Mart Albert Howard Papers and Photographs of the Klondike, 1897-1915

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Howard, Mart Albert
Title
Mart Albert Howard Papers and Photographs of the Klondike
Dates
1897-1915 (inclusive)
Quantity
7 containers., (3 linear feet of shelf space.), (800 items.)
Collection Number
Cage 63
Summary
Correspondence, diaries, financial and legal papers, photographs and lantern slides and other papers of Howard's experiences as a gold miner in the Klondike, 1898-1905.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Additional Reference Guides

A lengthy description of the papers in this collection may be found in Mary W. Avery, The Mart A. Howard Klondike Collection, Pacific Northwest Quarterly, 50 (1959) 53-62.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Mart A. Howard (1855-1926) was a businessman at Webster, Massachusetts in 1897 when news of the Klondike gold strikes reached the United States. He left from home in October of that year, taking a train to Portland, then on to Seattle where he outfitted for a trip to Alaska. Leaving Seattle in January 1898, he traveled north via coastal steamer to Dyea, then across Chilkoot Pass and along inland waterways to his eventual destination at Dawson, Yukon Territory. In the fall of the same year, he returned to Seattle and purchased a shipment of supplies, which he retailed in the Klondike the following spring. Using the profits of this mercantile venture, he became a mine operator, purchasing interests in various mines on the creeks north of Dawson. He returned briefly to Massachusetts in 1900 after which he took his third trip to the Klondike, this time accompanied by his wife and son. Howard remained in Dawson until 1905, after which he returned to Massachusetts permanently. In later years he became a public lecturer on the Klondike gold rush.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers of Mart Albert Howard, 1855-1926, consists of the correspondence, diaries, bills and receipts, legal documents and photographs which Howard, a Webster, Massachusetts, businessman, retained from his experience as a gold miner in the Klondike gold rush of 1897. Approximately two thirds of the collection are photographs taken by Howard or purchased from other Alaskan and Canadian photographers. Most photographs are glass-mounted transparencies.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

[Item Description]. Cage 63, Mart Albert Howard Papers and Photographs of the Klondike . Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Custodial History

Mart Howard's son Louis, who was 14 at the time of his trip to the Klondike and who was later Dean Of Mining at Washington State University, saved his father's papers until his own death in 1944. His widow then preserved the papers until she deposited then with the WSU Library in 1958.

Acquisition Information

The Howard Papers were acquired by the Washington State University Library in 1958 from Howard's daughter in law, Mrs. Louis O. Howard.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series 1: Diaries, letters, papers, records, souvenirs, clippingsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1
Diaries of Mart Howard
4 items.
1897-1900
1 2-3
Letters of Mart Howard to wife and son in Webster, Mass.
120 items.
1897-1905
1 4
Letters received by Mart Howard on business matters
30 items.
1902-1913
1 5
Invoices and account book for purchases of supplies from Seattle and Klondike firms
50 items.
1897-1905
1 6
Financial records of mining operations including profit and loss statement, "balance sheets" time books
40 items.
1898-1905
1 7
Contracts, license, writs, deeds and other legal documents (included is 1860 permit to drive cattle through Dudley, Mass.
25 items.
1898-1905
2 8
Souvenirs and mementos of southeast Alaska, Klondike region, including theater bills, boat menus and letterheads
1897-1905
2 9
General information regarding the territory of Alaska. Interior Dept.
1914
2 9
Report on reduction of area of homesteads in Alaska to 160 acres, Interior Dept.
1915
2 10
Mounted Newspaper clippings, re: Mart Howard; trial of George O'Brien at Dawson, Y.T.
40 items.
1899-1905
2 11
Material for lectures on Klondike by Mart Howard
25 items.
1910

