boundary and three ecological zones including rainforest and Alpine tundra. During the Yukon Gold rush, some 20,000 gold seekers came over this rugged terrain to strike it rich or to suffer disappointment and frustration. Gold seekers were required to take two thousand pounds of supplies on which Canadian authorities collected customs duties in order to reinforce Canada's claim to the Yukon. Hikers on the trail today can see many artifacts of those Gold Rush journeys. Canada and the united States have designated the Chilkoot Trail as part of the Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park, a model joint venture in Heritage and Park preservation.   Address: Yukon National Historic Sites   P.O. Box 5540,   Whitehorse, Yukon Territory   Y1A 5N4   Telephone: (403) 668-2116 Top of page.