Forty Mile (

Hän The Hän, Han or Hwëch'in / Han Hwech’in (meaning "People of the River, i.e. Yukon River", in English also Hankutchin) are a First Nations people of Canada and an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the United States; they are part of the At ...

: ''Ch’ëdähdëk'') is best known as the oldest town in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

’s

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

. It was established in 1886 at the confluence of the

and Fortymile rivers by prospectors and fortune hunters in search of gold. Largely abandoned during the nearby Klondike Gold Rush, the town site continued to be used by Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in. It is currently a historic site that is co-owned and co-managed by Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and the

Government of Yukon The Government of Yukon () is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian territory of Yukon. In modern Canadian use, the term ''Government of Yukon'' refers specifically to the Cabinet or Executive Council) who are appointed by th ...

. Ch’ëdähdëk (Forty Mile) became part of the Tr’ondëk-Klondike UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023, recording of the transformation of the landscape and the Indigenous adaptation to European colonization. The site has a much longer history, however, as a harvest area used by

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

for more than 2000 years. This location was one of the major fall river-crossing points of the Fortymile caribou herd. Hunters would intercept the herd here as it crossed the Yukon River. In spring and summer, it was the site of an important

Arctic grayling The Arctic grayling (''Thymallus arcticus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family Salmonidae. ''T. arcticus'' is widespread throughout the Arctic and Pacific drainages in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, as well as the upper Missou ...

and

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

fishery. Although this was not the location of the first encounter between local First Nations people and non-natives, it is the place where

-speaking people had their first extended interactions with European culture. In 1886

Jack McQuesten Leroy Napoleon "Jack" McQuesten (1836–1909) was an American pioneer explorer, trader, and prospector in Alaska and Yukon; he became known as the "Father of the Yukon." Other nicknames included "Yukon Jack," "Captain Jack," "Golden Rule McQueste ...

Alfred Mayo Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

and Arthur Harper of the Alaska Commercial Company (ACCo) established a post here, after gold was discovered on the Fortymile River. Most of the miners who staked the original claims in the Klondike came from this area. Yukon's first mission school was established here in 1887 by the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Church. That same year, North-West Mounted Police Inspector Charles Constantine established the territory's first police detachment. It is also likely that the Forty Mile farm was the site of the first agriculture in Yukon. Forty Mile was the place where the

Discovery Claim Discovery Claim is a mining claim at Bonanza Creek, a watercourse in the Yukon, Canada. It is the site where, in the afternoon of August 16, 1896, the first piece of gold was found in the Yukon by prospectors. The site is considered to be the ...

was registered, beginning the Klondike Gold Rush. By 1894, Forty Mile boasted two well-equipped stores (ACCo and the North American Transportation and Trading Company), a lending library, billiard room, 10 saloons, two restaurants, a theatre, an opera house, a watchmaker, and numerous distilleries. At its peak the town site's population was about 600. However, after the Klondike Gold Rush ended, the city declined, and today only a handful of buildings remain. The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Final Agreement, ratified by the First Nation's membership in 1998, specified that the Forty Mile, Fort Constantine and Fort Cudahy Historic Site was to be co-owned and co-managed by the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and Yukon governments. Since 1998, archaeological investigations, archival and oral history research, and building stabilization and preservation have been carried out at the site. On June 11, 2006, the two governments signed a management plan at a ceremony and celebration hosted at Forty Mile by Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and Yukon Historic Sites Unit. Future plans for Forty Mile include improved visitor facilities, a major expansion of interpretive programming, and continued preservation work. The nearest community is

Dawson City Dawson City is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest municipality in Yukon. History Prior t ...

, approximately upriver from the town site. Since the construction of a road to Clinton Creek from the

Top of the World Highway The Top of the World Highway is a highway, beginning at a junction with the Taylor Highway near the unincorporated community of Jack Wade, Alaska travelling east to its terminus at the ferry terminal in West Dawson, Yukon, on the western banks ...

in the late 1960s, the site has been accessible by road, and is about from Dawson. To this day most visitors to Forty Mile arrive by water, either traveling downriver from Dawson City or motoring up the Yukon River from

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

References

External links

Government of Yukon Historic Sites Page
{{Coord, 64, 27, N, 140, 33, W, display=title, region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki History of Yukon Klondike Gold Rush Populated places established in 1886 Ghost towns in Yukon Hän 1886 establishments in the Northwest Territories

See also

References

External links