Fort Reliance | |
|---|---|
 Illustration of Fort Reliance 1884 by Willis Everette | |
  Fort Reliance Fort Reliance in Yukon | |
| Coordinates: 64°08′28″N 139°29′06″W / 64.14111°N 139.48500°W[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Territory | Yukon |
| Built | 1874, reopened 1879 |
| Closed | 1877 (first time), around 1869 |
| Founded by | Alaska Commercial Company |
Fort Reliance is an abandoned trading post in the territory of Yukon, Canada.[1] It stands on the east bank of the Yukon River, 13 km (8.1 mi) downstream of the town of Dawson City. The fort was established in 1874 by François Mercier, Jack McQuesten, and Francis Barnfield for the Alaska Commercial Company to serve as a trading post.
Trading at Fort Reliance continued uninterrupted until 1877. During this time, the post became a major landmark for traders. The Fortymile River, Sixtymile River, and Seventymile River were named for their distance from the fort. In 1877, traders abandoned the fort after natives stole their goods.[2] Traders returned in 1879 and operated the fort until 1886, when it was abandoned due to a gold strike on the Stewart River. The gold strike diverted traders' attention from fur trapping, and thus the fort assumed less importance.[3]
The site of Fort Reliance is one of eight locations which comprise Tr’ondëk-Klondike World Heritage Site, inscribed by UNESCO on September 17, 2023. These locations show the transformation of the landscape from Indigenous to colonial use and the adaptations of the Indigenous peoples to the European settlers.[4]
- ^ a b "Fort Reliance". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada. July 28, 2024.
- ^ Webb, Melody. Yukon: The Last Frontier UBC Press, 1993. p. 65.
- ^ Webb, Melody. Yukon: The Last Frontier UBC Press, 1993. p. 67.
- ^ UNESCO World Heritage Centre. "Tr'ondëk-Klondike". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved September 20, 2023.