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Tom Monto

A Race against Winter -- The Hectic Building of Edmonton House, 1795

Updated: May 5, 2021

This blog fits the hectic building of the Hudson's Bay Company's post at Fort Saskatchewan in autumn 1795.


Like the "Bay men"'s construction that critical autumn, this blog is quick and dirty.


In the late 18th Century, the Hudson's Bay Company, already in business more than a hundred years, was in fierce competition with the NW Company for the purchase and collection of animal furs in the territory claimed by the HBC, the Rupert's Land.


As one company established a fur trading post, the other would counter by building its post in close proximity or even farther upstream. Expansion up the Saskatchewan River was heated in the 1790s.

This was the background of the building of some of the first structures in the Edmonton area.

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The following information is taken from the Saskatchewan Journals and Correspondence, 1795-1802 (published by the Hudson's Bay Record Society). The Building of Edmonton House [Fort Edmonton I] 1795 Late September

HBC Factor William Tomison, boss of the Company's operation on the upper Saskatchewan River, was passenger in a boat paddled upriver. He was returning from visiting the HBC post at Hudsons Bay.


His destination was Buckingham House (near present-day Elk Point). Buckingham House had been built by Tomison and Peter Fidler four years earlier, in 1791, to be near the the North West Company post that had been built there the previous summer. The NWC post was Fort George, located on the north bank (in today's NE1/4, Section 4, Township 56, Range 16, west of the 4th.


Tomison arrived back at Buckingham House to find that its competitor, the North West Company, had decamped during the summer and had set up a fort upstream at the mouth of the "Red Willow Creek" (today's Sturgeon River) near today's Fort Saskatchewan.


The NWC men thus had abandoned their post near Buckingham House and had moved deeper into fur country. They would skim off the cream of the fur trade if the HBC did not follow.


Tomison immediately organized a crew and set off upriver to build a post next to the NWC fort.


These forts were on the north side of the river, northeast of the present-day bridge. (The modern-day address given to the historic site is 55021 Lamoureux Dr., Gibbons.)


Another crew came to the new location on foot with horses, it seems. On October 5 (very late in the season in north-central Alberta), the first Bay men arrived at the site of the Canadian Companies' fort and started building just nearby.


The first snowfall was little more than a month away. (Barely more than a month later (Nov. 7), Tomison recorded that the previous night it had "snowed and blowed very hard.")


The HBC men had a major job to do and not much time to do it in.


Lack of nearby timber

The first problem that was discovered was that there was a lack of nearby timber and wood for building, as the Canadians had already taken it. The HBC men would use the river to transport logs from elsewhere. This could only be done while the river flowed. Once it froze, that sort of transportation had to stop.


Logs and timber prepared over the winter never did arrive at the fort as planned - the "Canadians" would see to that as we see.

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There were many needs urgently requiring attention due to the immediate coming of winter.


The new HBC post needed ASAP:


Food

Meat from game animals killed by hired Native hunters


Food manufactured by Natives such as pemmican

(Water was not an issue as river provided drinking water, although bridge (dock) had to be built to get out on ice.)


need to build ice-house and cut and harvest ice to keep meat through next summer

Firewood

might need 20 cords of firewood to get through winter. (No chainsaws back then!)

Shelter building a house or houses and workshops, including stone chimneys for heating (wood fires)

gathering stone for chimneys

a house built of logs - it seems pies en mis style, as posts were hewed square and then covered (roofed) in turf. Palisade for protection from attack and security from theft. Dec. 5 putting up gates. the want (lack) of hinges caused much trouble.


Fur trade tools

fur press

logs gathered for this purpose,

wedges made out of wood for its operation

Furniture

the making of a table was worthy of mention - things were that tight!

Means of transportation sled for transporting meat and firewood for this purpose, they had horses


trails had to be cut in local terrain


Clothes/trade goods clothes for the crew

clothes were needed to be made to give to Native captains or leaders (Dec. 10), and Indians for trade (Dec. 18) (but that took the tailor's energies away from making clothes for the HBC men)


clothes and trade goods to obtain furs through trade but trade goods poor


Repairing trade guns (Jan. 11);


broken muskepetoon (Jan. 23),


Oct. 25 the Journal records complaints that many Indians, including a valuable worker at the fort, have lost parts of their hands or even whole hands due to gunbarrel explosions.


ice chisels break apart. (Feb. 2)

Need for containers liquor trade, exchanging booze for furs, was difficult due to lack of small kegs,


no cooper to make small kegs to enable the post to dilute the main keg of high-proof alcohol and give away small amounts. (Oct. 15, 1795 see also Oct. 20)


Many other problems

Competition

competition from Canada Companies


competition from trading houses in Rossdale or Victoria Flats, occupied by Beaubien and King (p. 27, see footnote p. 40) (To counter this upstream competition, in 1802, Fort Edmonton would be moved to Rossdale, to create what is now called Edmonton House II.)


