The Municipality and Borough of Skagway (Tlingit: Shg̱agwei) is a borough and city in the U.S. state of Alaska, on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with the large number of summer tourists each year. Incorporated as a borough on June 25, 2007, it was previously a city (urban Skagway located at ) in the Skagway-Yakutat-Angoon Census Area (now the Hoonah–Angoon Census Area, Alaska).June 5, 2008, election, Skaguay News, summer edition, 2008. Page 17. The most populated community is the census-designated place of Skagway.
Skagway, on the Taiya Inlet, was an important saltwater port during the Klondike Gold Rush. The White Pass and Yukon Route narrow gauge railroad, part of the area's mining past, now in operation purely for the tourist trade and running throughout the summer months, has its starting point at the port of Skagway. Skagway is a popular stop for cruise ships, and the tourist trade is a big part of the business of Skagway.
Skagway is also the setting for part of Jack London's book The Call of the Wild, Will Hobbs's book Jason's Gold, and Joe Haldeman's novel, Guardian. The John Wayne film North to Alaska (1960) was filmed nearby.
The name Skagway (historically also spelled Skaguay) is the English divergent of sha-ka-ԍéi, a Tlingit idiom which figuratively refers to rough seas in the Taiya Inlet, which are caused by strong north winds.
Skagway is the headquarters of Skagway Village, a federally recognized Alaska Native tribe.
History
Etymology and the Mythical Stone Woman Skagway is the English adaptation of sha-ka-ԍéi,The earliest phonetic spelling was \Schkaguḗ\. , at page 202 (map). a Tlingit idiom which figuratively refers to rough seas in the Taiya Inlet, that are caused by strong north winds."Most [1995-2002 Tlingit-speaking] informants … agreed that the name [Skagway] refers to the effect of the strong north wind on the waters of Lynn Canal, which generates rugged seas and 'wrinkled up' waves." , at page 53. The word which literally means rough seas is jiwsitaan. The phrase which means home of the north wind is xóon neili. Literally, sha-ka-ԍéi is a verbal noun which means pretty woman. The verbal noun was derived from the Tlingit finite verb theme -sha-ka-li-ԍéi, which means, in the case of a woman, to be pretty.See, . The verbal noun was created by omitting the verb classifier "-li-". Without an adjacent verb classifier, a Tlingit verb root will become a verbal noun. See, Id. at page 328
The story behind the name is that Sha-ka-ԍéi or Skagway ["Pretty Woman"] was the nickname of Kanagoo, a mythical woman who transformed herself into stone at Skagway Bay and who (according to the story) now causes the strong, channeled winds which blow toward Haines, Alaska."A local myth is connected with a rock in the [Taiya] Valley which is supposed to be a woman turned to stone who, under the name of Kanuga [i.e., Kanagoo], is regarded as the bringer of wind. In the months of February and March, 1882, when there were exceptionally strong winds, it was said among the Chilkat that Kanuga was angry ..." , at page 185. See, also, , at pp. 158, 230 (note 22: “goddess Kanuga – A mythical woman who is supposed to have turned to stone and unleashes winds when angry; the rock is in the Taiya Valley.”); 120, 158, 202 (“Kanuga, the personified river that empties into the [Taiya] Valley” is also shown on the maps as Schkaguḗ [Skagway]); 195 (two bays in Taiya Inlet), 197-98 (Kanagu lives in the first bay); Emmons (1916). History of Tlingit Tribes and Clans, reproduced in, , at page 19 ("[T]he name Skagway is reportedly derived from the following legend … 'The rock wall opened and she disappeared forever. But when the North wind blows down from the White Pass, laden with the chill of the north, it was believed to be the breath of her spirit …' ").It is apparent that Kanagoo and Skagway are the same person, with Kanagoo being her personal name, and Skagway [“Pretty Woman”] being her nickname. Tlingit personal names belonged to the family or clan. By contrast, Tlingit nicknames were descriptive of some physical or personal characteristic – such as being pretty. See, , at pp. 261-62 (“Personal names belonged to the family … and clan. … Nicknames were … given for some physical or personal characteristic …”). For these reasons, Kanagoo and Skagway are a personal name and a nickname for one and the same person. The rough seas caused by these winds have therefore been referred to figuratively by using Kanagoo's nickname, Sha-ka-ԍéi or Skagway.“[E]very tribe [in southeast Alaska] has names for winds from different directions that are diverted from their true course by mountains, valleys, or through channels.” , at page 427. There is no name, other than Skagway, for the winds diverted by the Taiya Inlet. Moreover, “Ben” Moore described Skagway as “an Indian name the meaning of which would take too long to explain in detail. …. [T]he explanation of it, would require our English word called ‘wind’ to be used frequently.” Ben would have known the meaning of Skagway. He and his father founded Skagway, he was married to the daughter of a Tlingit chief from Klukwan, and he did business with the Tlingits. For these reasons, Ben’s description of Skagway ’s meaning as “long”, “detail[ed]”, and “wind”-related is undoubtedly accurate. The Kanagoo-related idiom meets the criteria of “long”, “detailed”, “wind”-related, and identifying “winds diverted by” the Taiya Inlet. See, , between pp. 96-97 (Aug. 2, 1904 Skagway speech: “S-k-a-g-u-a – Skagua, used to be spelled without the ‘w’ and ‘y’ …. It is, of course, an Indian name the meaning of which would take too long …”).
