An Explorer's Guide to the Alaska Highway

    The postcards on this page are from unknown printers/distributors and/or in very small sets - see the main Alaska Highway Postcards page for other sets. The postcards noted as having EKC stamps boxes on the reverse are real photos, printed on EKC paper - this stamp box design was used until 1950. "Real Photo" postcards (RPPC to collectors) provide the highest possible image quality.

Click on each image to greatly enlarge it and see both sides of the postcard.

Captioned Alcan Highway, this postcard show signs marking Mile 0.0 of the "Canadian-Alaskan Military Highway". Fort Nelson is noted as being 360 miles away, and the sign on the right also states: "Road under construction. Not open to the public." The sign on the left reads: "Beginning of St. John Ft. Nelson sector, Alcan military highway. Construction began on May 6, 1942. U.S. Army.". This postcard has an EKC stamp box.

The original military road was 1,670 miles long, but by the time it had been upgraded to an all-weather highway in 1943-1944, this sign in Dawson Creek stated the length as 1,568 miles. This postcard, with a photo by DesBrisay of Dawson Creek, was published by Rumsey & Co. of Toronto, and has an EKC stamp box.

The Alaska Highway From Dawson Creek, B.C., the road runs some 1,500 miles north-west through Fort St. Joh, Fort Nelson, Watson Lake, Whitehorse and on to Fairbanks, Alaska. Coming into the field in March, 1942, and working from Dawson Creek and Whitehorse, the U.S. Engineers did a remarkable job of locating and building a rough but serviceable road over the entire distance by November. This cleared the way for moving in heavy equipment and supplies. Highway contractors' crews are now widening, straightening and, in places, rebuilding the original road. Later this fine gravel highway (see picture) will be hard surfaced. Copyright, Canada, 1943.

Peace River, Alcan Highway Ferries were initially used to cross the biggest river on the Alaska Highway. This wooden one didn't last very long - it was destroyed by ice jams. This postcard has an EKC stamp box.

#96 - Peace River Bridge, Alaska Highway The Peace River Bridge which replaces the ferry at Taylor's crossing ten miles south of Fort St. John, was built by the United States Government at a cost of $1,750,000.00. It was officially opened and presented to the Dominion of Canada on August 30, 1943. It is a two-lane suspension bridge, 2,275 feet long and the deck is 100 feet above normal water level. The towers are 190 feet high. This bridge will be of great value in facilitating transport along the great new 1,600 mile Alaska Highway. This is a fold-open (Folkard) postcard printed by Canadian Print & Litho of Montreal. The photo shows the view across the bridge from the north bank.

Sikanni River, Alcan Highway The photo on this postcard shows the temporary wooden bridge across the Sikanni Chief River in use, and the permanent wooden bridge under construction in early 1943. It has a Velox stamp box on the reverse.

#441 - Sikanni Chief River Bridge, Alaska Highway, Canada This bridge which crosses the Sikanni Chief River was the first permanent bridge to be constructed along the great new 1,600 mile Alaska Highway. It was built in the summer of 1943, and is a low level wooden type of structure. This is a fold-open (Folkard) postcard.

Alaska Highway showing the valley filled to reduce the grade. Hamilton Wright Organization, N.Y. Photo 16. This postcard was published by the Photogelatine Engraving Company (usually called PECO) of Ottawa. On the reverse is a stamp showing King George VI in an Air Force uniform - the stamp was issued on July 1 1942, and was in circulation until 1949.

Alcan Highway Mile 391, looking north down "The Gorge" where the highway drops down into the MacDonald River valley (Km 603 today). This postcard has an EKC stamp box. It is card K-45 by Kurimai of Port Chilkoot (Haines), Alaska.

The new Alaska Highway ("Alcan") crosses a small bridge on an outwash plain near Muncho Lake in the 1940s. This postcard has an EKC stamp box.

The original road was built on top of the cliffs along Muncho Lake, but a shelf was soon blasted along the lakeshore for a new road, which is in the same location today. This postcard has an EKC stamp box.

P.R.A. camp on Alcan Highway Once the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had built the original tote road, the Public Roads Administration (PRA) was brought in to bring the road to a higher standard. This postcard has an EKC stamp box.

Mile 426 Alaska Highway Mile 426, now Km 652 and the location of Poplars Campground, is 4 miles north of Toad River, BC. This postcard has an EKC stamp box.

MacDonald Valley, Alaska Hwy. This photo of the broad glacial valley was taken from what is now Km 605, and the view hasn't changed since then. This postcard has an EKC stamp box.

Trout River, Alaska Highway, mile 472. Mountain sheep and goats are often seen crossing the highway at this point. Kodachrome by Earl Bartlett. Published by Thatcher Winger Associates Ltd., Utterson, Ontario. 74450

Watson Lake, Alcan Highway The building in the centre of the photo is the Hudson's Bay Company trading post. This postcard has an EKC stamp box.

Johnson's Crossing, Mile 837, Alaska Highway The bridge in this photo, which spans the Teslin River at Johnson's Crossing, is the second longest bridge on the Alaska Highway. The large building to the right of centre is Johnson's Crossing Lodge, which still operates today, though in a new and smaller building. This is a real photo postcard, published by the Canadian Post Card Company of Toronto.

The "Signpost Forest" at Watson Lake developed fairly slowly after its start in 1942, but as of 2015 it has over 72,000 signs. This postcard was published for Earl E. Bartlett using one of his photos, probably in the late 1960s. The caption reads: Sign boards, Watson Lake, Alaska Highway, Mile 635. Starting in 1942 with one post and three signs, travellers have added others each year, increasing the number to 700.

This postcard has an EKC stamp box.

The title on this postcard is "Liard River in the Rockies, Alcan Highway", but the photo shows Maligne Lake, Alberta. This postcard has an EKC stamp box.