Fort Selkirk
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Fort Selkirk is a former
trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
on the
Yukon River The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. From its source in British Columbia, it flows through Canada's territory of Yukon (itself named after the river). The lower half of the river continues westward through the U.S ...
at the confluence of the
Pelly River The Pelly River (Ts'ekínyäk Chú) is a river in Canada, and is a headstream of the Yukon River. The river originates west of the Mackenzie Mountains and flows through south-central Yukon. The Pelly has two main tributaries, the Ross and ...
in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
's
Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
. For many years it was home to the Selkirk First Nation (
Northern Tutchone The Northern Tutchone, or Dän k'í, is an Athabaskan-speaking First Nation who primarily lived in the central Yukon in Western Canada. Language The Northern Tutchone language, originally spoken by the Northern Tutchone people, is a variet ...
).


Climate

On February 3, 1947, a temperature of –65 °C (–85 °F) was recorded in Fort Selkirk, which would’ve been considered the coldest temperature in North America. However, the thermometer that was used was placed on the outside wall of a building instead of a standard instrument shelter, so the record was disqualified. The coldest official temperature recorded in Fort Selkirk was –60 °C (–76 °F) on February 3 and 4, 1968 at the Pelly Ranch Farm.


History

Archaeological evidence shows that the site has been in use for at least 8,000 years. Robert Campbell established a
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
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 Athabaskan ( ; also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large branch of the Na-Dene language family of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, ...
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
, Chilkat
Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...
First Nation warriors attacked and looted the post that summer on Saturday, August 21, 1852. The fort was rebuilt about 40 years later and became an important supply point along the Yukon River. Fort Selkirk was essentially abandoned by the mid-1950s after the
Klondike Highway The Klondike Highway is a highway that runs from the Alaska Panhandle through the province of British Columbia and the territory of Yukon in Canada, linking the coastal town of Skagway, Alaska, to Dawson City, Yukon. Its route somewhat ...
bypassed it and Yukon River traffic died down.


Restoration and historic status

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.


See also

* Volcano Mountain * Fort Selkirk Volcanic Field * Ne Ch'e Ddhawa *
Fort Yukon, Alaska Fort Yukon (''Gwichyaa Zheh'' in Gwich'in) is a city in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska, straddling the Arctic Circle. The population, predominantly Gwich'in Alaska Natives, was 428 at the 2020 census, down from 59 ...


References


External links


Virtual Museum CanadaYukon Heritage Resources Unit
Selkirk Klondike Gold Rush Hudson's Bay Company forts Ghost towns in Yukon Historic buildings and structures in Yukon {{Yukon-geo-stub