The first inhabitants of the area around Eagle were the Han. In the late 800s, the small town of Eagle became an important supply and trading center for miners working the upper Yukon River area. Eagle’s population peaked in 1898 to 1,700 when many newcomers journeyed to the area with the Klondike Gold Rush.
Most of the population left with the discovery of gold in Nome and Fairbanks and by 1910, Eagle’s population had declined to its present-day level, below 200 people.
A United States Army camp, Fort Egbert, was built at Eagle in 1900. A telegraph line between Eagle and Valdez was completed in 1903. The fort was short lived being abandoned in 1911 after the population decline.
The rain had stopped and we parked next to the Fort restored buildings. Soon after a small group of visitors led by a local guide arrived. We asked to join the tour so we could visit the buildings and learn more about the for. And if you ever wondered, horses and mules have snow shoes.
The tour continued back to the town where many of the late 1800s and early 1900s buildings still stand.
While walking in town we came upon a small park dedicated to Roald Amundsen. Back at the courthouse we found a display of Roald Amundsen stop at Eagle. Roald Amundsen was a Norwegian polar explorer who was the first person to successfully navigate the Northwest Passage (1903–05), the first to reach the South Pole (1911), and the first to fly over the North Pole in an airship (1926).
After successfully completing the Northwest passage, Amundsen and his crew were blocked again by sea ice near Herschel Island off the north coast of Canada’s Yukon territory. To notify newspapers of his historic feat, Amundsen formed an alliance with Captain William Mogg, whose ship had been crushed by the ice. The captain needed to return to San Francisco for a new ship, and the two men hired an Eskimo couple, Jimmy and Kappa, as guides to take them south. With two dog sleds the group set off for the Yukon River 300 miles away. After a month they arrived at Fort Yukon, a village at the northernmost bend in the river and started travelling out again for the town of Eagle another 200 miles upriver near the U.S.-Canada border. He was finally able to send his telegram.
The Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve Visitor Center and Headquarters is located at the margin of the Yukon River. It was closed for the season but we could stroll around and enjoy the nice view while having lunch.
Discover more from Overlanding travel log
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.