Fort Reliance is an abandoned trading post and military fort in the Yukon Territory of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is located on the east bank of the Yukon River

Yukon River

The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...

, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) downstream of the town of Dawson City. The fort was established in 1874 by François Mercer, Jack McQuesten

Jack McQuesten

Leroy Napoleon "Jack" McQuesten was a pioneer in Alaska and Yukon as an explorer, trader, and prospector and became known as the "Father of the Yukon." Other nicknames included "Yukon Jack," "Captain Jack," "Golden Rule McQuesten," and "Father of Alaska." He was born in Litchfield, New Hampshire...

, and Frank Bonfield for the Alaska Commercial Company

Alaska Commercial Company

The Alaska Commercial Company is a company that operated retail stores in Alaska during the early period of Alaska's ownership by the United States. From 1901 to 1992, it was known as the Northern Commercial Company . In 1992, it resumed business as the Alaska Commercial Company under the...

 to serve as a trading post for the Han Indians

Han (North American people)

The Han are a Northern Athabascan people who speak the Hän language. Only a handful of fluent speakers remain. Their traditional land centered around a heavily forested area around the Yukon River straddling what is now the Alaska-Yukon Territory border...

, who lived in the area and had a village at the site of the fort.

Trading at Fort Reliance continued uninterrupted until 1877. During this time, the post became a major landmark for traders. The Fortymile River

Fortymile River

The Fortymile River is a river in Alaska and the Yukon. Prior to the Klondike Gold Rush, there was considerable mining activity along this tributary of the Yukon River. In the 1970s, there was an asbestos mine at Clinton Creek in the Yukon. When gold was discovered on the Fortymille River in 1886,...

, Sixtymile River, and Seventymile River were named for their distance from the fort. In 1877, traders abandoned the fort after natives sole their goods. Traders returned in 1879 and operated the fort until 1886, when it was abandoned due to a gold strike on the Stewart River

Stewart River

The Stewart River is a long river in the Yukon Territory of Canada. It originates in the Selwyn Mountains, which stand on the border between the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory. From there, the Stewart flows west, past the village of Mayo...

. The gold strike diverted traders' attention from fur trapping, and thus the fort assumed less importance. After it was abandoned, many of its buildings were used as fuel by the steamboats that sailed the Yukon River. Today, a few isolated buildings and artifacts remain.