White Pass & Yukon Route

Construction of the White Pass & Yukon Railway began at Skagway, Alaska, on May 27, 1898, during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush. Despite claims that the railway could not be built, contractor Michael J. Heney, chief engineer “F.C.” Hawkins, assistant chief engineer John Hislop, and the railway’s first president, Samuel H. Graves, pushed the work to completion. After overcoming almost insurmountable construction problems, the last rail was laid at this spot on July 29th, 1900. That day, the Golden Spike was set in place and, before a cheering boisterous crowd of Alaskans and Yukoners, Samuel H. Graves drove it home.

Yukon · Canada