Gold Rush Boomtown: Eagle City

Allan, Chris

Eagle City developed amidst the craze of the Klondike-Alaska Gold Rush. The city popped up during the winter of 1897-98 and was primarily founded by Yukon prospectors that did not want to pay Canadian taxes on their claims. An agent working in Dawson City quickly sold plots of land to draw people to the Eagle City area. Eagle City served as an industrial center for mercantile companies, a sawmill operator, mining activities, and as a steamboat stop along the Yukon River. Not long after, the U.S. Army established Fort Egbert near Eagle City and Mission Creek. The presence of Fort Egbert and Judge James Wickersham's selection of Eagle City for the headquarters of the Third Judicial District prevented the city from sliding into desolation and turning into a ghost town.