Dawson City (TAN): Across the border in Alaska, some 170 kilometres from this town in northwest Canada, is the town of Chicken.
You read the name right. The town of Chicken hosts an annual music festival called the Chickenstock Music Festival. This year, it’s being held on June 14 and 15. Are you coming?
Located on the banks of the Fortymile Wild and Scenic River, The old mining town of Chicken is home to just about 10 permanent residents. Each summer, bands from around the state descend on the town for a fun-filled, family-friendly musical festival.
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Gold mining began in the area in 1886 and within 10 years, a major prospect was discovered on the Upper Chicken Creek. Bob Mathieson’s discovery prompted him to quickly stake his claim and build a cabin. The area instantly became a hub of mining activity for the southern portion of the Fortymile Mining District with more than 700 miners working the streams between 1896 and 1898.
According to legend, the town’s name originated at a meeting of the resident miners. When trying to come up with a name for the new tent city, somebody suggested Ptarmigan, the name of a bird found commonly in the area. All the miners liked it, but none of them could spell it, so they decided on Chicken instead.
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The town has two RV parks/campgrounds, two cafes, gift shops, a very lively saloon, two gas stations, tours, gold panning and opportunities for recreational gold mining. During the summer, Chicken is an eclectic collection of miners, trappers, artists, wilderness adventurers and travellers from around the world.
The town still services gold miners from the Fortymile Mining District and provides a number of mining opportunities for visitors, including recreational mining complete with equipment and guided tours of the dredges and historical town site.
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The 1906-era Chicken Creek Hotel still stands today along with a dozen other buildings of that era and the Pedro Dredge, a national historic site, which originally mined in the Fairbanks area before its move to Chicken in 1959. The dredge is one of the few in the state open to the public.
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