Location is on south side of Franklin Ave between Harriman and Sisemore.
Marker Name: Klondike Kate Site
Marker Text: This site marks the Bend home of Kathleen “Klondike Kate” Rockwell, about whom the book “The Life & Legend of Kitty Rockwell, Queen of the Yukon” was written. Much of that legend was made here in Central Oregon, where she took up a homestead in 1914.
In the Yukon she launched her bartender boyfriend, Alexander Pantages, on a successful career as the owner of the Pantages Theaters. Here, known to many as “Aunt Kate”, her attention turned toward the needs of the less fortunate of Bend’s society. She was an honorary fireman, and a benefactor to many of the poor, sick and homeless.
Born October 4, 1876, in Junction City, Kansas, she died February 21, 1957, in Sweet Home, Oregon. One of Bend’s most celebrated citizens, a humanitarian, today she ranks among Oregon’s most legendary characters of the Old West.
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