Stewart was instrumental in helping Campbell build and supply Fort Selkirk at the junction of the Pelly and Yukon rivers.

Individual miners and smaller companies explored gold prospects along the river, and in 1914, a large silver lode was found on a tributary of the Stewart.

This spurred mining, and in 1918, an even bigger silver source was found at the present-day site of Keno City.

Special models had to be built, and these operated on the Stewart River until they were replaced by a road network after World War II.

The S.S. Keno, a Stewart River steamer, has been preserved as a Canadian historic monument in Dawson City.