On July 21 and 22, 1869, former Secretary of State William Seward toured Puget Sound on his way to Alaska and spoke out on the development of Washington Territory. Two years earlier, while in office, Seward had fought for the United States’ purchase of Alaska from Russia — a vote that barely passed the two-thirds Senate majority required for approval.

Washingtonians supported the purchase, and in 1895 Seward’s wisdom was confirmed by the discovery of gold in Alaska and also in Canada’s Klondike River — chiefly accessed via Skagway and the Chilcoot Pass. The Klondike Gold Rush began in earnest on July 17, 1897, and almost immediately dispelled the economic gloom that had been hanging over Seattle and much of Washington state since the Panic of 1893.

Ten years after the gold rush, Seattle had transformed from a rough and tumble western town into a growing metropolis. In 1909 the city celebrated its success by hosting the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. Two years later, on July 17, 1911, Seattle held its first Golden Potlatch celebration to commemorate the Klondike anniversary and to pan some new gold from the pockets of tourists and revelers. The Potlatch Bug brought along lots of fun,

This article is courtesy of HistoryLink.org, the free online encyclopedia of Washington state history