John Healy, photograph in Outing (1907)

John J. Healy (c. 1840–1908) was an Irish-American entrepreneur in the late 19th century, who also operated in Canada at various times. His pioneering business activities ranged from Montana to Alberta/BC, Canada and to Alaska/Yukon.

Originating from a base of operations in Montana, he and Alfred B. Hamilton established a whiskey trading post near present-day Lethbridge, Alberta in 1869. The post was originally named after Hamilton, but a second, larger post nearby was given the name of Fort Whoop-Up.

Healy sold the fort to Dave Akers in 1876.

He then took up work as the sheriff of Chouteau County in Montana, a newspaper editor and a businessman in Fort Benton, Montana.

Healy moved to the North, operating a trading post at Dyea, Alaska.[1] He later moved to Yukon Territory to operate a transportation company during the Klondike Gold Rush.[2]

Healy died in 1908 as a rich and famous man.

He was buried in Seattle, Washington.

Legacy

Healy, Alaska and Healy Pass in the Alberta Rockies are named after him.

References

  1. ↑ “May 1886 I established a trading-post at a place now called Dyea, … with Edgar Wilson, … who resided at Dyea up to … his death in 1895.” Healy Dep., May 20, 1903, Proceedings of the Alaska Boundary Tribunal, S. Doc. No. 162, 58th Cong. (2nd Sess. 1903), Vol. IV, App. 2, at page 233, reprinted in, Serial 4602.
  2. ↑ Dempsey, Hugh A. (1957). The Early West. Edmonton: Historical Society of Alberta. p. 32. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-07-23.

Bibliography


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