Like most Gold Rush towns, Dyea had a short and spectacular flourishing during the Klondike Stampede. Prospectors were climbing the Chilkoot Trail in increasing numbers for several years before the Klondike gold strike. By 1895 about 1000 crossed, and the people of the First Nations based at Dyea made good money packing their goods. In 1896, a post-office opened in Dyea.
A year later, after news of the gold strike had reached the outside world, Dyea was swamped with outsiders. At its height, from October 1897 to May 1898, Dyea had a population of 10,000, much of it on the move. The businesses established during that period included 11
