Carmacks, Yukon
Encyclopedia
History
The community consists of the Village of Carmacks and the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation and was named after George Washington CarmackGeorge Carmack
George Washington Carmack was a Contra Costa County, California-born prospector in the Yukon. He was originally credited with the discovery of gold that set off the Klondike Gold Rush on August 16, 1896...
, who found coal near Tantalus Butte (locally called Coal Mine Hill) in 1893. Carmack built a trading post and traded with locals near the present site of Carmacks and also started a coal mine on the south bank of the Yukon River. Carmack soon discovered gold in the Dawson region with Skookum Jim and Tagish Charlie a few years later, starting the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
. Carmacks became incorporated as a village on November 1, 1984.
Recreation
The Carmacks Recreation Centre is at the east end of River Drive between the nursing station and visitor centre, and is a community focal point for youth. There is a youth drop in daily with a computer access, video games, table games and other activities, often funded by Yukon grant programs. The gymnasium is host to adult floor hockey and other sports.Sports
Every February, Carmacks hosts a checkpoint for the long-distance Yukon QuestYukon Quest
The Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race, or simply Yukon Quest, is a sled dog race run every February between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon...
sled dog race.
Demographics
Carmacks is the only community in the Yukon which has the status of designated placeDesignated place
A designated place or DPL is a type of community or populated area identified by Statistics Canada for statistical purposes. DPLs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages.DPLs are communities that lack...
in Canadian censuses.