South Klondike Highway

Km 105.5 - Carcross

Carcross

During World War II, Carcross played an important role in Alaska Highway construction. The connection here between the White Pass rail and water transportation systems gave the U.S. Army access to the Yukon's interior.

By early 1942, Carcross residents were well aware of the war. Many young men had joined the armed forces and their families anxiously followed the news from Europe. That spring, however, the war moved much closer to home when 1200 black troops of the 93rd Engineers stepped off the train. Over 10,000 soldiers would pass through town and Carcross became the distribution centre for road construction east to Teslin and north-west to Whitehorse. That fall, the contractor for the Canol pipeline, Bechtel-Price-Callahan, set up a supply camp near the railway station.

It was a busy time. Up to 25 trains a day rolled through town. Army trucks met the trains, then carried supplies to outlying road camps. Military planes flew in and out of the small airport. There was no lack of work for the local people. Johnnie Johns, a well-known big game outfitter, leased and sold horses to advance parties for both Alaska Highway construction and the Canol Project. Johnnie and Peter Johns also guided army surveyors through the country they knew so well. Other aboriginal people worked at a variety of jobs, ranging from cutting logs for telephone poles to chauffeuring a general up and down the barely completed highway.

The town's services were modernized. Civilian contractors supplied many buildings with electricity and year-round piped water. Communications also improved when the gold rush era telegraph line along the railway was replaced by an eight-wire telephone/telegraph service.

The "Friendly Invasion" also brought tragedy to Carcross. Many Tagish and Tlingit people were infected with diseases introduced by the soldiers. Despite the efforts of army doctors and devoted nursing by family members, many died from measles, chicken pox, and dysentery.

The soldiers and contractors departed as quickly as they had arrived. Their legacy was the network of roads that permanently altered the character of the community.

S.S. Tutshi

On the Southern Lakes

With the completion of the White Pass and Yukon Route railway (WP&YR) through to Whitehorse in 1900. Carcross became the transfer point for passengers, freight and mail for the Southern Lakes. In 1901 WP&YR established a river division, the British Yukon Navigation Company (BYN Co.), and began to buy out its competition.

One of those competitors was the John Irving Navigation Company, which owned the Duchess locomotive and two small steamers, the Gleaner and the Scotia (on Atlin Lake). The Gleaner, built as Bennett, was only 113 feet long/34 m long. The little boat carried freight and passengers - 24 at a time - from Carcross to Taku Landing.

A short wagon road connected Taku with Atlin Lake, where passengers and freight transferred to the Scotia for the trip to Atlin, B.C. White Pass completed a railway along the route and offered through service to Atlin.

Atlin was a busy gold mining community and the region was famous for its beautiful scenery. A tourist business developed, and soon became the most important aspect of BYN's business in the southern lakes. The company replaced the Scotia and the Gleaner with two larger boats - the MV Tarahne and the SS Tutshi - in response to this growing business.

“The finest boat of her type in these or any other waters...”

In June 1917, BYN launched the steamer Tutshi. The new vessel was 167 feet/51 metres long and held 110 passengers. Unlike other BYN sternwheelers, the Tutshi was specifically built for lake travel. The boat had a larger deck area for passengers and a keel instead of a flat hull. The vessel transported some freight and mail, but it also offered the amenities of a cruise ship.

There was an elegant dining room, with an electric fireplace - even a steam-powered ice-cream churn. In 1925 the Tutshi was converted to burn oil as well as wood. This eliminated the noise and disruption of stopping to re-supply at wood camps during the night. The boat continued to burn wood when starting up or standing by.

In the fall, vessels were usually hauled out so they wouldn't be damaged by ice. In Carcross, however, there is a small area just this side of the railway bridge where the water seldom freezes. Usually the Tutshi was moored there all winter.

“Sailing through the land of the midnight sun”

Captain “Scotia Mac” McDonald was captain of the Tutshi for more than 30 years. He had years of experience in navigation and operations, and oversaw a crew of as many as 32, from the fireman who stoked the boiler to the pantryman who made the mayonnaise. By the 1920s the region's beautiful scenery, history and unspoiled wilderness had become world famous. Package tours brought tourists north to Skagway on cruise ships, then by train to Carcross. In its peak year, the steamer carried more than 9,000 passengers on excursions to Ben-My-Chree and Atlin. During both world wars, ocean cruises were reduced and tourism declined. In 1955 the Tutshi was hauled out of the water for the last time.

Excursions were popular with tourists as well as locals.

“...a surprise Aladdin's garden on the 60th parallel...” Ben-My-Chree, (“Girl of my heart” in the Manx language) at the southern tip of Taku Arm, was the home of Otto and Kate Partridge. Originally just a mail stop, the beautiful spot was such a draw that it quickly became the Tutshi's most popular destination.

Next Km. 107.5 - Carcross Desert
Previous Km. 95 - Bove Island