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Northway
 Northway
is located on the east bank of Nabesna Slough, 50 miles southeast of Tok.
It lies off the Alaska Highway on a 9-mile spur road, adjacent to the
Northway airport. It is 42 miles from the Canadian border in the Tetlin
National Wildlife Refuge. Northway presently consists of three dispersed
settlements: Northway Junction, at milepost 1264, Northway, at the
airport, and the Native village, 2 miles north. It lies at approximately
62° 56' N Latitude, 141° 52' W Longitude (Sec. 26, T014N, R018E, Copper
River Meridian). The community is located in the Fairbanks Recording
District. The area encompasses 18 sq. miles of land and 2 sq. miles of
water.
The area around Northway was first
utilized by semi-nomadic Athabascans who pursued seasonal subsistence
activities in the vicinity of Scottie and Gardiner Creeks and Chisana,
Nabesna, and Tanana Rivers. The Native settlement of Northway Village is
located 2 miles south of Northway. The Native village was named in 1942
after Chief Walter Northway, who adopted his name from a Tanana and
Nabesna riverboat captain. The development and settlement of Northway
was due to construction of the airport during World War II. The Northway
airport was a link in the Northwest Staging Route, a cooperative project
between the U.S. and Canada. A chain of air bases through Canada to
Fairbanks were used to supply an Alaska defense during World War II, and
during the construction of the Alcan Highway. A post office was first
established in 1941.
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