Skagway
Fun Facts
Skagway is known as the “sunshine capital” of southeast Alaska, receiving just 27 inches of precipitation a year.
The year-round population of Skagway is 920 residents, which more than doubles in the summer.
During the gold rush, Skagway boasted a population of 12,000.
Skagway was originally spelled “Skagua,” meaning windy place, but when the application to have a post office established was submitted, a Washington, D.C. bureaucrat thought the name was misspelled and changed it to “Skagway.”
Skagway is also known as the “Gateway to the Klondike,” a reference to the famous Gold Rush to the Yukon of the late 19th century.
Skagway was the first incorporated city of Alaska (June 28, 1900), beating Juneau by one day.
