Abandoned Towns

Living community · Southeast Fairbanks, Alaska

Eagle

A Yukon River supply town of the Klondike years at the end of the Taylor Highway, six miles from the Canadian border, with an Army fort and a federal courthouse from its days as the hub of interior Alaska.

64°47′15″N 141°12′05″W
Living community

Eagle is a small living city of 83 people (2020 census), not a ghost town. It has been incorporated since 1901, has a K–12 school, and keeps its gold-rush buildings as the Eagle Historic District, a National Historic Landmark.

The label

Why Eagle is called a ghost town

Eagle is in a long-running ghost town directory, which calls it a semi-ghost. The label has a real basis. More than 1,700 people crowded into Eagle in 1898, and by 1910 fewer than 200 were left. The Army left Fort Egbert in 1911, and Asahel Curtis photographed abandoned log cabins in town in 1914. The town's old buildings, more than 100 by Wikipedia's count, outnumber its people: the 2020 census found 136 housing units, two thirds of them vacant. Eagle is not on Wikipedia's list of ghost towns in Alaska.

History

Eagle then

The Eagle area was home to the Hän people long before traders came. A log trading post called Belle Isle went up around 1874, and in the late 1890s Eagle became a supply town for miners on the upper Yukon, swelled by the Klondike rush across the border. It was named for the eagles nesting on Eagle Bluff above town. In 1899 the Army began Fort Egbert, and in 1901 Eagle became the first incorporated city in interior Alaska. A telegraph line to Valdez was finished in 1903, and in 1905 Roald Amundsen came to Eagle and telegraphed the news of the Northwest Passage to the world.

The boom moved on to Nome and Fairbanks. Judge James Wickersham moved his court to Fairbanks, and by 1910 Eagle had fewer than 200 people. The fort was largely abandoned in 1911; a Signal Corps station stayed until 1925. John McPhee's 1977 book Coming into the Country made the town known far beyond Alaska. In May 2009 ice jams on the Yukon flooded the riverfront, and nearby Eagle Village, east of town, was destroyed.

c. 1874. The Belle Isle trading post is built.

1898. More than 1,700 people in the Klondike rush.

1899. The Army begins Fort Egbert.

1901. Eagle incorporates, the first city in interior Alaska.

1905. Roald Amundsen telegraphs news of the Northwest Passage from Eagle.

1910. Fewer than 200 people.

1911. The Army leaves Fort Egbert; a Signal Corps station stays until 1925.

1970. The Eagle Historic District is listed on the National Register (October 27).

1978. The district becomes a National Historic Landmark (June 2).

2009. Yukon River ice jams flood Eagle and Eagle Village in May.

2020. Census: 83 people, 45 households.

Today

What is there now

Eagle City Hall, a log building, in a National Park Service photo of the historic district
Eagle City Hall, a log building, in a National Park Service photo of the historic district · Photo: National Park Service, Alaska Region, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Eagle is a living city. The 2020 census counted 83 people in 45 households, with a median age of 59, and the Eagle School, a K–12 campus of the Alaska Gateway School District, serves its children. The Bureau of Land Management owns five restored Fort Egbert buildings, among them the 1899 quartermaster storehouse and the mule barn, and cares for them with the Eagle Historical Society and Museums and the City of Eagle. The BLM's page, read October 29, 2026, says visitors can explore on their own or join the society's walking tour, about two to three hours from the Courthouse at 9 a.m. daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day (907-547-2325); call to confirm. The BLM's 18-site Eagle Campground is a short walk away. The National Park Service, in a page updated March 20, 2024, notes that many historic homes are privately owned. Look at those from the street.

Historic maps

Eagle on USGS maps, 1899–1956

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the map point. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Eagle, 1899
Fortymile sheet, 1899, 1:250,000 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

Eagle is at the north end of the Taylor Highway (AK 5) on the south bank of the Yukon River. The highway is open only about half the year. From Tok the route follows the Alaska Highway east and the Taylor Highway north; from Fairbanks it takes the Richardson and Alaska highways first.

