Elsa is a former privately owned mining town in the Canadian territory of Yukon, between the Stewart River valley to the south and the Mackenzie Mountains to the north. It is located at Kilometre 97 (Mile 60.3) of the Silver Trail,[1] approximately 700 kilometres (435 mi) north of Whitehorse and 600 km (373 mi) east of the Alaskan border.

History

Federal census population history of Elsa
YearPop.±%
194198—    
1951147+50.0%
1956193+31.3%
1961395+104.7%
1966529+33.9%
1971298−43.7%
1976456+53.0%
1981336−26.3%
1986294−12.5%
19918−97.3%
Population in 1956 is 247 if including adjacent community of Flat Creek that had a population of 54.[2][3]
Source: Statistics Canada
[4][2][3][5][6][7][8][9][10]

The town was built in 1935 by the mining company Treadwell Yukon to support the development of a new mill for the nearby deposits of silver, lead, and zinc.[11] Treadwell's assets were purchased by United Keno Hill Mines (UKHM) in 1946,[12] and by the 1950s UKHM was the second largest producer of silver in Canada and the fourth largest in the world.[11]

At its peak in the 1960s, Elsa was home to 600 UKHM employees and their families.[12] Due to economic pressure from decreases in the price of silver in the late 1970s, United Keno Hill Mines ceased operations in Elsa in 1989.[13][12] UKHM attempted to sell mining rights to various companies but declared bankruptcy in 1998, with its mining assets reverting to the Government of Canada.[12]

Elsa is now a ghost town and is closed to the public.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Silver Trail driving guide". Government of Yukon. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  2. 1 2 Census of Canada, 1956 (PDF). Vol. Population of unincorporated villages and settlements. Dominion Bureau of Statistics. October 25, 1957. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Population of unincorporated places of 50 persons and over, Alberta, 1961 and 1956". 1961 Census of Canada: Population (PDF). Series SP: Unincorporated Villages. Vol. Bulletin SP—4. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. April 18, 1963. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  4. ↑ Ninth Census of Canada, 1951 (PDF). Vol. SP-7 (Population: Unincorporated villages and hamlets). Dominion Bureau of Statistics. March 31, 1954. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Population of unincorporated places of 50 persons and over, 1966 and 1961 (Alberta)". Census of Canada 1966: Population (PDF). Special Bulletin: Unincorporated Places. Vol. Bulletin S–3. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. August 1968. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Population of Unincorporated Places of 50 persons and over, 1971 and 1966 (Alberta)". 1971 Census of Canada: Population (PDF). Special Bulletin: Unincorporated Settlements. Vol. Bulletin SP—1. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. March 1973. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Geographical Identification and Population for Unincorporated Places of 25 persons and over, 1971 and 1976". 1976 Census of Canada (PDF). Supplementary Bulletins: Geographic and Demographic (Population of Unincorporated Places—Canada). Vol. Bulletin 8SG.1. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. May 1978. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  8. ↑ 1981 Census of Canada (PDF). Place name reference list. Vol. Western provinces and the Territories. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. May 1983. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  9. ↑ "1986 Census: Population - Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions" (PDF). Statistics Canada. September 1987. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  10. ↑ "91 Census: Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions - Population and Dwelling Counts" (PDF). Statistics Canada. April 1992. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Silver Trail Area - Keno & Mayo, Yukon". Yukoninfo.com. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Keno Hill Silver District". Keno Silver Project. Metallic Minerals Corporation. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  13. ↑ "Keno Hill Silver District". Projects. Alexco Resource Corporation. Retrieved 9 February 2020.


63°54′42″N 135°29′27″W / 63.91167°N 135.49083°W / 63.91167; -135.49083

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