Forty Mile, Yukon facts for kids
Forty Mile (in the Hän language: Ch’ëdähdëk) is famous for being the oldest town in Canada’s Yukon. It was started in 1886 where the Yukon and Fortymile rivers meet. Gold seekers and adventurers built the town after finding gold. Many people left Forty Mile when the bigger Klondike Gold Rush started nearby. But the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in people continued to use the area. Today, Forty Mile is a historic site. It is owned and managed together by the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and the Government of Yukon. In 2023, Ch’ëdähdëk (Forty Mile) became part of the Tr’ondëk-Klondike UNESCO World Heritage Site. This site shows how the land changed and how Indigenous people adapted to European settlers.
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Forty Mile: Yukon's Oldest Town
A Place of Ancient History
This area has a much longer history than just the town. First Nations people used it for hunting and gathering for over 2000 years. It was a main spot where the Fortymile caribou herd crossed the Yukon River in the fall. Hunters would wait here for the caribou. In spring and summer, it was an important place to fish for Arctic grayling and salmon. While this wasn't the very first meeting spot, it was where Hän-speaking people first spent a lot of time with European culture.
The Gold Rush Begins Here
In 1886, Jack McQuesten, Alfred Mayo, and Arthur Harper from the Alaska Commercial Company (ACCo) set up a trading post. They did this after gold was found on the Fortymile River. Most of the miners who first found gold in the Klondike came from this area. Yukon's first mission school was built here in 1887 by the Anglican Church. That same year, police Inspector Charles Constantine started the territory's first police station. It's also likely that the Forty Mile farm was the first place to grow crops in Yukon. The Discovery Claim, which started the Klondike Gold Rush, was registered in Forty Mile.
By 1894, Forty Mile was a busy town. It had two big stores (ACCo and the North American Transportation and Trading Company). There was also a library, a billiard room, 10 saloons, two restaurants, a theatre, and an opera house. You could also find a watchmaker and many places that made alcohol. At its busiest, about 600 people lived in the town. However, after the Klondike Gold Rush ended, the town became much smaller. Today, only a few buildings are left.
Protecting Forty Mile's Past
The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Final Agreement was approved by the First Nation in 1998. This agreement said that the Forty Mile, Fort Constantine, and Fort Cudahy Historic Site would be co-owned and co-managed. This means the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and Yukon governments would share ownership and management. Since 1998, a lot of work has been done at the site. This includes looking for old artifacts, researching old records and stories, and fixing and saving buildings. On June 11, 2006, both governments signed a plan to manage the site. This happened at a special event hosted by the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and Yukon Historic Sites Unit.
Future plans for Forty Mile include making better places for visitors. They also plan to offer more programs that explain the history of the site. Work will continue to preserve the old buildings.
How to Visit Forty Mile
The closest community to Forty Mile is Dawson City. It is about 77 km (48 mi) upriver from the historic site. In the late 1960s, a road was built to Clinton Creek from the Top of the World Highway. This made the site reachable by road. It is about 97 km (60 mi) from Dawson by road. Even today, most visitors to Forty Mile arrive by water. They either travel down the Yukon River from Dawson City or motor up the Yukon River from Alaska.
