the area of talkeetna was largely populated by Athabascan indians until the discovery of gold in 1905. this discovery brought influx of miners and prospectors to the area and in 1915, talkeetna was selected as the Engineering Commission Headquarters for the construction of the Alaska Railroad that would connect seward to fairbanks. the townsite wasn't established until 1916. the name talkeetna means "river of plenty" in the den'aina language, but to local residents it means "where three rivers meet" due to the location of the city.