SS Klondike
two sternwheelers that carried freight on the Yukon river
SS Klondike is the name of two sternwheelers, known separately as Klondike I and Klondike II, of which the second is a National Historic Site located in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. They ran freight between Whitehorse and Dawson City, along the Yukon River, the first from 1929 to 1936 and the second, an almost exact replica of the first, from 1937 to 1950.
History
Klondike I was built by the British Yukon Navigation Company (a subsidiary of the White Pass and Yukon Route railway company) in 1929 and had the distinction of having 50% more capacity than a regular sternwheeler, while still having the shallow draft and meeting the size requirements in order to travel down the Yukon River. Klondike I had a cargo capacity of 270 metric tonnes without having to push a barge.
In June 1936, Klondike I ran aground north of The Thirty Mile section of the Yukon River (at 61°40′17″N 134°52′22″W). The company salvaged the ship's boiler, engines, and many fittings to build Klondike II the following year. The remains of the hull of the Klondike I can still be seen at low water by canoeists on the Yukon River.
Klondike II carried freight until the early 1950s. Due to the construction of a highway connecting Dawson City and Whitehorse, many Yukon River sternwheelers were decommissioned. In an attempt to save Klondike II, she was converted into a cruise ship by White Pass and Yukon Route.
“SS Klondike” enters the record as two sternwheelers that carried freight on the Yukon river. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Klondike, sternwheelers and carried can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“SS Klondike” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Klondike, sternwheelers and carried provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7393932. Authority coordinates are 60.714, -135.047. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1929, 1936, 1937 and 1950.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “SS Klondike”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow SS Klondike primary sources, SS Klondike archive and Klondike research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “SS Klondike”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “SS Klondike” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.