Porter Creek, a very short history
In wandering around Porter Creek (a real treat, the trees are GOLDEN), your Blogress has marvelled at the SIZE of the lots in the area. And then that question led to... whence cometh Porter Creek?
The logical person to ask was Jimmy Smith, Yukon's Commissioner from Nov 1966 to mid 1976. He told me that Porter Creek's lots were originally surveyed in 1950/51, and were sold from 1952. The largish sizes were intended to make room for the owners to drill their own wells and maintain their own septic tanks.
By 1967, Porter Creek was a local government issue, that is, would it be a subdivision of Whitehorse, or would it be a town unto itself?? Among others, Ken McKinnon (a later Commissioner, by the way) was on the side of a separate Porter Creek. Jimmy Smith, however, cut through the gordion knot of this battle, and - taking a CMHC metropolitcan plan's map -drew the borders of the City of Whitehorse... and included Porter Creek IN, as a subdivision. He could do that, because the Commissioner had most of the power in those days. The Government was a tiny thing, it could almost fit into a broom closet beside the Commissioner's desk.
As to Centennial Road, your Blogress has understood that this was ORIGINALLY the Alaska Highway, but re-named (in 1967??) because the Highway we know today was built bypassing Porter Creek.
The logical person to ask was Jimmy Smith, Yukon's Commissioner from Nov 1966 to mid 1976. He told me that Porter Creek's lots were originally surveyed in 1950/51, and were sold from 1952. The largish sizes were intended to make room for the owners to drill their own wells and maintain their own septic tanks.
By 1967, Porter Creek was a local government issue, that is, would it be a subdivision of Whitehorse, or would it be a town unto itself?? Among others, Ken McKinnon (a later Commissioner, by the way) was on the side of a separate Porter Creek. Jimmy Smith, however, cut through the gordion knot of this battle, and - taking a CMHC metropolitcan plan's map -drew the borders of the City of Whitehorse... and included Porter Creek IN, as a subdivision. He could do that, because the Commissioner had most of the power in those days. The Government was a tiny thing, it could almost fit into a broom closet beside the Commissioner's desk.
As to Centennial Road, your Blogress has understood that this was ORIGINALLY the Alaska Highway, but re-named (in 1967??) because the Highway we know today was built bypassing Porter Creek.
posted by Mollie at 12:51 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home