Restorations begin on Yukon ghost town

The Yukon's original ghost town is getting back some of its former glory.

Forty Mile, downstream from Dawson City, was once a bustling community, with a church, opera house and mining recording office. The town emptied out after gold was discovered in the Klondike.

Long before that, the site was popular with First Nations people.

"They've been using that area for probably 10,000 if not thousands and thousands of years, as basically a supermarket," says Wayne Potoroka, the heritage director for the Tr'ondek Hwetch'in First Nation in Dawson.

"There's caribou, moose and a great deal of fishing that took place there."

Now, the Tr'ondek and the Yukon government are spending $100,000 to restore the town.

The first crew headed to Forty Mile on Tuesday. Work will continue there through the summer.

Some of the old buildings are still there, such as the RCMP building and Anglican church, but they're showing their age.

Looting has degraded the site as well. Visitors often take souvenirs from Forty Mile, like liquor bottles dating from the goldrush.

Potoroka says the plan is to record and restore an important chapter in the Yukon's history. He says Forty Mile has all of the makings of a world-class attraction.