Jack McQuesten

Who was Jack McQuesten?

Leroy Napoleon "Jack" McQuesten was a pioneer in Alaska and Yukon as an explorer, trader, and prospector and became known as the "Father of the Yukon." Other nicknames included "Yukon Jack," "Captain Jack," "Golden Rule McQuesten," and "Father of Alaska." He was born in Litchfield, New Hampshire in 1836. In 1874, McQuesten established Fort Reliance, six miles from what would be Dawson City. Ironically, McQuesten's abandoned trading post was almost on top of what became Dawson City, and when the Klondike gold rush occurred a decade later McQuesten himself arrived too late to stake a claim.

Read more: Leroy Napoleon ‘Jack’ McQuesten Biography -, trader, outfitter - Gold, Trading, Yukon, Reliance, Post, and Fort. In 1879, McQuesten was hired by the Hudson's Bay Company to manage their trading post. In 1893, he founded Circle City, Alaska.

McQuesten was one of the first white men to marry a native Athabascan woman. Her birth name was Satejdenalno; she became Katherine James McQuesten. A tributary of the Yukon River is named McQuesten River. The area also features the so-called McQuesten Mineral Belt. Yukon Jack, the 100 proof Canadian whiskey and honey based liquor, was named after McQuesten.He was a trader and an outfitter as well.