Caribou Hotel Historic Site

The Caribou Hotel is one of the oldest buildings in the Southern Lakes Region and is one of Yukon's longest operating hotels.

The Yukon Hotel was moved here from Bennett City and named the Anderson Hotel. Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizen Dawson Charlie, one of the discoverers of Klondike gold, renamed it the Caribou Hotel after he bought and remodelled it in 1903.

The hotel and neighbouring buildings burned down on Christmas Eve 1909, soon after Dawson Charlie's death. The current Caribou Hotel was immediately rebuilt in the same location. Its size and simple design are representative of large hotels of the period and illustrate typical design elements, construction materials and building techniques.

Over time, the hotel has provided accommodation and services for locals, miners, tourists, visiting dignitaries and the RCMP. Johnnie Johns, a world renowned big game outfitter and member of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation, had a long working relationship with the hotel. Many of his clients stayed here. The United States Army and private road construction crews used the hotel for housing and a mess hall when Carcross was a major operational centre during the construction of the Alaska Highway and Canol Pipeline.

The Caribou Hotel has been an important community meeting place and venue for special celebrations.

Anchoring Carcross’s main street, the Caribou Hotel traces its roots to 1898, when the original Yukon Hotel stood at Bennett during the Klondike Gold Rush. Floated to Carcross and briefly called the Anderson, it was purchased in 1903 by Káa Goox_ (Dawson Charlie), a Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizen and Klondike co-discoverer, who renamed it the Caribou Hotel.

After a devastating Christmas Eve fire in 1909, the present three-storey frame hotel rose on the same site in 1910 — its straightforward massing, wood construction and false front characteristic of frontier commercial architecture.

Edwin and Bessie Gideon ran the hotel for decades; Bessie’s enduring presence is part of local lore. The building served miners, railway crews, and later U.S. Army and road workers during the Alaska Highway and Canol projects, cementing its role as a community hub.

Territorially designated, the Caribou endures as a landmark of hospitality, resilience and story — including tales of Polly, the beloved opera-singing parrot from Carcross.

Official Heritage Registry: [Web Link] Address: Charlie Dawson Street Lot 2 Block A Plan 67560 Heritage Registry Page Number: Not listed

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