Joseph Francis "Joe" Ladue (July 28, 1855 – June 27, 1901) was a

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...

, businessman and founder of

Dawson City, Yukon Dawson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Dawson (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Dawson (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places Antarctica ...

, Canada. Ladue was born in

Schuyler Falls, New York Schuyler Falls is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Clinton County, New York, Clinton County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 5,181 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The town was named a ...

. His mother died when he was seven years old, and his father in 1874. Upon his father's death, 19-year-old Joe headed west. In 1876, he found employment in a gold mine in

Deadwood, South Dakota Deadwood (Lakota: ''Owáyasuta''; "To approve or confirm things") is a city that serves as county seat of Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. It was named by early settlers after the dead trees found in its gulch. The city had it ...

, beginning as a general labourer and working his way up to engineer, foreman and superintendent. He eventually quit to go prospecting in Arizona and New Mexico, but did not strike it rich. In 1882, he crossed the

Chilkoot Pass Chilkoot Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass through the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the U.S. state of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. It is the highest point along the Chilkoot Trail that leads from Dyea, Alaska to Bennett La ...

into the interior of the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, where he prospected and traded for a couple of years. In August 1896, a few days after the discovery of gold in the Klondike, he staked a claim to either 160 or 178 acres (65-72 hectares) of boggy flats at the mouth of the

Klondike River The Klondike River (Hän: ') is a tributary of the Yukon River in Canada that gave its name to the Klondike Gold Rush. The Klondike River rises in the Ogilvie Mountains and flows into the Yukon River at Dawson City. Its name comes from the Hä ...

as a townsite. In January 1897, he named the new town Dawson after Canadian geologist

George Mercer Dawson George Mercer Dawson (August 1, 1849 – March 2, 1901) was a Canadian geologist and surveyor. Biography He was born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, the eldest son of Sir John William Dawson, Principal of McGill University and a noted geologis ...

. By July, about 5000 people lived there. Ladue could sell town lots for as much as $5000 or $8000. He relocated his saw mill to Dawson; it ran continuously night and day in response to the extreme demand. He also set up a store and the first saloon in town. In addition, he acquired a number of rich gold claims. All this enabled Ladue to leave the north a rich man that year. With some of his wealth, Ladue bought the steamer ''SS Morgan City'' and had it brought around

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from New York City. After a single trip from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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and Valdez he leased it at $600 per day as a troop transport to the

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. The ship was lost in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

in September 1899. Ladue returned to his home town and on December 15, 1897, he married Anna "Kitty" Mason. He was in poor health and died of "consumption" (

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

) at Schuyler Falls on June 27, 1901. He was survived by his wife and a son.

References

External links

* *
''The Klondike Weekly, Dawson City, Yukon Territory''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladue, Joseph Francis 1855 births 1901 deaths People from Dawson City People of the Klondike Gold Rush American gold prospectors People from Schuyler Falls, New York