Fort Yukon (1)

 (1847-1869) - A Hudson's Bay Company Fort and trading post established in 1847 at the present day town of Fort Yukon, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. Claimed by the Americans in 1869 and thereafter operated by Parrot and Company and successors.

History of Fort Yukon
A fur trading post and fort established by Alexander Hunter Murray of the Hudson's Bay Company, on 25 Jun 1847.

The post had three large log buildings for the traders surrounded by a 100' square stockade. Each corner of the stockade had a fortified blockhouse.

The post was actually built in Russian territory but the area is so remote that the Russians did not discover that until after they had sold Alaska to the United States in 1867. In the summer of 1869, U.S. Army Captain Charles W. Raymond arrived on the "Yukon", the first steamboat to travel up the Yukon River. Raymond surveyed the site and determined that it was actually on American soil. On 9 Aug 1869 Captain Raymond raised the American flag over the post, claimed it for the U.S. and gave notice to the HBC to vacate the post. Because it was late in the season, the HBC remained at the post until the next spring but no fur trading was permitted.

The fort was dual occupied for the winter of 1869-1870 by the HBC and Parrot and Company, the American company who would take over the post. Captain Raymond had also claimed the buildings on the post so the Americans had a ready made trading post. In November 1869 the HBC sent five men to construct the first Rampart House, just over the border, as a replacement. The HBC relocated the post in the spring of 1870.

Current Status
Unknown.

See Also:
 * Lapierre House
 * Rampart House
 * Hudson's Bay Company
 * Hudson's Bay Company Forts

Sources:
 * , page 30.
 * , page 21-22.
 * , page 181.
 * HBC Archives - Fort Yukon, post B.240, records (1847-1870)

Links:
 * North American Forts - Fort Yukon
 * Alaska Web - Fort Yukon
 * Wikipedia - Fort Yukon, Alaska
 * Alaska History Course - 1869-1896 Stars And Stripes Up The River