Once upon a time, there was gold in those hills around the Klondike. The celebrated gold rush of 1897-1898 excited the attention of millions around the world, and thousands of prospectors and suppliers flocked to the area. Many quickly found out that a lack of transportation infrastructure hampered the export of the natural resources. Later, in 1914, an act of Congress authorized the President to fund construction of a railroad in the Alaska Territory to transport passengers and goods. President Wilson created the Alaska Engineering Commission (AEC) and the Commission sent a party on the "Kuskowim Reconnaissance" to explore potential routes. This site from the University of Washington Libraries brings together hundreds of photographs from these explorations, along with the 41 maps created by the group. Visitors can use the interactive map to look at all of the photographs before reading some of the reports created by the AEC. [KMG]