Eagle was established in 1897, by a group of disgruntled gold prospectors who were unable to locate lucrative gold claims in the Klondike. After a group of business people joined them, they decided to start their own city on the other side of the International border. Finding a desirable location twelve river miles beyond the Canadian border, they called it Eagle for the large birds nesting on the bluff. They were now ready to share their new community with anyone willing to purchase any of the 300-400 lots they had staked. For a $5 recorder fee, each owner was given 30 days to brush the adjoining streets and one year to erect a building. Of the 200 cabins built during its first year, most were crude one-room log cabins with pole and dirt roofs.

ROALD AMUNDSEN - The famous Norwegian polar explorer arrived in Eagle, Dec. 5, 1905, after mushing over 400 miles by dog team from Herschel Island where his sloop, the Gjoa, was frozen in the Beaufort Sea. He was the first to sail a ship through the long sought Northwest Passage. He had traveled overland to Eagle to send a telegraph to alert his family of his success and well being after a two and one-half year silence and to request money be telegraphed to him. He remained in Eagle for two months.

Roald Amundsen at Eagle 1905

The first 14 years were the heydays of Eagle. By 1903 the telegraph line from Eagle to Valdez was completed, becoming part of the 1,497 mile WAMCATS (Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System). Twenty-one year old Lt. Wm. Mitchell, with his headquarters at Fort Egbert/Eagle from 1901-1903, was in charge of the construction of much of the line. The U.S. Senate Committee on Territories visited Eagle in 1903 and strongly supported the building of a railroad between Valdez and Eagle along the government mail trail and telegraph line. When they returned to Washington D.C., funds were appropriated for the project.

In 1903, the Gold Strike in the Tanana Valley brought many changes.  Judge Wickersham moved his court's headquarters to Fairbanks in 1904. When the wireless replaced the need for the telegraph line, the U. S. Army Infantry abandoned Fort Egbert in 1911. The population of Eagle dropped dramatically, as many of the residents were civilian employees at the fort.

The remaining residents hung on and Eagle did not become just another gold rush ghost town as did many of the Alaskan communities established at that time. The remaining residents continued to work as mail carriers, roadhouse operators, bean peddlers, teachers and federal employees besides the trappers, hunters and miners. Many of the original prospectors continued to work their claims, remaining for the rest of their lives. Though the miners weren't getting rich, they enjoyed their independent life. The opening of the Taylor Highway into Eagle in 1953 brought new life to the area and the population soared back to an earlier count of 150-200. Today at Eagle you will find many conveniences including a motel, B&B, restaurant, hook-ups, campground, grocery store, garages, communication services, a fine gravel airfield, river trips, daily tour boat to Dawson and canoe rentals. Educational opportunities are provided by the community school grades K-12, an all-volunteer public library and an outstanding museum housed in six historic buildings.

In 1970 Eagle was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and became a National Landmark in 1975. Preservation of the local history and historical buildings continues to be important for this small rural community.