4 minute read
Chetwynd
Chetwynd was originally known as Little Prairie by the Indigenous people who travelled and lived in this area for hundreds of years. Fur traders came to Little Prairie as early as 1778 following the water routes and pack trails of the day. By 1919 a log cabin opened as a small trading post. This attracted others to build around it, and so the community of Little Prairie grew.
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The Pacific Eastern Railway arrived in 1958. The railway station was built in 1959 and the name Little Prairie was officially changed to Chetwynd in honor of the Hon. Ralph Chetwynd, past Minister of Railways and staunch supporter of development in the Peace Region. Chetwynd has a population of about 3000 with a trading area of 7000. Major industries include forestry, mining, natural gas, bio and wind energy, railway transport, tourism and agriculture.
Visitor info
The Chetwynd Visitor Centre is at 5400 North Access Road. It is on your left as you enter Chetwynd heading North. Open year round. 250-788-1943. 10 Alaska Highway Access
tHinGs to Do
There is plenty of sport fishing, hiking, skiing, biking and ATVing. Nestled in the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies, Powder King ski area offers the best of the great outdoors with an incredible annual snowfall of 41 feet. Powder King is located 110km south of Chetwynd.
The four seasons combined with forests, hills, mountains and lakes make Chetwynd a playground for any outdoor enthusiast. The Little Prairie Heritage Museum was originally a general store and post office in the downtown area. The museum grounds are open during the summer season. It provides a good sense of Chetwynd’s history and culture and is located just south of downtown at 5633 Westgate Road. Chainsaw Carving Tours Stop by the Chetwynd Visitor Centre and pick up a map for a self-guided tour of over 150 chainsaw carving sculptures around the town. Learn the history on this collection of interesting artwork and get a local perspective from the staff. The International Chainsaw Carving Championship takes place annually on the second weekend in June.
ALAsKA HiGHWAY
The Alaska Highway was the engineering marvel of World War II and was once described as the largest and most difficult construction project since the Panama Canal.
It began as a true wilderness trail with gravel roads, steep grades, muskeg and log bridges to navigate. The difficult and exhausting work inspired one poet to write, ‘The Alaska Highway, winding in and winding out, fills my mind with serious doubt, as to whether ‘the lout’ who built this route, was going to hell or coming out!’
The building of the highway took unprecedented cooperation between the Canadian and United States governments to make construction possible.
In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt lobbied Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King for a highway connecting Canada and Alaska. It could be used to shore up military defenses on the west coast in case of a Japanese attack. It wasn’t until the attack on Pearl Harbor that both nations agreed on the importance of such a road and quickly put the wheels in motion.
The United States Army approved a plan for the construction of the Alaska Highway on February 6, 1942 and received authorization from the U.S. Congress and President Roosevelt only five days later. Canada agreed to the construction if the United States would bear the full cost and that the road and all facilities in Canada were to be turned over to Canadian authority at the end of the war. Less than a month later, on March 8, 1942 construction began.
More than 11,000 soldiers and engineers, 16,000 civilians and 7000 pieces of equipment were called upon to build this 1500 mile road through the vast wilderness of northern Canada and Alaska.
Take a photo at the Mile 0 Post Hike at Muncho Lake
Soak in Liard Hotsprings Experience Teslin Tlingit Culture Explore Kluane National Park Fish in a Roadside Stream
Spot Wildlife on your Journey
Get your “completed the Alaska Highway” Certificate in Delta Jct.
In less than nine months these hardy men managed to connect Dawson Creek, BC and Delta Junction, AK. On November 20, 1942, the official ribbon cutting took place at “Soldiers Summit” at mile 1061.
The final tally for the Alaska Highway was approximately $140 million U.S. dollars, making it the most expensive construction project of World War II. 80 years later, the Alaska or Alcan Highway, as it became known, now bears little resemblance to the original trail, save for the same spectacular scenery. It is a good year-round highway that sees thousands of visitors drive its length safely and comfortably each year.
In 1947 the highway was marked with mileposts and many of the towns and lodges along the way became known by their milepost number. Even today, many lodges use Historical Mileposts (HM) to refer to their location on the highway.
The Canadian portion of The Alcan Highway is now marked with kilometer posts and due to highway reconstruction and re-routing over the years, the road is now 64 km (40 miles) shorter than the original Highway. Alaska, however, has not changed the original mileposts, so there is a mileage discrepancy of 40 miles when you cross the border.
Alaska Highway Maps
Dawson Creek to Mile 278 page 18 Mile 278 to Fort Nelson page 23 Fort Nelson to Watson Lake page 30 Watson Lake to Teslin page 41 Teslin to Haines Junction page 45 Haines Jct. to Alaska Border page 60 Alaska Border to Delta Jct. page 65
