Eagle

About Eagle

The Athabascans established the original settlement, today called Eagle Village, long before Francois Mercier arrived in the early 1880s and built a trading post in the area. A permanent community of miners took up residence in 1898. A year later, the U.S. Army decided to move in and build a fort as part of its effort to maintain law and order in the Alaska Interior, which was developing rapidly due to the numerous gold rushes in the area. Judge James Wickersham established a federal court at Eagle in 1900, and the next year President Theodore Roosevelt issued a charter that made Eagle the first incorporated city of Interior Alaska. Eagle reached its peak at the turn of the 20th century, when it boasted a population of more than 1,500 residents, some of whom went so far as to call their town the ”Paris of the North.”

Historically an important riverboat landing, Eagle is still a popular jumping-off point for Yukon River travelers. Summer float trips from Eagle downriver through the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve to Circle are a popular activity. It can take anywhere from 5 to 10 days to cover the 154 river miles between Eagle and Circle. Many float the river from Dawson City, Yukon, which is about 100 miles upriver and across the Canadian border from Eagle. After several days on the river, Eagle is a welcome stop! The Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve Visitor Center in Eagle is the best place for information on float trips in the 3,906-square-mile preserve.