Trading posts along the Yukon River: Noochuloghoyet Trading Post in historical context

Abstract

Between 1868 and 1900, American companies established a series of trading posts along a 32km stretch of the Yukon River immediately west of Noochuloghoyet Point, a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Yukon and Tanana rivers. This study makes use of written historical accounts, historical maps, and archaeological evidence to trace the founding and locational movements of these posts. Findings indicate that in the early interior of Alaska rivers were the major transportation routes, and the English and the Russians established trading posts at major river confluences, which became centers for trade. Later, the Americans pursued patterns inherited earlier from the English and the Russians. Political considerations provided the original reason for discovery and some constraints; nevertheless economic and environmental factors appear to have been the more important considerations in the exploration and development of the Yukon River Valley. Cultural considerations were only important in that they bracketed the manner in which the Euro-Americans operated. -Authors