Yukon Register of Historic PlacesYRHP

Built in 1912 for the Canadian Klondike Mining Company, Dredge No. 4 was the largest wooden hulled bucket lined dredge in North America. Dredge No. 4 commenced operations in May of 1913, and dug its way upstream in the Klondike Valley into what was known as the "Boyle Concession," sinking there in 1924. In 1927, it was refloated and continued to operate from the Klondike Valley to Hunker Creek. The ground at the mouth of Hunker Creek was so rich the dredge produced as much as 800 ounces of gold in a single day on Claim 67 Below. It operated until 1940. The dredge was rebuilt on Bonanza Creek by the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation and from 1941 to 1959 worked the Bonanza Creek valley. One of the two dozen dredges that worked this area, Dredge No. 4 rests on Claim No. 17 Below Discovery on Bonanza Creek near the spot where it ceased operations in 1960.

The dredge was electrically powered from the Company's hydro plant on the Klondike River 48 kilometres (29 miles) away, requiring 920 continuous horsepower during the digging operation. The dredge moved along on a pond of its own making, digging gold bearing gravel in front, recovering the gold through the revolving screen washing plant, then depositing the gravel out the stacker at the rear.. The operating season was on average about 200 days, starting in late April or early May and operating 24 hours a day until late November.

At the peak of corporate mining, a dozen dredges, churned through the creeks. Dredging continued in the Klondike until 1966, when the last of the Yukon Consolidated Gold Company's dredges shut down.

Source: https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/yt/klondike/culture/lhn-nhs-drague4-dredge4