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 The discovery of "gold" in
Alaska, as well as the Yukon Territory in the
early 1900's, brought an influx of people to this area. The
increase of people, meant more travelers along the old Valdez Trail (now
called the Richardson Highway) Roadhouses sprang up along the trail to
provide respite for the traveler. Two of these roadhouses can be found
in Delta. The Sullivan Roadhouse is now a walk-through museum
that was moved from its original location across the Delta River. It is
now located next to the Delta Visitors Center. Rika's is a
restored roadhouse at Big Delta State Historical Park.
It is located at the confluence of the Delta and Tanana Rivers
where travelers once had to be ferried across the swift moving water.
Bison
are believed
to be one of the most common large land animals in the State. Scientists
believe that the last indigenous bison herd in the
area died out about 500 years ago. In 1928 a herd of 23 bison was
transplanted from the National Bison Range in Montana to the then
relatively uninhabited Delta Junction area. Conditions were so favorable
for the bison that the herd grew to about 500 animals. Hunting, by
special permit, has kept the recent number at about 450 to 500 animals.
This could be why we have been referred to as “Buffalo
Center”.
 The
Alaska Highway
was built during World War II as a military road to bring supplies to
the interior and to nearby airfields. The entire Alaska Highway was
built in a quick eight months in 1942, and the road ended in
what is now
Delta Junction. Here the Alaska Highway
met with the Richardson Highway and the traveler could go north to
Fairbanks or south to Valdez. With the building of the Alaska Highway,
the business center of town moved to the junction of the two highways.
Development continued as people started homesteading in the area. Allen
Army Airfield, which was one of a series of airfields constructed during
World War II, became
Fort Greely
(an Army post) that does Cold Regions Testing.
The U.S. Missile
Defense Agency conducted a groundbreaking ceremony June 15, 2022 at
Fort Greely, Alaska to start construction for the Ground-based Midcourse
Defense (GMD) program. The project’s stated purpose is
that GMD is necessary for
defending our country and our overseas Armed Forces against limited
ballistic missile attacks conducted by terrorists. |
