Steamboat Companies in Alaska and the Yukon Territory

Roster of Yukon/Alaska Sternwheelers & other Riverboats
A complete listing of all boats to run on the rivers and lakes of the Yukon and Alaska. As well as the roster, there are articles about these river boats:
      * Alaska / Aksala
      * Atlinto
      * Australian
      * Bailey
      * Canadian
      * Casca (1898-1911)
      * Casca No. 2 (1911-1936)
      * Casca No. 3 (1937-1952)
      * Clara Monarch
      * Clifford Sifton
      * Columbian
      * Dawson
      * Dawson City
      * F. H. Kilbourne
      * Flora
      * Florence S.
      * Gamecock
      * George Black
      * Gladys
      * Gleaner
      * Gold Star
      * Hazel B
      * James Domville
      * Jennie M.
      * Julia B.
      * Keno
      * Kestrel / Neecheah
      * Klondike
      * Nasutlin
      * Nenana
      * Neecheah (Kestrel)
      * Nenana
      * Nora
      * Oil City
      * Portus B. Weare
      * Prospector
      * Rock Island
      * Schwatka
      * Scotia
      * Seattle No. 3
      * Schwatka
      * Selkirk
      * Tarahne
      * Thistle
      * Tutshi
      * Tyrrell
      * Victorian
      * White Horse
      * Will H. Isom
      * Willie Irving
      * Yukon
      * Yukoner
      * Yukon Rose
      * Zealandian

Yukon River steamboats, October 1898
An article about steamboats working the Yukon River at the close of the season, from The Examiner (San Francisco) of October 23, 1898.

The final voyage of Haysport No. 2
The 20-ton motor schooner sailed from Nanoose, BC, on January 20, 1925, with a cargo of dynamite and gasoline for mines in the Yukon, but was sunk by a storm, with all hands lost.

Humboldt
This wooden steamer was built at Eureka, California, in 1896, and was operated on the Alaska route for many years.

Reports from the Klondyke, 1897
A lengthy article from The Catholic Sentinel of September 19, 1897, relays stories from several ships trying to get men to the gold fields.

The steam whaler Navarch - tragedy in the Arctic
In late August 1897, the ship was crushed in the ice near Point Barrow - of 50 men aboard, 42 died, either drowned or frozen to death.

Steamboat on the Chilkat River, 1901
An article from The Province (Vancouver, BC) of February 11, 1901, ridicules the idea.

Exit the Skeena Sternwheeler
An illustrated article from The Victoria Daily Times of Saturday, August 10, 1912, describes the end of the sternwheeler era with the arrival of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway.

Alaska cruises with Canadian Pacific Steamships, 1940
A 20-page brochure with special emphasis on the Princess Charlotte, including a large deck plan.

Prince George:
      * 1961 Alaska cruise notes: Lengthy information about the route, and ports to be visited.
      * 1983 Alaska cruise brochure: Excerpts from the brochure, and download the entire 8-page brochure.

Prince Robert:
      * 1937 Alaska cruise passenger list: the complete booklet for the July 17, 1937 sailing.
      * 1937 menu: information about the ship, and the complete dinner menu for July 17, 1937.

The Wreck of CPR's Coastal Steamer SS Princess Sophia
On October 25, 1918, the SS Princess Sophia sank after hitting Vanderbilt Reef in Lynn Canal near Juneau, Alaska, with the loss of all 343 people on board.

Princess Victoria
The fastest ship on the coast was built for the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company in 1903, and as a hog fuel barge, sunk in 1953.

Prisendam
Information about the 2 Holland America ships of that name, the first of which burned and sank off the Alaska coast in 1980.

USS Wasmuth
A freak accident in the Aleutian Islands sunk this minesweeper in 1943.

Yukon Lake Boat Passenger Lists
The following boats worked from Bennett, BC:
      * Clifford Sifton
      * Gleaner
      * Lully C.
      * Ruth

Book Review: Smoke Ash and Steam
In this book, Robin E. Sheret has taken many fascinating details on steam engineering and made them accessible to the rest of us.

Alaska Cruises
I have been on many Alaska cruises since 2005, mostly working as a speaker, and have a separate Web site, YourAlaskaCruise.com, for those stories and photographs.

Alaska Steamship Company
Information about the company and other pages with details such as menus and schedules.

British Yukon Navigation Company
BYN was created over the winter of 1900-1901 by the White Pass & Yukon Route, and would become the most successful steamboat company in the Yukon and Alaska.

Scows, Boats, and a Steamer to Sail from Bennett
An article in The Daily Morning Alaskan (Skagway, Alaska) of April 26, 1900, describes the activities of P. J. Christensen in building and repairing various craft.

Burning of the Casca and Whitehorse
On June 20, 1974, in the most famous fire in Yukon history, two of the last remaining Yukon River sternwheelers were destroyed.

The Sternwheeler Graveyard
Seven steamboats are rotting away on the banks of the river near Dawson City. Some have been here for over a century.

Mileages on the Upper Yukon River
From the log book of the late Henry Breaden, who worked on the Yukon River sternwheelers for many years.

Ship Index: Arctic Exploration and Development
A list of the ships in "Arctic Exploration and Development c. 500 B.C. to 1915: An Encyclopedia", by Clive Holland.

Sternwheelers on Lake Laberge, Yukon

Painting of the Casca and Whitehorse Fire
The Luebke brothers of Fairbanks grew up with a 4x8-foot painting of the fire, signed "Hazelton", in their basement.

Revenue Cutter Service: Some Typical Rescues
This article by Samuel A. Wood has been reprinted in its entirety from the February 1892 edition of Scribner's Magazine.

Yukon Riverboat Captains
Jerry E. Green has compiled an impressive list of captains and their boats/ships.