Eldon Wellington “Al” Jenkins (1873 – 1946) >
Constable Eldon Jenkins was in the first Yukon detachment of North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) officers to arrive at Forty Mile in 1895.1) Inspector Constantine allowed his NWMP officers to take time off to stake claims during the early days of the Klondike gold rush. Jenkins was among those who reported finding “good money.”2) Ex-Sergeant Phillip Engel was quoted by the Calgary Herald as saying that ex-Constable Eldon Jenkins made $40,000 “without turning a shovel”. He left the post one Sunday and staked a claim and he was back in time for duty on Monday morning. He gave half of the claim to a working partner and shortly after sold out for $40,000 cash. Jenkins was on the Portland when it docked in Seattle on July 17, 1897 along with other NWMP officers who had staked claims.3) Jenkins returned to Ontario to live in Magnetawan. He built the Klondyke Hotel there with gold he brought back from the Yukon. The hotel burned in 1936.4) Jenkins is buried in the Chapman Community Cemetery in Magnetawan.5)