Fort Selkirk

During our recent fourteen day canoe trip on the Yukon River, from Whitehorse to Dawson City, Fort Selkirk was about the halfway point and a logical place to stop for a rest day.

It was a worthwhile stop as it took us almost half a day alone to explore the history of this ghost town. A Hudson Bay Trading Post was first established here in 1848. In 1852 it was looted and destroyed by the Tlingits and wasn't rebuilt until about forty years later. From then until the mid-1950's it was a thriving community. 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. It is in a stunning location, at the confluence of the Pelly and Yukon Rivers. A formidable basalt wall is across from the settlement, which sits high above the river.

Fort Selkirk was also important during the Gold Rush Years, primarily due to the creation of the Yukon Field Force which were in formation between 1898-1900. Canada was a young country at the time, only thirty-one years old in 1898. It was interesting to note that one quarter of the country's entire military, 203 men, was sent to Fort Selkirk in 1898 as the Yukon Field Force. There is a graveyard and memorial to them in the woods behind their parade ground.

There are a lot residential cabins, stores, two churches and other buildings that have been restored to varying levels, some with personal effects of past residents. All are open and most fascinating to tour through.

This building was the NWMP (police) post.

The general store, Taylor and Drury, with the Anglican Church in the background.

There were two churches in town, one Anglican, the other, Catholic. This is the Catholic one.

This building is a food cache which protected food supplies from animals and fire.

Fort Selkirk is also a traditional home for the Selkirk First Nation and they have a colourful, well-tended burial ground in the woods behind the Catholic Church.