I have come across the following Canadian genealogy, history and heritage websites, social media, and newspaper articles this past week that were of interest to me, and I thought you might be interested in them, too.
This Week in Canadian History
Social Media
The Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway — one of the first electric interurban railways in Canada — was commemorated with a plaque in Merritton where one of its stations once stood.
Newspaper Articles
Newfoundland
Built to last
Quebec
Quebec considering removing N-word from 11 place names
A stretch of the Gatineau River that has officially been called Nigger Rapids for decades could be renamed— along with 10 other sites in Quebec whose names include the racial slur.
Ontario
LEE DICKSON GENEALOGY: Follows the lives of Thomas Mathews and his son John through the Upper Canada land records
Continued from the previous June and July columns, the lives of Thomas Mathews and his son John are traced forward through the Upper Canada land records. This next part of their story involves the settlement of the Town of York, established 1793.
GENEALOGY WITH JANICE: Small town newspapers are a boon for family historian
If you have family or relatives who lived in a small town - check out the local newspapers! So many are now online, it’s easy. And lots of fun.
Living History Day gives Lost Villages a blast from the past
The valuable role of Canadians in the American Civil War of 1861 to 1865 came to life at the Lost Villages Museum in Long Sault.
Alberta
Hanna roundhouse reunion celebrates railroad history
Roundhouses once dotted the prairies, spaced along the railroad where workers needed a chance to rest and locomotives would be resupplied and inspected.
Now, very few remain. Many have simply crumbled away and the physical legacy of Canadian railroad history is disappearing. One of the few examples of these buildings left is the roundhouse outside of Hanna, Alta.
British Columbia
Dreamers and Dissidents' profiles legends of the Kootenays
Kaplan heritage sign removed for illegal replacement
The neon blue Kaplan sign that has hung for decades on a Vancouver heritage building at the corner of Granville and Broadway has been replaced with an illegal red sign, raising the ire of heritage activists and citizens alike.
The Stories This Week
Gold is discovered in the Yukon Territory in 1896
On 16 August 1896, gold was discovered near Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Canada.
It was discovered by Aborginals from the Skookum tribe - Jim Mason and Tagish Charlie. George Carmack, from Seattle, was also with them when they made the discovery. They found the gold in Rabbit Creek, near Dawson, in the Yukon, and the creek was renamed Bonanza Creek – the site of the Klondike Gold Rush.
After word reaches the United States in June of 1897, thousands of Americans headed to the Klondike to seek their fortunes.
Within six months, approximately 100,000 gold-seekers set off for the Yukon. Because it was so arduous to get to the site (they had to use pack animals or sleds to carry hundreds of pounds of supplies), only about 30,000 completed the trip.
Dawson City located on the way to the Klondike, and it temporarily became the largest city north of San Francisco! What had stated out as a tent city, soon boasted fire hydrants on the streets, and was the first city in western Canada to have electric lights. And the growth of Dawson was largely responsible for the creation of the Yukon Territory as a new Canadian Province on June 13, 1898.
And other Canadian cities out west also had dramatic growth due to the Klondike Gold Rush. Vancouver, British Columbia saw its population double, and in Alberta, Edmonton's population tripled.
So there is a nutshell is the story of the Klondike Gold Rush.
There are many places that you can look for information. For instance,
The Klondike Gold Rush 1890s
Klondike Gold Rush
Gold Rush History
Gives a time line of the gold rush, and what is going on this summer in the Klondike.
===========================================================================
Check the Canadian Week in Review (CWR) every Monday morning for the latest in Genealogy, Heritage, and History news in Canada.
If you missed last week’s edition, it is at
http://genealogycanada.blogspot.com/2015/08/canadian-news-in-review-cwr-03-august.html
It’s the ONLY news blog of its kind in Canada!