Title: Trump Family Origins
General Information about Item:
- Legend, Verbal Lore
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States/Canada
- Trail of Origin: Chilkoot
- Informant: Ian Andrews
- Date Collected: 10-29-19
Informant Data:
- Ian Andrews is currently a graduate student at MIT. He grew up in Juneau, Alaska and hiked the Chilkoot Trail after finishing his undergraduate studies. Ian hikes recreationally, from trails in his hometown, to spending a week hiking in the Olympic Mountains in Washington State.
Contextual Data:
- Historical Context: First used by the Tlingit people of Alaska as a trade route, the Chilkoot became an important trail for miners and prospectors coming to Alaska during the Klondike gold rush at the end of the 1800s. The trail was mostly abandoned after the end of the gold rush in 1898, until the trail was restored for recreational hikers in the 1960s. (Source)
Item:
- The informant relayed a story about the origin of the Trump family fortune. During the Klondike Gold Rush, Fred Trump (President Donald Trump’s grandfather) moved to the Klondike and opened a hotel that also served as a brothel. Trump thrived as prospectors and miners passed through the area and paid for the services of his business. The fortune Trump made in the Klondike allowed him and his family to establish the many companies they now own today.
Transcript:
- “You think of the gold rushers as being the people making all the money, but there was a whole industry providing services to the gold rushers. Some of those people made as much or even more than the gold rushers… The other notorious family who started their way to wealth on the Chilkoot was the Trump family by providing brothels and hotels. Fred Trump started there.”
Collector’s Comments:
- The informant suggested that this story should be fact-checked for accuracy. According to the an article published in 2016, this telling of the story is historically accurate. Fred Trump owned a combined bar, brothel, and restaurant in Bennett, British Columbia. Bennett is the small town located at the Canadian end of the Chilkoot, generally considered the end of the trail.
Collector’s Name: Soren Thompson
Tags/Keywords:
- Legend
- Chilkoot Trail
- Thru Hiking