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The Binkley family's steamboating tradition spans over 100 years and five generations. In 1898, Charles M. Binkley moved to Alaska with the goal of establishing a navigation company along the Yukon River, transporting freight and prospectors to the Klondike. His son, Captain Jim Binkley Sr., followed in the 1940s, piloting vessels on the Yukon and Tanana Rivers. As transportation needs evolved, Captain Jim and his wife, Mary, shifted to river excursions, starting with a 25-passenger boat, Godspeed, and later upgrading to the Discovery III, which can carry up to 900 passengers. Today, their grandchildren continue to run the business, with Mary still playing an active role.
Charles M. (Charlie) Binkley journeyed from his home in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to the Yukon Territory in Canada, carrying 2,000 pounds of clothing, footwear, and provisions. Unlike many others drawn to the region by the allure of discovering gold, Binkley’s goal was to start a navigation company to move freight and prospectors up the Yukon.
Binkley boarded a northbound steamer to the Klondike, crossed the treacherous Chilkoot Pass and finally arrived in Lake Bennett, where he guided boats through the Whitehorse Rapids of Miles Canyon.
Binkley joined the crew of the 193-ton sternwheeler Bailey which was built on Lake Bennett.
Binkley partnered with Sid Barrington to form a transportation company and built a series of riverboats in Dawson, the first of which was named the Hazel B.
As gold production declined, Binkley and his partner Barrington shifted their focus and instead ran freight up the Susitna River for the construction of the Alaska Railroad.
Binkley designed and built the Hazel B. No. 3. The new boat was fast and could be operated with as few as 3 crew. The voyage from Wrangell to Telegraph Creek, a 152 mile trip, took only 26 hours, the fastest time by far made on the Stikine.
On one of his trips south, Charlie Binkley met Fanetta "Peggy" Ordway in San Francisco and brought her back to Wrangell where they were married. Peggy was a passenger aboard the Hazel B. No. 4 on her maiden voyage.
Charles Madison "Jim" Binkley Jr. was born in Wrangell on May 16. Charlie Binkley tragically passed away five years later at the age of 45 due to pneumonia.
Jim Binkley was eager to follow in his father's footsteps and went north immediately after high school graduation, to crew a season with his father's old partner Sid Barrington in Wrangell. The next year he made his way to Fairbanks where he went to work as a deckhand aboard the Idler.
Binkley earned his first command, serving two years as master of an Army boat carrying freight on the Yukon. Japan had attacked U.S. bases in the Aleutian Chain, so the military wanted to open more supply routes into Alaska and the Yukon.
Binkley returned to the University of Alaska, where he met and fell in love with Mary Hall, a student from Oregon. The couple was married in Portland the same year.
Jim and Mary purchased the Godspeed, a 50-foot gasoline-powered missionary boat with a capacity of 25 passengers and began a river cruise business.
This was the last year of touring for the Godspeed, as Jim Binkley and Bill English built the first Discovery sternwheeler capable of carrying 49 passengers.
At this time, Jim and Mary had four children, Charles Madison "Skip" Binkley III, James "Jim" Binkley Jr., John Emerson (Johne) Binkley, and Marilee Ann.
Binkley rebuilt the sternwheel freight boat Yutana into a second cruise boat with the help of Iver Johnson and his stepfather Vince James. It became the 335-passenger Discovery II.
As tourism in Alaska continued to expand, the family decided to commission the 260-ton, 156-foot sternwheeler Discovery III.
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