Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Historic Research Plan

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Historic Research Plan By Karl Gurcke, Historian Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park Revised: 28 April 2011 ―Research is necessary not only to the preparation of interesting material to serve as a basis of the naturalist and historical service, but it also is fundamental to the actual protection of the … National Park Service.‖ (Horace M. Albright, The Scientific Monthly, June 1933) Dr. John H. Walker Collection, KLGO SE-62-3963 1 Forward: History is a prominent part of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park‘s name and its mission. It is a historical park, a national historical park, and now an international historical park. The first three words in the park‘s name commemorate a specific historical event (the Klondike Gold Rush of 1896-1899) and the second to the last word reemphasizes the historical mission of the park. History informs virtually everything the park does. History is a fundamental and integral part of the park‘s very existence. Without the historical event called the Klondike Gold Rush, and the historical detritus (documents, photographs, buildings, trails, archeological features, artifacts, and human stories) left behind, the park would not exist. Because of this fact, historical questions are asked daily of the park staff by the public (both visiting and local) during the summer months and less often during the winter months. Although many of these questions are often asked of the interpreters at the visitor center desk in the headquarters building, every park employee either needs to know what the answers are or where those answers can be found because the public does not differentiate between members of the various divisions and they may ask historical questions to anyone in a uniform. So the employees of all of the park‘s divisions need to understand at least some history in order to function in this international historical park. The park‘s Interpretative Division is a major consumer of historical information because one of its main purposes is to provide accurate historical information to the park‘s visitors (educate the public) through walks and talks, brochures and pamphlets, exhibits and movies. The Maintenance Division needs accurate historical information into order to accurately maintain the park‘s historic buildings in their care and to accurately guide future building restoration efforts. The Ranger Division needs accurate historical information in order to satisfy the public‘s appetite for such knowledge and to better protect the historic cultural resources under its care. The Resource Division needs accurate historical information for many reasons including insurance park compliance with various laws such as Section 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as amended, but it also needs historical information to better understand the resources under the park‘s care – both cultural and natural resources (better understanding equals better care). Even the Administration Division needs accurate historical information not only to answer the public‘s questions but to make sure the public‘s money is well spent on accuracy rather than on falsehoods. Since past historical research can not answer all the questions currently being asked and will be asked in the future, continued historical research is necessary to provide accurate historical information to guide and support management goals. Historical questions are not just asked of park staff, however, they are asked of long term locals and seasonal help, tour guides and wait persons, train conductors and locomotive engineers, pilots and bus drivers and virtually everyone living in Skagway and Dyea. Unfortunately historical inaccuracies abound. Legend indicates that Jefferson Randolph ―Soapy‖ Smith, the ―notorious‖ con man terrorized Skagway from August 1897, when he arrived, to July 1898, when he was shot, but recent historical research is beginning to suggest that he probably did not ―terrorize‘ the town. Legend suggests that most of the women in Skagway at the time of the gold rush were prostitutes but recent historical research indicates that was most definitely not the case. Legend has it that only white men were involved in the Klondike Gold Rush but recent historical research suggests the gold rush was a much more diverse event. People often look to the park as the fountain of historical accuracy. The National Park Service has invested millions on accurately restoring our historic buildings in Skagway. Such investment can be nullified by inaccurate historical information given out by park staff. It is up to park staff and particularly park management, to present and support accurate and unbiased history through all the park‘s presentations, walking tours, exhibits and wayside exhibits, brochures, movies, restorations, publications, and decisions. 2 History is not a static series of events where knowledge about a particular happening never changes and is always known. Rather history is as ever changing as the human condition. New information is always being uncovered and how we view the past is changing as well both because of this new information and because of our changing attitudes. Therefore, one can not always rely on the history found in the old history textbooks of the past. Often the historians of the past did not have the information we have or ask the questions we are asking today and so the answers we are asking today often will not be found in those ―secondary sources‖ found on library bookshelves In order to answer our questions, the historian should, of course, consult these secondary sources if any look promising but often the historian will be forced to consult the ―primary sources‖ – the original material (diaries, letters, newspaper accounts, photographs) actually produced in the past. This is known as doing historical research and if this park is to be a fully functioning international historical park, doing historical research should be a basic part of the park‘s annual work plan. Although the phrase ―Historic Research Plan‖ (HRP) is not found in the National Park Services‘ premier cultural resource management guideline publication (NPS 28), the term can be easily understood as a document designed to chart the course of needed future historical research at any organization such as Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park. This particular Historical Research Plan uses a number of the ideas from, and the general format contained in, ―An Assessment of Research in History needed at Golden Spike National Historic Site, Promontory Summit, Utah‖ (Chappell and Spude 2003), which is an example of a recent Historic Research Plan. Some of the proposals for historical research in this plan come directly from questions members of the visiting and local public and staff members have asked. Other proposals come from the list of basic historical documents every park should have. Still other proposals come from a careful study of the park‘s resources and what is needed to better understand and protect those resources. The first part of this HRP provides a number of ideas (project proposals) for conducting basic historical research in this park. The second part provides a road map for establishing an active Klondike Gold Rush Historic Research Center to facilitate this research and help the public and the park‘s staff better understand the history of this area. This center, if properly supported would make the park the preeminent international location for conducting scholarly historical research on the Klondike Gold Rush in particular and gold rushes in general and for providing historical answers about the area and historical event for members of the Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park public. Legal Guidelines and Important Dates: The authorization act of June 30, 1976 (Public Law 94-323) declared the purpose for establishing Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park as follows: ―…to preserve in public ownership for the benefit and inspiration of the people of the United States, historic structures and trails associated with the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898…‖ All of the lands within the boundaries of the park are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). This entitles them to added protection of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. On October 15, 1966, the Skagway and White Pass Historic District was listed on the NRHP and on April 15, 1978, Dyea and Chilkoot Trail was listed on the NRHP. Earlier, the lands within the Skagway and White Pass units of the park had been recognized for their special historical values by being designated a National Historic Landmark on June 13, 1962. The Chilkoot Trail from Dyea to the Canadian border was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 3 16, 1978. The National Historic Landmarks program was established by the Historic Sites Act of 1935 to identify and protect places that "possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating and interpreting the heritage of the United States" National Historic Landmarks make tangible the American experience and their preservation is an irreplaceable legacy to us and future generations. The City of Skagway established the Skagway Historic District by local ordinance in October 1972 to ―safeguard the heritage of the city by preserving a district in the city which reflects the elements of its cultural, social, economic, political, and architectural history.‖ The Skagway Historic District Commission was established in the fall

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