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Location of Klondike Goldrush National Historic Park Klondike Goldrush National Historic Park The Peniel Mission, built in 1900, offered religious and humanitarian services to the stampeders. Between 1900 and 1910 the mission kept its doors open. Just a block from the heart of Skagway's saloons, gambling halls, and the red light district, the mission offered nightly meetings, Sunday services, shelter, and warmth. The mission also sponsored revival meetings and brought in foreign missionaries to lecture. This building was constructed in the fall of 1897 by the son of George Brackett, builder of the Brackett toll road to White Pass City. James Brackett operated a small trading post here until his expanding business forced a move to a larger structure. In August, 1897, a great number of stampeders arrived in Skagway - a warm, dry place to sleep foremost in their minds. Some solved the problem by sleeping under the tables in saloons they patronized. Clerks slept in their shops. Others discovered the board and batten hotels that went up overnight to meet the lodging need. These "hotels" contained tiers of bunks or cots that lined the walls and filled the rooms. Meals were served en masse. Although the District of Alaska was officially dry during the "Gay 90's" some 80 saloons and breweries sprang up in Skagway to quench the stampeders' thirst. Besides supplying alcohol, the flourishing saloons served as gathering places for the miners. Here they could play pool, gamble, listen to music, and get direct reports via telegraph on sporting events in the states. Shipping prospered during the gold rush. Between August 1897 and January 1898, 20,000 prospectors came by boat to Skagway. Prices for tickets skyrocketed and ships with accommodation of 100 passengers carried five times that number. As passenger business waned after the main rush, the Pacific Clipper Line secured the contract to haul freight for the building of the railroad. Some 15,000 tons of material were shipped from Seattle for that purpose. In 1900 business slowed again. Books were sold in the ticket office, and by 1902 most of the tickets sold were outbound for Seward or Valdez. Although business continued to sow in Skagway, the Pacific Clipper line was destined to become the Admiral Line, which later dominated Pacific Coast passenger shipping. The building was later sold and became part of the Mascot Saloon. The old Railroad Depot and General Office Building more than any other symbolizes Skagway's will to live, to outlast boomtown impermanence and become a city. Originally two separate buildings, the depot opened in 1898 and the office building was completed in 1900. As the railroad grew the two buildings were joined, creating additional office space and more room for baggage and freight. The railroad depot was hurriedly constructed during the frantic 1898 gold-rush boom. Reflecting the shortage of materials, its builders used a patchwork of old packing crates and other secondhand lumber. From the second-floor bay windows the dispatched could see the tracks that once wrapped around the cut-a way southwest corner and headed north on Broadway. The depot's long eaves, since clipped back, sheltered passengers from the rain. Wall paper and painted trim adorned the interior. Unlike the depot, the later office building was carefully planned and has walls and ceilings of plaster on lath. Quality woodwork, stained and varnished, provided a handsome interior. The entire building was erected around a two story fireproof vault made of brick and steel over a stone foundation. Offices and baggage room completed the plan. There was no panic to build this structure - the railroad was here to stay. The information and pictures were provided by the Klondike Goldrush National Historic Park |
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