Father William H. Judge, S.J., was a Jesuit missionary who worked the Rocky Mountain missions beginning in the 1880's and then went to Alaska for about six years before arriving in Dawson City, in the Yukon Territory, in the spring of 1887 at the beginning of the Gold Rush. He built a log church with the help of friends and it burned {May, 1898}and a new church was finished by the summer of 1898 (see photo). A rectory and nuns quarters were completed. He also built St. Mary's Hospital and now was able to minister to the spiritual and physical needs of the miners and others who had come to gain the riches of gold. While there he became acquainted with the fledgling writer Jack London, who mentions Fr. Judge in his writings. Jack London made Fr. Judge the subject of his most well known short story "To Build a Fire." His fragile body finally succumbed to the harsh conditions and his own tireless efforts on behalf of everyone who sought his aid. It is said that the town of Dawson shut down on the day of his funeral and he was buried in the church on the left gospel side of the altar. A few years later, 1904, the pictured marble stone was added. The church was deconstructed in about 1923 to make way for a newer church in a different location in downtown Dawson, but the gravestone was left in place. It stands alone at the end of Front Street near its intersection with Judge Street and across from Whitehouse Cabins. He was known fondly as "THE SAINT OF DAWSON". Like his father, he was musically inclined and carried his flute with him and played it as a way to gain friendships with the Alaskan Indians. Fascinating biography written by his brother Father Charles Judge titled "An American Missionary" first published in 1904 and available digitized on the Net. He was a son by Henry Judge's second wife Ann McNulty. In 1987 the Canadian Government designated him as a "Person of National Historic Significance" and in 1991 an inscribed brass plaque (pictured) was placed in a large boulder at his gravesite in his honor.