Fort Selkirk, Yukon
Encyclopedia
Fort Selkirk is a former trading post
on the Yukon River
at the confluence of the Pelly River
in Canada
's Yukon
. For many years it was home to the Selkirk First Nation
(Northern Tutchone
).
Archaeological evidence shows that the site has been in use for at least 8,000 years. Robert Campbell
established a Hudson's Bay Company
trading post nearby in 1848. In early 1852 he moved the post to its current location. Resenting the interference of the Hudson's Bay Company with their traditional trade with interior Athabaskan First Nations
, Chilkat Tlingit warriors attacked and looted the post that summer. It was rebuilt about 40 years later and became an important supply point along the Yukon River. It was essentially abandoned by the mid 1950s after the Klondike Highway
bypassed it and Yukon River traffic died down.
Many of the buildings have been restored and the Fort Selkirk Historic Site is owned and managed jointly by the Selkirk First Nation and the Yukon Government's Department of Tourism and Culture. There is no road access. Most visitors get there by boat, though there is an airstrip, Fort Selkirk Aerodrome
, at the site.
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
on 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...
at the confluence of the Pelly River
Pelly River
The Pelly River is a river in Canada, and is a headstream of the Yukon River. The river originates west of the Mackenzie Mountains and flows 530 km long through the south central Yukon. The Pelly has two main tributaries, the Ross and Macmillan rivers.The river was named by Robert Campbell in...
in 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...
's Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
. For many years it was home to the Selkirk First Nation
Selkirk First Nation
The Selkirk First Nation is a First Nation in the central Yukon Territory in Canada. Its original population centre was the trading post of Selkirk, Yukon along the Yukon River, but most of its citizens now live in Pelly Crossing, Yukon where the Klondike Highway crosses the Pelly River. The...
(Northern Tutchone
Northern Tutchone
The Northern Tutchone are a First Nations people living mainly in the central Yukon in Canada. The Northern Tutchone language, originally spoken by the Northern Tutchone people, is a variety of the Tutchone language, part of the Athabaskan language family...
).
Archaeological evidence shows that the site has been in use for at least 8,000 years. Robert Campbell
Robert Campbell (fur trader)
Robert Campbell was a Hudson's Bay Company fur trader and explorer. He explored a large part of the southern Yukon and established Fort Frances, Yukon on Frances Lake in the Liard River basin and Fort Selkirk, Yukon at the juncture of the Yukon River and the Pelly River. He was for a time in...
established a Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
trading post nearby in 1848. In early 1852 he moved the post to its current location. Resenting the interference of the Hudson's Bay Company with their traditional trade with interior Athabaskan First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
, Chilkat Tlingit warriors attacked and looted the post that summer. It was rebuilt about 40 years later and became an important supply point along the Yukon River. It was essentially abandoned by the mid 1950s after the Klondike Highway
Klondike Highway
The Klondike Highway links the Alaskan coastal town of Skagway to Yukon's Dawson City and its route somewhat parallels that used by prospectors in the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush....
bypassed it and Yukon River traffic died down.
Many of the buildings have been restored and the Fort Selkirk Historic Site is owned and managed jointly by the Selkirk First Nation and the Yukon Government's Department of Tourism and Culture. There is no road access. Most visitors get there by boat, though there is an airstrip, Fort Selkirk Aerodrome
Fort Selkirk Aerodrome
Fort Selkirk Aerodrome is an aerodrome located Fort Selkirk, Yukon, Canada....
, at the site.
See also
- Volcano MountainVolcano MountainVolcano Mountain is an active cinder cone in central Yukon Territory, Canada, located a short distance north of Fort Selkirk, near the confluence of the Pelly and Yukon Rivers...
- Fort Selkirk Volcanic FieldFort Selkirk Volcanic FieldThe Fort Selkirk volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field in the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province, Yukon Territory, Canada. It is the northernmost Holocene age volcanic field in Canada, located close to the connection of the Yukon and Pelly rivers. The youngest eruptions within the...
- Ne Ch'e DdhawaNe Ch'e DdhawaNe Ch'e Ddhawa is a cinder cone, located 7 km upstream from Fort Selkirk in the Fort Selkirk Volcanic Field, Yukon, Canada. The volcano erupted subglacially during the late Pleistocene, erupting hyaloclastite tuffs, breccias, and pillow breccias.-See also:*Volcanism of Canada*List of Northern...
- Fort Yukon, AlaskaFort Yukon, AlaskaAs of the census of 2000, there were 595 people, 225 households, and 137 families residing in the city. The population density was 85.0 people per square mile . There were 317 housing units at an average density of 45.3 per square mile...