Most prospectors reached the gold fields on foot, and Canada made them carry a ton of supplies over the passes. That took several trips, so a railroad looked like a better way. Construction started here in May 1898 on a narrow 3-foot-gauge line, and about 450 tons of explosives were needed to reach the top of White Pass.
The depot was built between September and December 1898. The line reached the Yukon in 1900. It ran until 1982, and a part was revived in 1988 as a heritage railway.
From 1942 to 1946 the U.S. Army took over the railroad to supply the Alaska Highway. The National Park Service got the depot in 1976 and finished restoring it in 1984.