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Fort Yukon
Fort Yukon is located at the confluence of
the Yukon River and the Porcupine River, about 145 air miles northeast
of Fairbanks. It lies at approximately 66° 34' N Latitude, 145° 16' W
Longitude (Sec. 18, T020N, R012E, Fairbanks Meridian). The community is
located in the Fairbanks Recording District. The area encompasses 7 sq.
miles of land and 0 sq. miles of water.
 Fort
Yukon was founded in 1847 by Alexander Murray as a Canadian outpost in
Russian Territory. It became an important trade center for the Gwich'in
Indians, who inhabited the vast lowlands of the Yukon Flats and River
valleys. The Hudson Bay Company, a British trading company, operated at
Fort Yukon from 1846 until 1869. In 1862, a mission school was
established. In 1867, Alaska was purchased by the U.S., and two years
later it was determined that Fort Yukon was on American soil. Moses
Mercier, a trader with the Alaska Commercial Company, took over
operation of the Fort Yukon Trading Post. A post office was established
in 1898. The fur trade of the 1800s, the whaling boom on the Arctic
coast (1889-1904), and the Klondike gold rush spurred economic activity
and provided some economic opportunities for the Natives. However, major
epidemics of introduced diseases struck the Fort Yukon population from
the 1860s until the 1920s. In 1949, a flood damaged or destroyed many
homes in Fort Yukon. During the 1950s, a White Alice radar site and an
Air Force station were established. Fort Yukon incorporated as a city in
1959.
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