Charles William Watts Papers: Finding Aid mssHM 48341-48427
Gayle Richardson
The Huntington Library
November 2020
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Business Number: (626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Charles William Watts papers
Creator:
Watts, Charles William,
1858-1900
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 48341-48427
Physical Description:
2.3 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1897-1963
Date (bulk): 1897-1900
Abstract: A collection of material related to
Charles William Watts, Oregon newspaperman and Klondike Gold Rush miner.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at
the Huntington Library for more information.
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
[Identification of item]. Charles William Watts papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino,
California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Lee Rohrbough, February 1966.
Charles William Watts (1858-1900) was born in Oregon; he was a newspaper publisher and the
clerk of the Oregon legislature for two terms before leaving for Alaska. Watts went to the
Klondike gold rush in 1897, and wrote letters from Juneau and Skagway, Alaska. He crossed
Chilkoot Pass, kept a hotel at Bennett Lake, then mined at Eldorado and Dawson, Alaska.
During this time he sent stories to the Oregonian and other Oregon newspapers. Watts died of
pneumonia in Dawson on March 9, 1900.
A collection of 91 items from 1897 to 1963, which consists chiefly of letters written by
Charles William Watts to his wife and daughter between 1897 and 1900. The letters are
written from Alaska, including Juneau, Sheep Camp, Skagway, the Yukon River Valley, Dawson,
and the Klondike River Valley. Watts's letters describe the Klondike gold rush and life in
Alaska and in the Yukon. The collection also contains a photograph of Charles William Watts
with a group of hunters and various clippings. There are also a few letters and notes
written in 1963 by Lee Rohrbough.
Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1970. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the
finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Frontier and pioneer life -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley
Gold miners -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley
Gold mines and mining -- Yukon -- Klondike River Valley --
History
Journalists -- United States
Alaska -- Description and travel
Alaska -- History -- 19th century
Dawson (Alaska) -- Description and travel
Juneau (Alaska) -- Description and travel
Klondike River Valley (Yukon) -- Description and travel
Klondike River Valley (Yukon) -- Gold discoveries
Klondike River Valley (Yukon) -- History -- 19th century
Sheep Camp (Alaska) -- Description and travel
Skagway (Alaska) -- Description and travel
Yukon -- Description and travel
Yukon -- History -- 19th century
Yukon River Valley (Yukon and Alaska) -- Description and
travel
Yukon River Valley (Yukon and Alaska) -- History -- 19th
century
Letters (correspondence) -- Alaska -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- Yukon -- 19th century
Box 1
Correspondence 1897-1898
Box 2
Correspondence, photograph, clippings 1899-1963