Erastus Brainerd - Seattle did not earn the title of "The Gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush" by default, the title was delivered by a man, Erastus Brainerd. Born in 1855 in Connecticut, Brainerd graduated from Harvard worked as a journalist, and moved west with his family in 1890 to run a newspaper called the Seattle Press. The Seattle Press folded soon, and Brainerd accepted his first appointed post, as Washington State Land Commissioner. After a brief stint as Land Commissioner, (an election upheaval left him out of office), Brainerd spent his hours acting as the official Paraguayan consul in Seattle —looking for a more lucrative position.

   Along came the arrival of the SS Portland in 1897, carring it's legendary "Ton of Gold". To follow up on the fanatic response to the initial story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Chamber of Commerce formed a committee to assist Seattle in reaping the benefits of the coming rush of prospectors. Brainerd, more or less idle at this stage, was glad to be appointed chairman of the committee, and set to work immediately.

   Brainerd, using his East Coast connections as leverage, launched a massive publicity campaign to associate the name "Seattle" with the Klondike Gold Fields. He placed ads in major newspapers, in Cosmopolitan, in rural papers, and in foreign publications. He orchestrated publicity schemes—including form "letters home" handed to newcomers in Seattle, so that they could share their happy experiences with the folks back home (including newspaper editors.) Brainerd wrote articles that were published, the quoted those same glowing articles in press releases and additional articles.

   Quickly, all competition from neighboring coastal cities faded and Seattle became the de facto Gateway port. Brainerd kept the publicity machine running, sending copies of local stories to the four corners of the world. Letters were written to every governor and mayor in the U.S., requsting information on "how many men to expect" for the gold rush. Included with all of these were maps and guides, all leading to the gold fields through Seattle of course.

   After succeeding in having the rushers come through Seattle, Brainerd pushed for an Assay office, and got one established. The soggy coastal town boomed and slowed very little, becoming a major port city on North America's coast. Brainerd was riding a wave of success and decided to pursue some of the profits himself. He tried, but failed to be appointed as the U.S. Consul in Dawson City, the center of the Klondike acitvity. As the gold fever subsided, Brainerd moved north to act as a "mining consultant", but did not prosper.

   In 1904, he returned to Seattle and became the editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. He became very active in the Seattle Republican Party and wrote a massive book entitled "Alaska and the Klondyke". He moved to Tacoma Washington, and spent his last few years in a mental hospital. Erastus Brainerd died with little acknowledgement on Christmas Day of 1922. The 67-year old man enjoyed little fame, but became noted in the history books as "The Man who made Seattle"