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Album: Seattle, Washington 2007
Image: 521 / 545
Date: 2007-09-03 11:21:54
Tags: Seattle

Nellie Cashman

Nellie Cashman was a big-hearted and adventurous woman who was no stranger to mining boomtown. In the 1870s, she participated in the Cassiar Gold Rush in British Columbia. Following that she headed for the Arizona silver towns of Tucson and Tombstone where she opened restaurants. In each location she prospered and gained a reputation for her generosity and caring. In 1897, she joined the throng to Dawson where she opened a successful restaurant and small store. She also tried her hand at prospecting and purchasing claims with variable success. What money she made ended up in charity or in further prospecting. She continued living and prospecting in Alaska and in her 70s traveled frequently by dog sled from her distance claims to buy supplies.

Belinda Mulrooney

Belinda Mulrooney was a born entrepeneur. In 1897, while working at a dress shop in Juneau, she heard about Klondike gold discoveries. She immediately purchased $5,000 of "silk goods and hot water bottles" and headed for the Yukon. Selling supplies along the way and in Dawson, Belinda reaped a profit of $25,000. She started a successful hotel at Grand Forks, where the gold-rich Eldorado Creek met Bonanza Creek. She purchased mining claims that added to her wealth - all before the summer of 1897 when the rest of the world learned about Klondike gold. In 1900, she married Charles Carbonneau, a showy champagne salesman from Quebec. In 1904, Carbonneau was indicted on embezzlement and skipped town with Belinda's furs and jewels, never to return. In the years following the gold rush, Belinda mined and prospected in the Fairbanks area, started more businesses, made and lost several fortunes, and became a gold rush legend.