Series 2: Photographs (Photoprints) of Klondike Gold RushReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
Oversize
1. Panorama of Fairbanks
June 13, 1905
Folder
2 12
2-4. Dawson, Y.T. 70-0200
1901
2 12
5. Episcopal Church and Hospital, Fairbanks
2 12
6. Footbridge, Fairbanks
2 12
7. Roll Call at the "N.C.C. Store" Fairbanks (liquor Wholesale)
April 9, 1905
2 12
8. (Log) Jam formed above Cushman St. Bridge, Fairbanks
July 1, 1905
2 12
9. Pack Train Arriving with Gold Dust, Washington and Alaska Bank, Fairbanks.
2 12
10. Removing Jam from above Cushman St. Bridge
2 12
11. Removing Jam from above Cushman St. Bridge.
2 12
12. Below Bonanza (diggings) of Howard, Magaw and Collins
2 12
13. Sluicing on Checaco Hill
May 11, 1901
2 12
14. Below Bonanza, Howard, Magaw, and Collins Diggings
2 12
15. Below Bonanza, Howard, Magaw, and Collins
2 12
16. Panorama of Dawson City
2 12
17. No. 4 El Dorado, looking up Gold Hill
2 12
18. No. 6 Below on Bonanza
2 12
19. Midnight Scenic of Dawson
June 21, 1899
2 12
20. Hoisting Gold 1000 ft. to surface-winching machinery.
2 12
21. Group of men on porch of building
2 12
22. Stores in Fairbanks (with M.A. Howard in scene)
2 12
23. Top of tramway or ore chute
2 12
24. Our Klondike home
July 12, 1901
2 12
25. T.M. RR Train at the Junction between Fairbanks and Chema
2 12
26. Seattle waterfront
March 4, 1901
2 12
27. 1000 Ft. Underground Cripple Creek, Colorado
2 12
28. Mining Gold in Cripple Creek District
2 12
29. The Elkton Mine, Cripple Creek
1908
2 12
30. National Hotel, Cripple Creek
2 12
31. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek
2 12
32. Mary McKinney Mine Cripple Creek District
2 12
33. Portland Mine
2 12
34. Economic Mill, Cripple Creek District
2 12
35. Victor, Colorado
2 12
36. The Center of the Great Mining District, Cripple Creek Colorado.
2 12
37. Adams Gulch
2 12
38. The Portland, Colorado’s Greatest Gold Mine
2 12
39. The Center of Cripple Creek Mining District
2 12
40. (Old Dominion?) Alaska or Yukon Mine Head, Sluice Box
2 12
41. Below Bonanza (Howard, Magaw, and Collins)
2 12
42. Ice in Yukon River at Dawson
May 19, 1901
2 12
43. Ice Cakes at Forty-Mile, Yukon Territory, 15 feet thick
May 19, 1901
2 12
44. Log Jam-Fairbanks
2 12
45. Mart Howard en route to Klondike Gold Fields
2 12
46. Mart Howard en route to Klondike Gold Fields (Chilkoot Pass)
2 12
47. Mart Howard en route to Klondike Gold Fields
2 12
48. Flood at Fairbanks
July 6, 1908
2 12
49. No. 7 Below Bonanza—(Sluice Box and people)
2 12
50. Below Bonanza, Howard, Magaw and Collins
2 12
51. Howard, Magaw and Collins Mine (?)
2 12
52. El Dorado
2 12
53. Midnight Street Scene—Dawson
2 12
54. Mining Scene on (Gold Sun?)
2 12
55. Below Bonanza—Howard, Magaw, and Collins Mine
2 12
56. Fairbanks, Alaska, from across Chena river. oversize 70-0203, 70-0204.
June 13, 1905
2 12
57. Military Post
2 12
58. General Store
2 12
59. Steamer Clifford Siftor in Miles Canyon
2 12
60. Enroute to Klondike Gold Fields (Chilkoot Pass)
2 12
61. Shooting White Horse Rapids
2 12
62. S.S. Cutch in Port at Skagway

