Pelly Crossing
When Robert Campbell built Fort Selkirk, the site was already a meeting place for trading with the coastal Tlingit. The Huchá Hudän, “people of the flat country,” started to settle there on a seasonal basis after Arthur Harper set up a trading post in 1892. The First Nations were drawn by the facilities and jobs at nearby wood camps and on the paddlewheelers. A solitary post grew to a thriving community.
The original homestead at Pelly Crossing was Ira and Eliza Van Bibber’s family homestead. The Klondike Highway was constructed north from Whitehorse in the early 1950s and Pelly Crossing was established as a ferry crossing and highway construction camp. With the completion of the road, Fort Selkirk was virtually abandoned and the Selkirk First Nation re-settled first at Minto and then at Pelly Crossing.
The Selkirk First Nation Council administers Pelly Crossing. Their Final Land Claim and Self-Government agreements were signed at Minto in 1997.
[see photo for a map, and photo captions and credits]
Erected by Yukon Government.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Native Americans
this page online
Location. 62° 49.622′ N, 136° 34.794′ W. Marker is in Pelly Crossing, Yukon. Marker is on Klondike Highway (Provincial Highway 2), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Pelly Crossing YT Y0B 1P0, Canada. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 30, 2017. It was originally submitted on September 29, 2017, by Christopher Earle of Olympia, Washington. This page has been viewed 295 times since then and 11 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on September 29, 2017, by Christopher Earle of Olympia, Washington. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
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