Dyea in Skagway, Alaska — Northwest (North America)
Skagway Original City Hall
(1897 - 1901)
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 24, 2024
1. Skagway Original City Hall Marker
Built in 1897, this one-and-one-half story log structure served as Skagway's first city hall and jail, the first courthouse, and the first U.S. Marshal's office. It was also the site of the land transfer for the railroad and the location where testimonies were collected for the boundary commission. Left vacant since the early 1990s, the Municipality of Skagway is now undertaking the building's rehabilitation.
[Top center photo caption reads]
Waiting for mail; Skagway, Alaska. The original Skagway City Hall (#1) is seen here as a partially constructed log building near the "Mail Office" (#2). This is the earliest known photograph of the original Skagway City Hall. The structure has no roof and trees stand in the middle of what will become 5th Avenue. The trees date the photo to somewhere between August and October, 1897, just after Skagway's street grid had been laid out, but before the trees were felled.
The Skagway City Hall served as the meeting site for the federal land appraisers during the 1898 transfer of the railroad right-of-way from the government to the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad.
[Top right photo caption reads]
"Land
this page online
In 1899, Tlingit elders were assembled at the Skagway City Hall to provide information on Russian contact prior to the U.S. purchase of Alaska and facts relative to the Alaska/Canadian boundary settlement. Testimonies were collected and published in the 1903 Alaska Boundary Tribunal. Those interviewed were Koo-too-at, George Shatrage, Jack Kitchk, George Kah-oosh-tey, Yel-hak, Koowtey-na-ah, David Ye-ka-sha, and Yen-sheesh Johnson from the village of Tlak-wan; Da-na-wak from Dyeal Haines Mission; and Skin-ya from Haines Mission.
[Lower right photo caption reads]
Ten Tlingit Chiefs and Subchiefs in front of the City Hall, July 4, 1899.
Skagway's City Hall was the center of excitement after the killing of Soapy Smith. It was only with the solemn assurance of vigilance by Acting Deputy Marshal, J.M. Tanner and several leading businessmen, that order would be maintained and the men arrested would have a fair trial.
[Lower center photo caption reads]
Men gathering in front of the Skagway City Hall after the Soapy Smith-Frank Reid shootout on July 9, 1898.
[Left column, top to bottom, reads]
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., August 24, 2024
2. Skagway Original City Hall and Marker
"Police headquarters, Skagway, '98." This is the first known photograph that identifies the building as the U.S. Marshal's Office.
"First Courthouse in Skagway" circa 1898. This is the only known photograph of the interior of the original Skagway City Hall. George A. Bracket[t], builder of the Brackett Wagon Road, forefront, right.
Erected by National Park Service, Municipality of Skagway, and Skagway Historic District.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the Historic American Buildings Survey series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1898.
Location. 59° 27.357′ N, 135° 18.969′ W. Marker is in Skagway, Alaska. It is in Dyea. It is on 5th Avenue west of Broadway, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 380 5th Ave, Skagway AK 99840, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Alaska, in Tlingit and Haida & Tsimshian Region. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, the Inside Passage, the Pacific Rim, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Russian Empire.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Goldberg Cigar Shop (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); "Necessary Evil" (about 300 feet away); Harsh Realities (about 300 feet away); Bank of Alaska (about 300 feet away); Perceptions and Misconceptions (about 400 feet away); Pantheon Saloon (about 400 feet away); Mollie Walsh (about 500 feet away); Captain Moore's Vision: The Gateway to the Klondike Goldfields (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Skagway.
More about this marker. The marker will likely be moved to a permanent stanchion next to the building once rehabilitation is complete.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 29, 2024. It was originally submitted on September 29, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 171 times since then and 27 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on September 29, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
