Trail Corridor Stop 05 of 18 · Southern Trek · Chugach
Eagle River
Historic Dena'ina travel corridor and Crow Pass Trail connection to Eagle River Valley.
The Eagle River , Peters Creek, and Eklutna Lake areas were the hunting areas of the Athabascan Natives from the Eklutna and Matanuska villages. They hunted sheep, goat, and moose in the mountains. Fish were caught in the latter part of May in surrounding rivers. The first known records of the villages are in the 1910 census.
The families were traced back to 1896 (goldrush days) by the Traditional Tribal Office of Eklutna village. 1919 Eagle River open to entry. Railroad in place and in use along Knik Arm. Eagle River John, a red-headed Finlander, credited for being first non-native settler. He was a moonshiner who went back and forth to Anchorage by skiff to sell his illegal whiskey
