Description of Historic Place

The Yukon Sawmill Company office and machine shop building was constructed in 1900 and is a two story wood frame building situated on the northeast corner lot at Duke Street and Front Street in Dawson City, Yukon.

Heritage Value

The Yukon Sawmill Company was one of the first sawmills to cut timber in the Klondike, registering its first timber lease in March 1898. It was the most extensive and longest operating sawmill in the Yukon during the early twentieth century. During its peak in production, the Yukon Sawmill Co. had the largest machine shop north of Vancouver, a foundry, and a lumberyard that stretched over three city blocks. The isolation of Dawson City created a demand for local building materials and helped establish seven sawmills that operated during the Klondike Gold Rush.

The economic impact from these operations was far reaching, not only for residents, but also for the First Nations and non-First Nations contractors who cut the timber and rafted huge log booms down the Yukon River to the Dawson sawmills. The proximity to the Yukon River was integral to the Yukon Sawmill Company's operation; first to transport the logs from the timber berths to Dawson millponds and then to transport the logs under Front St. via a log chute.

The existing Yukon Sawmill Co. building housed the machine shop, sales area, and offices with some materials storage. The expansion of the machine shop business in 1902 reflects the change in the economy from supplying the building construction industry to providing a much needed supply and repair service to the mining companies operating in the Dawson region. This building is representative of the role that the lumber and mining industry played in the growth and development of Dawson City from a mining camp to a well-established supply centre and capital city of the Yukon.

The large interior volume was fundamental to the functionality of the building. Its Front and Duke Street facades and corner entrance were typical of the commercial properties in Dawson in the early 1900s. The freight doors and access hatch doors allowed easier movement of materials in and out of the first and second floors, and provided access to a mezzanine between floors. The first floor was divided into office and sales areas below the mezzanine with the remaining large open space devoted to the machine shop with its belt driven machinery. The structural system was adapted to allow a larger space on the first floor, with support columns removed, and trusses constructed with wrought iron rods hanging part of the second floor.

The two story structure with plain trims, oversize multi-light windows and hipped metal roof is an imposing structure on its corner lot. This combination of functional design and superior craftsmanship make the Yukon Sawmill Co. building an excellent example of vernacular architecture designed for a commercial/industrial purpose dating from the turn of the century.

Source: Yukon Sawmill Co. Office, file No. 3630 32 06 Heritage Resources Unit, Cultural Services Branch, Yukon Government

Character-Defining Elements

- The form and siting of the building on its lot, and proximity to the Yukon River
- Exterior architectural elements that illustrate its commercial/industrial use such as the fenestration, 12/6 window sashes and doors, other existing openings through exterior walls, hip roof, exterior cladding, plain exterior trims and painted signage
- Structural systems such as roof framing, trusses, wrought iron rods, columns and beams and wall framing
- Interior has expansive open space with high ceilings
- Remnants of ceiling mounts for the ground floor belt driven equipment