Photos show ramshackle shops, mine trenches and ships in Alaska
The race for Alaska’s gold: Photos show ramshackle shops, mine trenches and ships dodging icebergs as more than 20,000 people flocked to the wilderness to find their fortune 120 years ago
- Estimated 112 tonnes of gold was pulled from the ground in Nome, west Alaska, during the ‘Gold Rush’
- Black-and-white photos provide a window into the ramshackle town built as thousands rushed to find fortune
- Stunning album has emerged at Elstob & Elstob auction house based in Bedale, North Yorkshire, Britain
Stunning black-and-white photos reveal ramshackle shops, mine trenches and a ship dodging an ice berg as more than 20,000 people rushed to find their fortune in an Alaskan town 120 years ago.
An estimated 112 tonnes of the prized metal was pulled from the ground in Nome, on the frozen western tip of Alaska, during the famed Alaskan, or Klondike, ‘Gold Rush’.
The window into the town, where homes, schools and banks had to be built quickly as thousands flocked to the area, has been revealed by an old photo album being sold by auctioneer Elstob & Elstob based in Bedale, North Yorkshire, Britain.
One photo allegedly shows ‘the most northerly’ school in America, while a second says it shows ‘the most northerly railway station’. A family of eskimos was also pictured riding in a car.
Auctioneer David Elstob said: ‘It is a fabulous album full of wonderful views and the photos are in a really nice condition. It is unusual for an album like this to be discovered in north Yorkshire, and there has been a lot of international interest in it already.
‘The photos are full of people and activity, and it is nice that the indigenous population feature in so many of them. It is fascinating to see how a town emerged in the middle of nowhere.’
The Alaskan, or Klondike, ‘Gold Rush’ was triggered after gold was unearthed in the region in 1896. The chance to get rich led to more than 100,000 people emigrating to mine the frozen wastes of Alaska and the icy banks of the Klondike river, Canada.
The sale of the photos, which are expected to more than £100, takes place on February 29.
A family of Eskimos sit in a car in Nome, on the western tip of Alaska. Thousands flocked to the area during the Alaskan ‘Gold Rush’, lured by the chance to make a fortune
An estimated 112 tonnes of gold was pulled from the ground around the town (pictured above) during the ‘Gold Rush’
Miners pictured digging for gold at Anvil Creek near Nome, Alaska. The photos have emerged in an album that has gone up for auction in Bedale, North Yorkshire, Britain
Miners and their dogs pose for a photo in front of the Keewalk Hotel. More than 20,000 people moved to the area to hunt gold
A whaling ship, called The Alexander, makes its way to Nome as it skirts around ice bergs at the Cape Prince of Wales in 1903
Three golden nuggets mined from the area and photographed for the album. They are the ‘largest’ found in the area
Miners dig for their fortune at a mine in Alaska in 1904. The Gold Rush peaked in the early 1900s before tailing off
Water channels pictured at a mine in Nome, Alaska. IT was operated by the pioneer mining company
A channel carries water towards a frozen mine in Sunset Creek in September 1903. A worker is also seen standing next to it
Houses in Candle City next to the Keewalk river in September 1903. Buildings shot up as thousands flocked to the area
Schoolchildren wait next to the road at Nome Kindergarten, Alaska, in 1905. Mining in the area peaked around this time
A newsagents and grocers in Nome, Alaska, pictured in the early 1900s. Miners would also travel from here to Canada
A fancy restaurant in the Alaskan town which had sprung up due to the Gold Rush. Men and children are standing outside
Pictured above is the Miners and Merchants bank of Alaska in 1905. Buildings shot up as people moved to the area
Fire engines did not exist in the town. Instead they had a cart pulled by two horses. (Nome Fire Department pictured in 1904)
The front street of St Teller, Alaska. The album is expected to fetch more than £100 during the auction happening this month
A woman and men pictured at the train station in Nome. The locomotive was used to bring mined gold back to the town
A herd of reindeer grazes on the frozen ground at the Cape Prince of Wales. It is alleged to be the largest in Alaska
Miners standing by the side of the Imnachuk river. Their activities disrupted its flow through the area
Men pictured wading through the surf to boats at the Nome port, from which gold was exported
An American-flagged ship, called the Augusta C, pictured arriving at the port in Nome, Alaska
Passengers and mail are loaded onto the SS Olympia at Home in 1904. They may have been sending messages to Britain
Eskimos pictured on an animal skin boat at Grantley Harbour, Alaska. They were also pictured riding in a car
Stacked bags by the railway contain an estimated 6,000 tonnes of coal. They were pictured in August 1905
Eskimo children pictured at their Kindergarten in Nome, Alaska, in 1905. The cameraman’s shadow can also be seen
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