Talk:Campgrounds of the Chilkoot Trail

Latest comment: 8 years ago by RadioKAOS

Three things. First off, the article contains zero mention of who owns and operates the campgrounds, and their operational history as campgrounds as opposed to the histories of the individual sites themselves. I can probably figure out some of that information by following the links in the EL section. However, if I have to go to some other website for information like that, then this reveals itself to be not as useful as an encyclopedia entry and perhaps more suitable for Wikivoyage. Second, it was pure chance that I even found this article on account of how undercategorized it is. Knowing what operational jurisdiction the campgrounds fall under would help with categorizing it. Third, I see the following about Finnegan's Point: "The campground receives its name from Pat Finnegan, who enterprised to collect bridge-crossing tolls from stampeders". This is so lacking in proper context, it could imply that Finnegan happened upon an existing bridge and declared himself out of the blue to be its toll collector. It's far more likely that he actually built the bridge, relieving travelers of a hazardous crossing, an endeavor which OF COURSE one would expect him to profit from. The photo suggests that the settlement flourished prior to the establishment of land laws for Alaska. Without clear title, people were more likely to build temporary, profit-motivated infrastructure as opposed to more permanent infrastructure. In this specific region, once those laws were in place, big boys such as those who built WPYR came in and rendered Finnegan's improvements obsolete. Just about any source which discusses this era of Alaska mentions that the lack of title to land made business ventures a throw of the dice. RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 07:54, 27 November 2015 (UTC)Reply