Chicken, Alaska
Chicken, located on the Taylor Highway between Tok and the Alaska-Yukon border west of Dawson City, is a colorful village which has a year-round population of only about a dozen. Gold mining has been carried on in the area since 1886; and the post office, established in 1903, is one of the oldest in interior Alaska.
There are four distinctive sections of Chicken now, all quite widely spaced. Coming in from the East, there's "New Chicken" (where The Goldpanner is), then the original townsite (to the North of, and not visible from, the highway). If you turn South off the highway on Airport Road you come to the "Chicken Mall" and The Original Chicken Gold Camp, and finally there's the post office area at the West edge of town.
In the late 1800's, early miners traveled far in search of gold. Food was sometimes scarce, but a particular area near the South Fork of the 40-Mile River was abundant in Ptarmigan, now the state bird which bears a resemblance to a chicken. In 1902, Chicken was to become incorporated, the second town in Alaska to do so. The name "Ptarmigan" was suggested. The only problem was that nobody could agree on the correct spelling. They didn't want their town name to be the source of ridicule and laughter, so they decided on Chicken.
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Top of the World Highway To Alaskans it is the Taylor Highway, but to everyone who has driven this beautiful road, it is known as the "Top of the World Highway." Allow plenty of time for travel as the road is gravel and is winding and narrow in many places. The road is maintained only during late spring to early fall corresponding to operation of the "Yukon Queen" ferry service to Dawson City. |
Eagle, Alaska
Eagle, Alaska is located on the Yukon River four air miles from the Canadian Border. Nestled in the river valley with a close view of the Ogilvie mountains, it is often called the 'Jewel on the Yukon. It can be reached by road, air, and water.
Eagle City (founded in 1897) is a living museum and many of the residents are historians of one kind or another. Thanks to the Eagle Historical Society buildings, like the old church, City Hall and Waterfront Customs House have been restored and preserved with care. The photogenic town of 140 breathes authenticity and seems relatively untouched. Visitors come in on the Top of the World Highway or by Yukon Queen ferry service from Dawson.
A few gold miners still make a living on their claims around Eagle. In the gold rush days, the town was a supply center for miners and stampeders, until they moved on to Fairbanks or Nome.