Case Study: Dawson City Museum Timeline, 1960s

Last updated: January 24, 2022

As part of the Dawson City Museum Project, I am creating timelines of the Museum’s development in relation to government policy and community action (1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s).

• Museum Operations
• Government Policy
  • First Nation
  • Federal
  • Territorial
  • Local
• Community Action
• Questions
• References

Museum Operations

• 1960:

  The Museum building (the old fire hall) was destroyed by fire.

  

  The Museum began searching for a new space, asking to occupy the Old Territorial Administration Building as early as December 1960 (Haldenby 1960).

• 1961:

  Building

  The Dawson City Museum and Historical Society struggled to find a new building to house the museum.

  Collections

  Members of the Dawson City Museum and others made public appeals for objects to rebuild the Museum’s collections. These appeals asked specifically for objects from the Klondike Gold Rush (e.g., the Tear Sheet vol. 18 no. 5):

  

  A Klondike Mines Locomotive was donated to the Museum. It weighed 30 tonnes and was transported across the River. Click here to listen to an interview about that experience.

  

• 1962:

  Building

  The Museum opened in the Old Territorial Administration Building in time for the 1962 Gold Rush Festival.

  

  Collections

  An individual from the National Museum of Canada (Gaston Tessler) spent a week cataloguing the collection. He cleaned, organized and homogenized the space (Warner 1962, 1963).

  Visitors engaged with the objects, providing more information or services. For example, someone offered to repair the harmonium. Another individual opened a “metal affair” to fit pieces together and demonstrate that it was a peanut-vending machine (Warner 1962, 1963).

  Exhibitions

  The Museum hosted traveling exhibitions (DCM Board Meeting Minutes, May 23, 1962; Warner 1963):

  • Replicas of the Crown Jewels.
  • Royal North West Mounted Police and the chase of the Mad Trapper of Rat River.
  • Hudson’s Bay Pictures.

  There were also displays of the museum artifacts, such as a broken harmonium, harness-maker’s vise, an old map of the Yukon.

  

  Other content included:

  • a collection of prints from the national archives
  • a display of old keys and machinery from the Canadian National Telegraph.

  Fundraising (earned revenues)

  The Museum sold what would now be called Inuit prints (DCM 1962).

  Staffing

  Victoria Faulkner (who recently retired from the Department of Northern Affairs) acted as Curator for the summer.

• 1963:

  

  Collection

  The Museum received the original staking post from the Carmack’s claim.

  Exhibitions

  The Museum had displays of cabin interiors (Dawson City Museum Board Meeting Minutes, February 13, 1963).
• 1964:

  Building

  The Museum installed a furnace and purchased a blacksmith shop (Warner 1964).

  Collections

  The Dawson City Museum received funding from a private foundation to clean and paint three engines.

  

  “Old-timers” (a term used to discuss miners) estates were given to the Museum (Warner 1964).

  There was a deep freeze that resulted in a lot of birds dying. Residents with freezers kept the birds and then a taxidermist in Whitehorse mounted them for the Museum (Warner 1964).

  Warner (1964) described other acquisitions, such as old movie film and maps. Importantly, Indigenous baskets and other works were loaned to the Museum.

  Exhibitions

  The Museum acquired the contents of Harry Leamon’s cabin on Bonanza Creek and exhibited the content to represent a miner’s cabin.

  

  Research

  We begin to see Museum records on research request.

• 1966:

  Exhibitions (Board Meeting Minutes, March 4, 1966)

  The Museum has 970 objects on display (This is an assumption. The Minutes actually say they have 970 “exhibitions”).

• 1967:

  Exhibitions

  The Museum had 1,000 objects on display (This is an assumption. The Minutes actually say they have 1,000 “exhibitions”- Board Meeting Minutes, January 26, 1967).

• 1968:

  Building

  A failed fire inspection report threatened the Museum’s existence (see various letters in 1.1.38: Correspondence 1968. Box 1. Dawson City Museum).

Government Policy

First Nation (Tr’ondëk Hwëchin)

In 1960, the federal government granted First Nations people the right to vote in federal elections without losing treaty status. The Yukon Council of First Nations comments on the significance of this change:

Federal

• 1960:

  National Historic Sites

  A person from the Department of Northern Affairs and National Resource’s National Historic Sites Branch arrives in Dawson to conduct a study of older buildings (Stuart 1990).

  

  The Keno, which was donated to the Canadian Government in 1959, made its last voyage on the Yukon River to Dawson City.

  

  Northern Administration

  The Northern Affairs and National Resources’ Northern Administration Branch provided the Dawson City Museum with a 500$ grant for active societies (Collins 1960).

• 1961:

  National Historic Sites

  The National Historic Sites Branch acquires the Palace Grand Theatre (Stuart 1990), which the Klondike Visitors Association had purchased then turned over (plaque below).

  

• 1962:

  National Historic Sites Branch

  The National Historic Sites Branch rebuilt and reopened the Palace Grand Theatre in time for the Gold Rush Festival.

