[4] American Summit has been used for thousands of years by Athabascan natives, who saw its utility as the lowest point in the White Mountains, which lie between the coast of Alaska and the Yukon River.
Because of its isolated location, supplies for the fort and town had to either travel along the width of Alaska via the Yukon River or through previously established transportation routes in Canada.
Seeking a quick all-American route, the U.S. government ordered the construction of a road from Valdez on the Gulf of Alaska to Fort Egbert.
[4] American Summit, as the lowest point in the mountains separating the two locations, was a natural site for the road, which was completed by 1901.
Telegraph lines were strung over American Summit in 1902, and an undersea cable connected Valdez to Seattle in 1904.