USGS topographic map of eastern interior Alaska from Tok north along the Taylor Highway to Eagle on the Yukon River, with routes drawn on it

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL). Times assume dry roads.

From Tok170.2 miabout 9 h 04 min
  1. From East Slana Avenue in Tok, turn left onto the Alaska Highway (AK 2) and follow it east.12.3 mi
  2. Turn left onto the Taylor Highway (AK 5) and follow it north to Eagle.157.2 mi
  3. Turn right onto Amundsen Street (AK 5) into town.0.5 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and visiting notes

  • The Taylor Highway is open only about half the year.
  • Homes in Eagle are private property; Fort Egbert and the BLM campground are public.

Photos

Eagle in photos

Questions

Common questions

Is Eagle, Alaska a ghost town?

No. It is an incorporated city of 83 people (2020 census) with a K–12 school. Its population has been small since about 1910, after the gold rush moved on.

What is there to see in Eagle?

The Eagle Historic District: the federal courthouse, Fort Egbert's five restored buildings and other gold-rush buildings. The Eagle Historical Society and Museums leads a walking tour in summer.

Can you drive to Eagle?

Yes, on the Taylor Highway, which leaves the Alaska Highway east of Tok, but only in the months it is open, about half the year.

Nearby

Ghost towns and sites near Eagle

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Alaska index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. Wikipedia, "Eagle, Alaska", read October 29, 2026: the Hän, the Belle Isle post, 1,700 in 1898, the 1901 incorporation and the name, the telegraph and Amundsen, Wickersham's court, fewer than 200 by 1910, McPhee, the 2020 census (83 people, 45 households, 136 housing units, 66.9% vacant), the Eagle School, the district's 100-plus buildings and its 1970 and 1978 listings, the coordinates.
  2. ghosttowns.com, "Eagle", read October 29, 2026: the ghost town listing as a semi-ghost, the Taylor Highway open about half the year.
  3. Wikipedia, "List of ghost towns in Alaska", read October 29, 2026: Eagle not listed.
  4. Bureau of Land Management, "Fort Egbert", read October 29, 2026: the 1899 start, the Army's departure and the Signal Corps to 1925, the five restored buildings and their care, the walking tour and its season and phone, the 18-site campground.
  5. National Park Service, "Eagle Historic District National Historic Landmark", updated March 20, 2024: the June 2, 1978 designation, the BLM and historical society, privately owned historic homes.
  6. Wikipedia, "Eagle Village, Alaska", read October 29, 2026: the village destroyed by ice-jam flooding in spring 2009.
  7. Wikimedia Commons: Asahel Curtis's 1914 photographs "Fort Egbert and the town of Eagle", "Abandoned log cabins at Eagle" and the wireless station crew (University of Washington collection); the NPS photo of the May 6, 2009 flood.
  8. Historic maps: USGS Fortymile 1:250,000 (1899) and Eagle D-1 1:63,360 (1956).
  9. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026.

Photo and map credits

  • Eagle and the Yukon River from above, about 1899, photographed by Arthur Clarence Pillsbury: Arthur Clarence Pillsbury, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • Fort Egbert and the town below the bluffs, 1914, by Asahel Curtis: Asahel Curtis, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • Abandoned log cabins at Eagle, 1914, by Asahel Curtis: Asahel Curtis, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • The crew at the wireless telegraph station, 1914, by Asahel Curtis: Asahel Curtis, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • Ben Downing landing scows at Eagle, October 24, 1903: Unknown, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • The former federal courthouse, August 1984: Jet Lowe, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • The town sign: incorporated Feb. 9, 1901, population 180 plus, January 2010: James Brooks from Juneau, Alaska, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
  • River ice piled among houses in the flood of May 6, 2009: U.S. National Park Service, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • Eagle City Hall, a log building in the historic district: National Park Service, Alaska Region, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  • The Eagle Power Company and North Country Telephone Co. building, with a red phone booth, January 2010: James Brooks, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
  • A truck delivering supplies in Eagle, May 23, 2009: FairbanksMike, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
  • Area base map, topo and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
  • Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Fortymile 1899, 1:250,000; Eagle D-1 1956, 1:63,360.