Ton of Gold - Washington Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

On July 17, 1897, the steamship Portland arrived in Seattle from Alaska with 68 miners and a cargo of “more than a ton of solid gold” from the banks of the Klondike River in Canada's Yukon Territory. This set off a rush to Alaska and an era of prosperity in King County that lasted for more than a decade ... The news spread fast and by 6 a.m. a crowd of more than 5,000 greeted the Portland when she tied up to Schwabacher Wharf ... After all the gold was weighed the Post-Intelligencer’s one-ton estimate turned out to be too low. The actual amount unloaded from the Portland was two tons ... People were immediately infected with Klondike Fever. By 9:30 a.m. the city’s downtown streets were so crowded with people that some streetcars were forced to stop running. Seattle Times reporters, longshoremen, and others quit their jobs on the spot and looked for passage to Alaska ... William D. Wood (1858-1917), mayor of Seattle, who was attending a convention in San Francisco, telegraphed his resignation and headed to Alaska without even stopping in Seattle. Local merchants quickly sold out of miners' supplies. The fever spread across the United States quicker than any virus. Within 24 hours, 2,000 New York residents attempted to buy tickets for the Klondike, unsuccessfully because the locals had already bought them. Within 10 days, 1,500 persons departed Seattle for the gold fields. The rush was on.

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