August 12, 2011 | Tips from Travellers >
Dawson Creek, Museums
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For anyone making a trip north along the Alaska Highway (Highway 97) to the Yukon or Alaska, must make the stop at the Mile ‘0’ Post in Dawson Creek! At this point it marks the beginning of the Alaska Highway heading north. The United States needed to find a way to get supplies up to Alaska, and since there was no road at that time to get them there, the beginnings of construction took place. Thousands of people were brought in to help construct the highway and the railway system over rough and uncharted terrain.
What I’ve learned is that many people and their families make this trip up to Alaska today because one of their relatives had worked on the highway and had helped build it. This is a really interesting way to see the history that has gone into building the highway and reconnect with their own family heritage.
To gather further knowledge on the history of the Alaska Highway I would recommend everyone also make the stop in at the Alaska Highway House where they have an amazing exhibit on the construction on the highway, video recordings and pictures, and a very detailed history on the people that were involved in its construction.
Anyone making this trip north would really enjoy the information and exhibits that these two locations hold. The construction of the Alaska Highway is as much of a part of the history of British Columbia and the Yukon as it is for Alaska because we would not be connected with the help in constructing this highway either.