History:
The first people to come to todays Yukon was eighteenth century Russian traders. They did not claim the land, though. The English explorer Sir John Franklin anchored off the coast of Yukon's Arctic back in 1825. Hudson Bay Company moved into Yukon's interior in the 1840's, and the American traders arrived in the 1860's.
Around that same time, different people began to occupy Yukon. Missionaries. They came from the Catholic and Anglican churches, and they were eager to convert the native people to Christianity. They set up missions alll along the fur trade route. In 1865, an Anglican missionary named William Bom-pass arrived in the area. He eventually became the first bishop of the Yukon diocese and was also notable for the many schools he established in Yukon. At this time, Yukon was part of the Northwest Territories, and when they were accepted into Canada, Yukon was also in the deal, too. (This was in 1870, when Great Britain gave the NT to Canada.)
In 1896, a major gold discovery was made in Yukon, near Dawson City. It was made by a prospecter by the name of George Carmack, and also two native North Americans, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie. News of the discovery reached out across to other parts of North America and Europe the next year, and this prompted huge numbers of prospectors to come to the area. Dawson City, laying near the bank of the Yukon and Klondike rivers, drew a lot of interest and it's population grew to about 40,000, making it the largest city west of Winnipeg. To nurse this growing population, many saloon, boarding houses, and hotels sprung up around the area. But, with all the economic activity, there was also crime involved. Canadian government decided to give Yukon more control over it's own affairs, and hence born the Yukon Territoy in 1898.
Whitehorse becomes capital:
After the gold rush, though, the population came to a abrubt halt. Actually, it depleted from 27,000 to 8,500. Some mining did continue- but not enough to spark interest in the rest of the world. But during World War II, Yukon Territory did spark interest. America, fearing Japanese invasion from the west, wanted to build a road long enough to connect Alaska to the rest of America. With Canada's permission, the construction of the road began, bringing thousands more temporary citizens to Yukon, as did the Canadian Oil Pipeline, also constructed in that time. By 1951, Yukons population had grown to 9,000, and Whitehorse, with a larger population than Dawson City, took over the title of the capital of Yukon.
Yukon was organized in 1898, June 13th.
The first people to come to todays Yukon was eighteenth century Russian traders. They did not claim the land, though. The English explorer Sir John Franklin anchored off the coast of Yukon's Arctic back in 1825. Hudson Bay Company moved into Yukon's interior in the 1840's, and the American traders arrived in the 1860's.
Around that same time, different people began to occupy Yukon. Missionaries. They came from the Catholic and Anglican churches, and they were eager to convert the native people to Christianity. They set up missions alll along the fur trade route. In 1865, an Anglican missionary named William Bom-pass arrived in the area. He eventually became the first bishop of the Yukon diocese and was also notable for the many schools he established in Yukon. At this time, Yukon was part of the Northwest Territories, and when they were accepted into Canada, Yukon was also in the deal, too. (This was in 1870, when Great Britain gave the NT to Canada.)
In 1896, a major gold discovery was made in Yukon, near Dawson City. It was made by a prospecter by the name of George Carmack, and also two native North Americans, Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie. News of the discovery reached out across to other parts of North America and Europe the next year, and this prompted huge numbers of prospectors to come to the area. Dawson City, laying near the bank of the Yukon and Klondike rivers, drew a lot of interest and it's population grew to about 40,000, making it the largest city west of Winnipeg. To nurse this growing population, many saloon, boarding houses, and hotels sprung up around the area. But, with all the economic activity, there was also crime involved. Canadian government decided to give Yukon more control over it's own affairs, and hence born the Yukon Territoy in 1898.
Whitehorse becomes capital:
After the gold rush, though, the population came to a abrubt halt. Actually, it depleted from 27,000 to 8,500. Some mining did continue- but not enough to spark interest in the rest of the world. But during World War II, Yukon Territory did spark interest. America, fearing Japanese invasion from the west, wanted to build a road long enough to connect Alaska to the rest of America. With Canada's permission, the construction of the road began, bringing thousands more temporary citizens to Yukon, as did the Canadian Oil Pipeline, also constructed in that time. By 1951, Yukons population had grown to 9,000, and Whitehorse, with a larger population than Dawson City, took over the title of the capital of Yukon.
Yukon was organized in 1898, June 13th.