Series 3: Lantern Slides: Copy NegativesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
2 13
#3 Enlarged Map of Chilkoot, Chilkat, and White Pass Routes, 70- 0207
2 13
#4 Map of Klondike Mining District
2 13
#6 Map of Klondike Gold Rush Area
2 13
#10 Steamers Colombian and El Dorado racing 70-0208
2 13
#11 Steamer El Dorado in ice 70-0209
2 13
#13 Steamer Canadian 70-0210
2 13
#14 Steamer John C. Barr 70-0211
2 13
#15 Steamer White Horse 70-0212
2 13
#26 Steamer
2 13
#98 Second Avenue, dawson 70-0214
2 13
#99 Front Street, Dawson 70-0215
July 5, 1901
2 13
#101 Street in Dawson 70-0216
2 13
#108 Administrative Building, Dawson 70-0217
2 13
#127 Canadian Bank of Commerce (Dawson?) 70-218
2 13
#143 (Front Street, Dawson?) Crowd scene 70-219
2 13
#144 (Front Street, Dawson?) Crowd scene 70-220
2 13
#185 Rocker Box 70-222
2 13
#309 Scow dealers 70-0233
2 13
#313 A Yukon stove 70-224

Series 4: Lantern SlidesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Maps
Box slide
3 1-2
Northwest North America
3 3
Chilkoot, Chilkat and White Pass Routes
3 4-5
Klondike Mining District
3 6
Klondike Gold Rush Area
3 7
Utah, Colorado Area
Transport
Steamboats
Box slide
3 8-9
Victorian
3 10
Colombian and Eldorado racing
3 11
Eldorado in ice
3 12-13
Canadian
3 14
John C. Barr at Hootalinqua, Y.T.
3 15
White Horse
3 16
Cutch in ice
3 17
Susie
3 18
Dolphin
3 19
Alki
3 20-21
Wharves
3 22
Steamboats and barges
3 23
Coastal steamer in ice
3 24
Crowd awaiting 2 steamers
3 25
(Steamboats) in winter quarters
3 26-27
Steamers
3 28
Roping a steamer through 5-finger rapids
3 29
Miners leaving Seattle on Ohio
3 30-32
On board steamer to Alaska
Boats
Box slide
3 33
Boat landing at Dawson, Y.T.
3 34
Small Boats, some in sails
3 35
Canoes
Railroads
Box slide
3 36
Train in deep snow
3 37
Locomotive with Snowplow
3 38
TMRR train
3 39-43
Track, trestlings, grades, bridges
Wagons
Box slide
3 44-47
Teams and freight wagons
Sleds
Box slide
3 48-52
Dog teams and sleds
3 53-59
Horse drawn sleds
3 60
Hand sled
Trails, Packing-In
Box slide
3 61
Trail Depot
3 62-65
Packing over Chilkoot Pass
3 66-71
Trails
Pack Animals
Box slide
3 72
Pack Mules
3 73
Pack Train with Shipment of gold
Cities, Settlements
Panoramas
Box slide
4 74
Cordova
4 75
Dyea
4 76-77
Fairbanks
4 78
Forty-Mile
4 79-80
Grand Forks of Bonanza and Eldorado
4 81
Juneau
4 82
Ketchikan
4 83
Log Cabin, B.C.
4 84
Moosehide, Y.T.
4 85
Port Townsend, WA
4 86
Seattle
4 87
Skagway
4 88
Stewart, Y.T.
4 89
Vancouver, B.C.
4 90
Victoria, B.C.
4 91
Wrangel
4 92-97
Unidentified cities
Streets
Box slide
4 98-101
Dawson, Y.T.
4 102-103
Skagway
4 104
Sitka
4 105
Flooded village
4 106
Unidentified
Buildings
Box slide
4 107-108
Administrative Building, Dawson
4 109
Fire Station, Dawson
4 110-111
Church and Hospital
4 112
Parliament, Victoria
4 113
Parliament, Ottawa
4 114
Empress Hotel, Victoria
4 115
San Francisco Post Office
4 116
GAR post, Worcester, Mass.
4 117
The Royal Fuel Factory
4 118
Fort Selkirk buildings
4 119
White Horse Depot (?)
4 120
Stores
4 121
