Telegraph Creek was originally an access point for the construction of a continent-wide telegraph system that was to stretch from New York across North America and the Bering Sea to Asia and eventually to London, England. The Project was never completed: A portion of it linked Dawson City in the Yukon with Vancouver, BC built from 1899-1901 and covering 1,900 miles. This portion was called the Dominion Telegraph Line, and was used as a rout to Atlin by prospectors and trappers. In the 1930's this line was replaced by radio, and now remains as a myriad of overgrown trails, some of which are still used by local guides.

In 1926 the construction of a 119 km road between Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake began. It followed the old trail blazed by prospectors during the Cassiar gold rush and since that time has been considerably upgraded to accomodate modern traffic. With the completion of the Alaska Highway in the 1940's boat traffic on the Stikine declined. The Judith Ann, a schedualed riverboat, made her last run in the late 1960's. Today, the river traffic consists primarily of riverboats running excursions down to Wrangell.

Telegraph Creek is still as picturesque as ever with the powerful Stikine River surging relentlessly past its doorstep. The old town is situated on terraced river benches with views of the Sawtooth and Stingy Mountains. The scenery is truly magnificent and is remarkably different than anywhere else in the area. Summers are dry and warm making the region an ideal vacation destination.

The village itself has a general store, lodge, cafe, school, nursing station and gass pumps, as well as a much slower pace of life. On a sunny day - it is trully supernatural. Charter flights and river boat rides are advailable to those wishing to go on a thrilliung river tour or to view the Grand Canyon of the Stikine. You can also fly into any one of the many wonderful fishing lakes or hike or horseback ride one of the numerous trails.

Salmon fishing is one of the mainstays of the locals as is guiding and outfitting, river tours, and working for the nearby Golden Bear mine. Hunting and fishing in the area are excellent. Wilderness hikers have also discovered Telegraph Creek and its beauty. Agriculturally the area has excellent potential with several producing ranches and farms.

One of the historic buildings, the Stikine Riversong Cafe, Lodge and General store was a former Hudson's Bay Post. St. Aidan's Anglican Church is another historic building located downtown close to the river. Walk through this old section of Telegraph Creek and past a number of old buildings that still remain a testament to the vigor of this small northern supply outpost. It truly feels like a walk back in time to the days of the gold rush at the turn of the century.