The Kanagoo stone formation is now known as Face Mountain, which is seen from Skagway Bay. The Tlingit name for Face Mountain is Kanagoo Yahaayí [Kanagoo's Image/Soul].
Early Skagway
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One prominent resident of early Skagway was William "Billy" Moore, a steamboat captain and veteran of the Stikine and Cassiar gold rushes. As part of an 1887 Canadian boundary survey expedition, he investigated the Coast Mountains pass—later known as White Pass—and identified the route for the future White Pass & Yukon Route railroad. In 1887, Moore and his son claimed a 160-acre homestead at the Skagway River mouth, and his vessel, the Gertrude, faced delays during U.S. customs blockades.
Vaguely defined boundaries along the Alaska Panhandle created overlapping territorial claims. While Canada proposed a joint survey in 1871, the U.S. rejected it as "too costly" given the region's remoteness and limited perceived value. This rejection was disingenuous, as politicians and southern newspapers simultaneously touted the area's strategic timber, fisheries, and mineral potential, framing the purchase as a step toward annexing British Columbia. Because the head of the inlet remained unsurveyed in 1887, Captain William Moore and his son considered the Skagway River mouth British territory, formally registering a 160-acre pre-emption claim in Victoria through the British Columbia Lands Office and registry under the Land Act.Spude, Robert L.S. (1983). Skagway, District of Alaska: Gold Rush Cemetery, Moore Cabin, and Mascot Saloon. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. p. 12. Frustrated by American delay, Canada dispatched surveyor Joseph Hunter in 1877 to establish a provisional boundary on the Stikine River, compelling the U.S. to recognize the territorial limits.Hunter, Joseph (1878). Report on the Stikine River Boundary Survey. Department of the Interior, Ottawa.
This lack of diplomatic consensus had already caused localized friction. In 1874, during the nearby Cassiar Gold Rush, despite treaty guarantees of free navigation by British vessels to access the transmontane interior via the Taku and Stikine rivers, the U.S. Army reinforced and reoccupied Fort Wrangell and began to impose restrictive customs blockades on the Stikine River where it transitioned out of American-claimed coastal waters, a campaign that heavily targeted and disrupted Moore's riverboat operations, the first vessel to be seized being his Gertrude.Wright, Allen Adrian (1976). Prelude to Bonanza: The Discovery and Exploration of the Yukon. Gray's Publishing. pp. 112–115. This blockade resulted in a flurry of cables between Whitehall, Ottawa, and Washington, which ultimately ordered the commander at Fort Wrangell to stand down and allow British vessels access to the river, although exorbitant duties and fees witnessed a continued imposition. Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie, Chief Justice of the British Columbia Supreme Court, defied the attempts by the Fort Wrangell commander to subject him to this jurisdictional squeeze; he famously voyaged to the Cassiar goldfields by canoe and held court and assizes to decisively underscore British tenure and judicial sovereignty in the region.Begg, Alexander (1894). History of British Columbia from its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time. William Briggs. pp. 432–435. Documents Chief Justice Begbie's journey to the Cassiar district via canoe to assert British judicial authority amidst the Stikine customs standoffs.
Among these cases was that of an Irish-American criminal named Martin who escaped custody and fled downriver and was re-arrested near the Great Glacier; Lord Carnarvon, British Colonial Secretary, alongside Canadian officials then in BC dealing with controversies due to the lack of even a start on the transcontinental railway, sought to intervene. However, Canadian authorities were ultimately convinced by American diplomatic pressure that Martin's physical re-arrest had technically occurred on U.S. territorial soil, leading to his release and handover to U.S. custody.Hodgins, William Egerton (1896). Correspondence, Reports of the Ministers of Justice and Orders in Council upon the Subject of Dominion and Provincial Legislation, 1867–1895. Government Printing Bureau, Ottawa. pp. 1012–1018. Full diplomatic and legal correspondence regarding the Peter Martin escape on the Stikine, detailing how the jurisdictional dispute forced a temporary boundary compromise. As a direct result of this infamous case, a pro tem "working boundary" or modus vivendi was agreed upon many miles upstream from the sea; while never intended to be permanent, this compromise line effectively became formalized via the 1903 boundary tribunal's final verdict.
The Klondike gold rush changed everything. In 1896, gold was found in the Klondike region of Canada's Yukon Territory. On July 29, 1897, the steamer Queen docked at Moore's wharf with the first boat load of prospectors. More ships brought thousands of hopeful miners into the new town and prepared for the journey to the gold fields in Canada. Moore was overrun by lot jumping prospectors and had his land stolen from him and sold to others.
The population of the general area increased enormously and reached 30,000, composed largely of American prospectors. Some realized how difficult the trek ahead would be en route to the gold fields, and chose to stay behind to supply goods and services to miners. Within weeks, stores, saloons, and offices lined the muddy streets of Skagway. The population was estimated at 8,000 residents during the spring of 1898 with approximately 1,000 prospective miners passing through town each week. By June 1898, with a population between 8,000 and 10,000, Skagway was the largest city in Alaska.