In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, nearly 900,000 French-Canadians left Quebec for New England, attracted by job opportunities in the area’s plentiful factories and textile mills. Many settled in Salem’s Point Neighborhood, which was home to the Naumkeag Steam Cotton Company’s Pequot Mills. Soon French-Canadian and Franco-Americans comprised 20% of the city’s population, Salem’s largest immigrant population and a significant percentage compared to other Little Canadas throughout the state. Like many immigrant groups, French-Canadians created a tight-knit community with their own churches, schools, shops, newspapers, and social clubs.
The Canadian Klondike Club was founded in 1897 by French-Canadian immigrants, Camille Chouinard and Cleophase Barbin. The group met at the barber shop of Odilon Pelletier on Palmer Street. Only married men were permitted as members and the club incorporated as a nonprofit in 1909. As the group grew, it began meeting at 64 Lafayette Street, before moving to their final home at 96 Lafayette Street around 1926. The building had originally been built for Zina Goodell, who operated a 24-hour automobile repair shop there. The garage was heavily damaged during The Great Salem Fire of 1914, but Goodell quickly rebuilt. A few years later, he moved his business to a larger location next door, where he could also house his machine shop and hardware store. The old garage building then housed the National Bowling Alley on the first floor and the Klondike Club moved into the National Hall upstairs.
Here, the Klondike Club held regular hours and offered hall rentals for weddings and functions, while businesses rotated on the first floor. After 50 years, the bowling alley closed. Furniture stores and billiard lounges took turns filling the space. The Naumkeag Steam Cotton Co. closed the Pequot Mills in the 1950s and the French community began to disperse throughout the city. In 1981, the Klondike Club closed their hall, and the building was sold. The first floor space has been home to a series of restaurants since 2002, but the hall above had largely been neglected. The Canadian Klondike Club officially dissolved their organization in 2012.
In 2017, the North Shore Community Development Coalition was awarded a Preservation Award for their renovation of the former Klondike Club space. Historic Salem, Inc. wrote: “[They] have transformed the historic Klondike Club into a modern, vibrant office space. When walking into the office, one is reminded of the historic charm of the social club with exposed brick, and restored tin ceilings, hardwood floors, mirrors from the dance hall, and wood details. Now the second floor walls house a modern office layout, conference rooms, and a kitchen. [They] have transitioned a forgotten cultural icon into a colorful and lively celebration of the immigrant experience.”
View our newly digitized 1946 booklet about the Klondike Club:
Welcome Home Banquet and Reception to Canadian Klondike Club Veterans of World War Two
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