Canadian Pacific RR Offices, Victoria
4 122
Canadian Development Company Trading Post
4 123
Nugget Lunch House
4 124
Interior of Russian Orthodox Church
4 125
Cabin Fever
4 126
Canneries at Petersburg, Alaska
4 127
Canadian Bank of Commerce
4 128-132
Unidentified public buildings and dwellings
4 133-135
Encampments on Lakes Bennett and Lindeman
4 136-140
Camps
4 141
Tennis Courts at Valdez
Encampment and City Scenes
Box slide
5 142-144
Scenes around Dawson
5 145-147
Crowds in Streets
5 148-150
Log Jam behind footbridge in Fairbanks
Mining
Panoramas
Box slide
5 151-152
Adams Gulch
5 153-157
Bonanza
5 158-159
Chechaco Hill
5 160-161
Eldorado
5 162-168
Unidentified
Dredging
Box slide
5 169-171
On Bonanza
5 172
On Lower Hunker Creek
5 173-174
On Klondike River
Tramway
Box slide
5 175-180
The Fassbender and May Tramway
6 181-183
The Fassbender and May Tramway
Hand Tools and Simple Mining Operations
Box slide
6 184
Group with rocker and pans
6 185-188
Rockers
6 189
A Long Tom
6 190
Panning
6 191-193
Hand winches or windlasses
6 194-195
Hydraulic mining
6 196-202
Sluices
Mine Interiors
Box slide
6 203
Cage
6 204
Driving steam points
6 205
Digging by Hand
6 206-207
Timberwork
Steam Equipment
Box slide
6 208-210
Steam pipes
6 211-215
Steam hoists at mine heads
6 216-218
Ore Cars
6 219-220
Ore Stackers
6 221-225
Miscellaneous
6 226-227
Assay Labs
6 228-239
Surface Mining, probably in Southwest United States
Landscapes
Box slide
7 240-251
Rivers or Inlets
7 252-254
5-Finger Rapids
7 255-256
Glaciers
7 257-259
Waterfalls
7 260-261
Forest
7 262-263
Desert
7 264
Gold Hill
Portraits
Individual and dual
Box slide
7 265
Robert Henderson
7 266
George Carmack
7 267-278
Unidentified, including miners, Indians, laborers
Groups
Box slide
7 279
Violet Basketball Team
7 280
Group at Rapids
7 281
Midnight Dome
June 21
7 282
School Children
7 283
Border Officials
7 284-291
Groups and crowds
7 292-295
Novelty Portraits, including women panning, miner doing laundry, etc.
Miscellaneous
Box slide
7 296
Building a road
7 297
Totem Poles
7 298
Shooting a rapid
7 299
Firewood pile
7 300
On a sandbar
7 301
Log Pile
7 302
A saw pit
7 303-306
Color photos of vegetation, mostly flowers
7 307
1/2 Million Dollars worth of gold
7 308
A typical Malumute dog
7 309
Scow dealers (peddlers)
7 310
Milk Stand
7 311
Milk Cows
7 312
Shipment of Gold
7 313
A Yukon Stove
7 314
25,000 Salmon at Anacortes, WA
7 315
Ice Cakes from Yukon River
7 316
United States Flag
7 317
United States and Imperial Flags
7 318-326
Machinery Fairbanks, Morse, and Company stamp and amalgamation mill
7 327-366
Steel Crystallography
7 367
X-Ray of a key and coin
Oversize
Newspapers: Dawson, Yukon Territory; Skagway, Alaska.
7 items.
1899-1905

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Mines and mineral resources--Yukon Territory--History--Sources
  • Steamboats -- Photographs

Personal Names

  • Howard, Mart Albert, 1855-1926 --Archives (creator)

Geographical Names

  • Alaska--Pictorial works
  • Klondike River Valley (Yukon)--Gold discoveries -- Pictorial works