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Dawson City Museum

The Dawson City Museum is home to the largest and most important museum collection in the Yukon. Located in the Old Territorial Administration Building, in Dawson City, Yukon, the Dawson City Museum welcomes thousands of visitors each year to its galleries, library and archives.

The museum is currently home to a collection of over 12,000 photographs and 9600 artifacts, as well as archival and library material.

The mission of the Dawson City Museum is "to be a gathering place where people are inspired to explore the connection between the Klondike and their world."

History

The Dawson City Museum began as a volunteer project in the early 1950s in the old Fire Hall on Front Street in Dawson. Soon after its incorporation as the Dawson City Museum and Historical Society in 1959, fire destroyed the original facility and most of its collections. Museum supporters started over in the old Territorial Administration Building.

The Territorial Administration Building was constructed in 1901 and has always been a landmark in the community of Dawson. The building originally housed government offices as well as the Territorial Legislative Assembly. At various times it has also been home to the local post office, a radio station, and the public school. The Dawson City Museum has used the building since 1962.

In 2002 the old Territorial Administration Building was designated a National Historic Site.

Collections and Exhibits

The Dawson City Museum houses the largest museum collection in the Yukon, with approximately 28,000 records representing the history of all peoples in the Klondike region. This includes material related to the cultural and material history of the region's First Peoples, the discovery and development of the Klondike Goldfields including the technology of gold mining, the establishment of Dawson City and its residents and more.

Gallery space in the museum follows the story of the Klondike region from the geological activity that created the Gold Fields all the way through to post-Gold Rush activity and the foundations of the modern town of Dawson.

The museum also houses four restored narrow-gauge locomotives used by the Klondike Mines Railway from 1905-1913. These trains are located in a separate structure on the museum property and are available to the public for viewing during the museum's operating hours.

Programs

From mid-May to mid-September the museum hosts a number of programs focusing on the Klondike Gold Rush. These include costumed interpreters, daily "miner's meetings," Rockerbox and gold pouring demonstrations, and screenings of the film "City of Gold," narrated by Dawson City native Pierre Berton.

In the Winter, the Dawson City Museum changes its focus to the year-round population of Dawson, offering a venue for local events, acting as movie theatre for a town that does not have one, and running school programs and other events.

Library and Archives

The Dawson City Museum is also home to the Klondike History Library, as well as an archives with over 12,000 photographs, as well as other material. The library and archives are open seasonally from mid-May to mid-September.

External links

• example.com