  

  The Branch commissioned historical research on the Gold Rush and Dawson buildings, which became important later when the federal government began to acquire additional sites and offer interpretation in Dawson.

  National Museums

  A zoologist and two student assistants from the National Museum of Canada were in Dawson City for the summer (Lotz 1964).

  A cataloguer from the National Museum of Canada spent a week at the museum cataloguing (Warner 1963). The cataloguer was likely one of the Zoologist’s student assistants. Warner (1962) notes Phil Youngman from the National Museum in Ottawa (He was a mammalogist, meaning he is likely the zoologist Lotz described) asked if his cataloguer could assist the museum.

• 1963:

  Explicit Cultural Policy

  Secretary of State becomes responsible for culture.

• Mid 60s:

  National Historic Sites

  National Historic Sites had built the theatre and repaired the Keno, but did not participate in the Gold Rush Festival or operate the sites. They leased the sites to the Klondike Visitors Association for tourism related activity while the Mining Recorder acted as the Historic Sites agent in the area. He had limited authority and recommended a full time employee for the historic sites (Stuart 1990).

• 1965:

  Explicit Cultural Policy

  The House of Commons established a Standing Committee on Culture.

  The Secretary of State recommended a national cultural policy.

• 1966: Federal officials traveled to Dawson and Recommend the establishment of positions in Yukon (Stuart 1990).

• 1967:

  Explicit Cultural Policy

  It was the Canadian Centennial year. The Federal Government invested in the celebration of the centennial.

  National Historic Sites

  The National Historic Sites Branch announced they would determine how their structures would be used.

  The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada held its annual meeting in Dawson, consulting community organizations. The Board recommended acquiring material relating to the Gold Rush, acquiring and preserving more building, the commemoration of gold mining, and the commemoration of Yukon transportation.

  The federal government began acquiring sites, which would become part of the Klondike National Historic Sites (Stuart 1990).

  For Dawson, the price of survival was the loss of autonomy. Paid for and developed from the outside by the Canadian taxpayer, Dawson depended upon external decisions for its future development. 

  Stuart 1990, 128

  National Museums

  The National Museums of Museum of Canada Act passed, creating the National Museums Corporation to run the national museums.

• 1968:

  National Historic Sites

  The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development tabled the first policy statement on national historic sites at the recommendation of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (Parks Canada 1976).

  Other

  The Government amended to Criminal Code to allow the federal and provincial governments to run lotteries, which influences future territorial funding programs that museums can access.

• 1969:

  Other

  The Official Languages Act passed, which influenced future museum funding from the federal government with bilingualism requirements for museums.

Territorial

• 1961: The Yukon Territorial Council discussed a territorial museum grant program (source).

• 1962: The Travel and Publicity Branch was established as a two person branch (Graham 1972).

• 1968: The Yukon Territorial Council discussed the procedures around existing grants. At this time, grants are being made to organizations, like Museum Societies, as special contributory grants without a policy (source).

  Yukon Historic Sites and Monuments Board created with the Historic Sites and Monuments Ordinance.

Local

• 1967: The City renamed the Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall / Arctic Brotherhood Hall the Centennial Hall in honor of the Canadian centennial (source).

Community Action

• 1960: The Dawson City Festival Foundation was established.

• 1962: The Dawson City Festival Foundation organized the Gold Rush Festival with government assistance and the active participation of community organizations. The Klondike Visitors Association was particularly important.

  The festival drew attention to the need for better infrastructure to attract tourists, such as improved accommodations (Lotz 1964).

  

• 1963: The Klondike Visitor’s Association’s Gaslight Follies begin performing at the Palace Grand (source).

  

• 1966: The Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation closed.

Questions

Do you know of any important milestones that are missing?

Would any of the entries benefit from more information or links to additional resources?

Resources

Where possible, sources are hyperlinked in text or included as pictures. Additional sources include:

Collins, F.H. 1960, November 24. Letter to the Dawson City Museum and Historical Society Secretary-Treasurer. 1.1.4: Correspondence. Box 1. Dawson City Museum Archives.

DCM. 1962, September 4. Museum Register. 1.1.10 correspondence 1962. Box 1. Dawson City Museum.

Graham, R. D. Tourism and Information Branch. Yukon. 1972. Yukon Tourism 1972 Annual Report: Review of the Yukon Travel Industry 1962-1972. Whitehorse. 

Haldenby, Allan. 1960, December 7. Letter to the Superintendent public works. 1.1.4: Correspondence w secretary treasurer March 1958 to October 1960. Box 1. DCM Archives.

Warner, Iris. 1964, November 19. “Preserved in Museum at Dawson. Whitehorse Daily Star. p.9.

Warner, Iris. 1963. “A Museum for Dawson City.” North, 10(4): 13-16.

Warner, Iris. 1962. “Museum – Tribute to Dawson City. Lesson to All Communities.” Journal name is not clear.