Yukon Register of Historic PlacesYRHP

In 1869, the Alaska Commercial Company put the first sternwheeler on the lower Yukon River to supply the trading posts from St Michaels on the Bering Sea to Fort Selkirk.

By the time of the Klondike Gold Rush, several companies had established trading posts and sternwheelers and a basic transportation system was in place.

Sternwheelers were the only practical craft for the Yukon River. The S.S. Keno, which was built in 1922, had a shallow two-foot draft. This allowed it to navigate through shallow water and sections with ever-changing and treacherous sandbars. It had a narrow beam to be able to make turns around tight, narrow curves. The stern-mounted paddle wheel permitted the sternwheeler to land virtually anywhere along riverbanks and it assisted in getting off sandbars. It was protected from snags and sweepers by the hull. The sternwheelers burned wood to provide steam for their power and all along the river wood camps sprang up to supply the fuel.

The S.S. Keno worked mainly on the Stewart River hauling silver lead concentrate from Mayo to Stewart City. It was also used for the early and late season trips to Dawson City.

The seasonal nature of steamboat operations (three to four months in the summer), along with the development of roads, inevitably meant the end of the steamboat era. By 1955, the remaining sternwheelers were dry-docked for the last time.

The sternwheelers, and the transportation companies which ran them, played an important role in the economic development of the Yukon. They brought in all the supplies required by the Klondike's booming population and in subsequent years supplied all of the heavy machinery, which were essential for the success of industrial, corporate mining. The sternwheelers also made the development of new areas possible and led to the creation of new mines in places such as Mayo.

The sternwheelers were more than a carrier of men and supplies into and out of the territory. They supported a timber industry, contributed to the development and evolution of mining and united the small communities that hugged the riverbank.

Source: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/yt/klondike/culture/lhn-nhs-sskeno