Archaeological evidence shows that the site has been in use for at least 8,000 years.
Robert Campbell established a
Hudson's Bay Company trading post nearby in 1848. In early 1852, he moved the post to its current location. Resenting the interference of the Hudson's Bay Company with their traditional trade with interior
Athabaskan First Nations, Chilkat
Tlingit First Nation warriors attacked and looted the post that summer on Saturday, August 21, 1852. The fort was rebuilt about 40 years later and became an important supply point along the Yukon River. Fort Selkirk was essentially abandoned by the mid-1950s after the
Klondike Highway bypassed it and Yukon River traffic died down. ==Restoration and historic status==