The Klondike Gold Rush lured thousands of stampeders northward determined to find their fortune in gold. There were others who also sought wealth by catering to the practical needs and desires of the boomtown called Dawson City. They opened laundries, restaurants, mining and outfitting supply shops as well as dance halls, theatres and saloons. The women who made the difficult journey north to enter the ‘scarlet life’ were part of this group of entrepreneurs willing to risk travelling to where demand for their ‘product’ was high. Prostitution was considered a necessary service in this isolated mining community where single men were in the vast majority. It played a significant role in Dawson from 1896 through to the height of the gold rush and right up until the early 1960s.
In the early days, prostitution was supervised and regulated with a system of fines and medical inspections. The Northwest Mounted Police in Dawson were more concerned with controlling petty criminals and preventing crimes of violence than with policing morals. Initially, prostitutes were allowed to solicit on the street, in the bars, in rented rooms or on their own lots in small cabins around Second Avenue and Paradise Alley. The newspapers used endearing terms like the ‘demi-monde’ and ‘soiled doves’ to describe them.
A system of fines and twice-monthly medical inspections acted as a means of licensing the prostitutes and raising funds. The money raised went to a charitable cause to help support the poor and sick in Dawson hospitals. This practice of fining the prostitutes and obliging them to have medical inspections served as a source of revenue rather than as a deterrent.
The scarlet women flourished around Paradise Alley and Second Avenue during the early period but the surrounding businesses and public sentiment soon objected to their presence. The ladies were forced to vacate the main business district in May of 1899. They moved to a section of town between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, which had been set aside specifically for them. By 1901, the women were obliged to move outside the city limits to Klondike City (Lousetown), West Dawson or to abandon the territory altogether.
The prostitutes soon began to slip back into the prosperous south end of town, prompting a public campaign against them in 1902. Dawson faced great economic uncertainty in the post-rush years and battling prostitution was part of the search for stability in the Klondike’s precarious future.
By 1907, with the closure of the dance halls and general economic decline, prostitution was no longer a significant issue. The few ladies still plying the trade were free to operate as long as there were no complaints. The incidence of prostitution went down further during the First World War but never disappeared completely.
In 1961, only about eight hundred and eighty people remained in Dawson. The population of the Yukon was approaching a more natural distribution with women comprising forty four percent. In that same year Yukon Consolidated Gold Company began to curtail its operations, and the annual influx of working men began to shrink. Also in 1961, Ruby Scott was charged with keeping a bawdy house. She pled guilty and was fined. The Whitehorse Star reported: “Despite the well wishes of many Dawson residents, the court pointed out laws cannot be picked and chosen…apply to some and not to others.” [1] In 1961, after twenty-seven years in business, the last brothel closed its doors in Dawson.
The Oldest Profession existed as an important element in life in Dawson for over sixty-five years. It continued to thrive until its steady market of single men declined and it was no longer an acceptable or practical business venture.
[1] Whitehorse Star.7 September, 1961.