Ephraim J. “E.J.” Hamacher (1857 - 1935)

Ephraim Hamacher was born in Kitchener, Ontario.¹⁾ He worked with Hilda Anderson in Ellensburg, Washington as the Anderson and Hamacher photography studio, circa 1885. In 1888, Hamacher started his own business in Ellensburg and Yakima, Washington. He was active in Oregon from 1895 to 1898. He went north in 1898 and photographed the Klondike gold rush.²⁾ He stayed in Bennett until 1900, when the town was almost abandoned.³⁾ Hamacher arrived in Whitehorse, intending to continue on to Dawson, but his photographic supplies failed to arrive in time for shipment down river.⁴⁾ He settled in Whitehorse and became successful by opening a general merchandise and photographic business. He had many partners in his photography business, including Jerry Doody. Hamacher sold photographs of Dawson but there is no evidence to suggest that he ever visited the Klondike. He had a mining claim in the Kluane mining district in 1904.⁵⁾

Hamacher was a musician and a member of the Whitehorse band.⁶⁾ He was a marksman on the town’s rifle range and an ardent curler. He spent volunteer hours repairing stones and score boards, and teaching novices how to play the various curling shots. He was a gentleman of the old school, and a grand old man.⁷⁾ Hamacher created a comprehensive visual history of the early days of Whitehorse. His photographs are held in the Yukon Archives and at the MacBride Museum in Whitehorse.⁸⁾