Visit the S.S. Klondike, one of Canada’s few remaining steam-powered paddlewheelers, and learn how life on the rivers of the Yukon has changed over time. Long before and after the first steam-powered riverboat travelled up the Yukon River, Indigenous peoples have travelled the riverways of the Yukon. The arrival of paddlewheelers in the 1860s brought change to the territory, carrying newcomers and their ways of life, and until 1950 the riverboats continued to serve as the main link between the Yukon and the outside world.
Discover the scenic gardens at the Commissioner’s Residence in Dawson, a mansion restored to its 1912-1916 state when George and Martha Black resided there. Martha was an avid gardener and landscaper who even went on to become a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for her research and lectures on Yukon flora. In addition to being an accomplished horticulturist, Martha was also the second woman to be elected to the Canadian House of Commons (1935-40).