April 15, 1796 competitors telling lies about the HBC.

Health issues Some Natives suffering from drunken-ness (drink acquired through fur trade)


John Mowat still bad with rheumatic pains (Dec. 7) one man lame (Jan. 25, 28) one man lame for some time past by cutting his hand (Feb. 9) one man ill (Feb. 26) ======================================================== Chronology of construction (from "Journal of William Tomison", in Saskatchewan Journals and Correspondence, 1795-1802, page 3-62.


A crew left the existing HBC post, Buckingham House (the most upstream of the Saskatchewan posts) to go to where the new NWC post had been built, near today's Fort Saskatchewan.


The new HBC post that would built is now called the Fort Edmonton I, the first of a series of five posts with that name.


Twelve hours of travel by boat brought them to the location of the Canadian Companies' fort, according to the Oct 5, 1795 in "Journal of William Tomison, 1795-1796" (reproduced in Saskatchewan Journals and Correspondence, 1795-1802) By Oct. 9, the crew had felled trees and floated the logs down the river and two were at work hewing posts for the house.


Next several days many of the crew "collecting stuff for building" and hauling it up the bank to the building site. Oct. 13 the building of Edmonton House was begun

The next day, the worksheet was thus: 12 working on the building, 4 men collecting stones for the chimneys, rest collecting small sticks for the roof. Oct. 29 making door for men's house and then starting work on victual house (food store-room). Oct. 30 buried canoes for the winter. Nov. 2 beginning stockading of front of house. Nov. 7 post staff worksheet looked as follows: four men at pit-saw, cutting planks two men with horses hauling in turf to cover the house all the rest covering house therewith and cutting stockades to proper lengths.

Progress on the first building (a log cabin) went quickly, and by Oct. 26 men were at work with its pointing (filling the gaps between logs with mud) Nov. 9 men employed within doors. A hunter arrived to get people to come out with him and haul his kill to the fort. "This was welcome news, as we did not have a morsel in the fort." Sawyers can't cross the river due to ice. (although two days later two Natives crossed the river on horseback.) Perhaps there was a ford (a shallow crossing-point) at this location.) Nov. 11 laying floor of house Nov. 13 John Irvine, William Isbister, William Tate and Robert Garrock leave to Buckingham House. Nov. 16 crew putting up partition in the main building between the trading room and the master's apartment. Nov. 21 opening trail to river from house. Although there had been much back and forth traffic earlier, in the rush to make the first shelter, this job had been left till now. Nov. 23 flagstaff erected and began building a small house for sheltering the smith's forge. Nov. 30 making sleds stowing birch to make charcoal (the charcoal to be used by the post blacksmith. Coal not found nearby.) the "coal kiln" in operation on Dec. 4. (Kiln was used to burn wood with little air to produce charcoal.) Dec. 10 laying the floor The fort even needed to make its own nails (Jan 23) Dec. 19 post workers, apart from the smith and tailor, spent the day putting up their cabins. Dec. 20 news of death of James Spence Dec. 24 wind westerly, a stiff gale with snow and drift most of the day. The blacksmith finished two doors and hung them (I am sure this helped the men's personal comfort.)

1796 ================== Jan. 1 it being the first day of the New Year, the men were not put to work. Jan. 10 Muddy River Indians arrived, after a journey of 10 days. Jan. 12 medicine chest arrived. (This collection of medicines was an important aspect of the fort. It was useful to treat workers injured or ill. Also, provision of "Western" medicine was an important service to Natives, and important for the prestige of the European way of life.) Jan. 16 many workers put to work hauling snow out of yard. Jan. 21 "those that went for flesh returned with 6 1/2 buffalo," probably using the sleds the men had made. Jan. 25-Jan. 28 the smith (who earlier had been described as "employed in the carpenter way" (Jan. 8)), made a table. (A table - always a useful thing!) Jan. 29 meat-crew returned to fort with one moose and six buffalo. Feb. 13 John Flett Feb. 14 At 1 PM (so obviously they had timepiece) nine able men arrived from Buckingham House. Feb. 17 meat-crew brought in eight buffalo. Hunter comes to stay at fort, having killed as much as required, with crew bringing in last meat (four buffalo) on Feb. 23. Feb. 25 Mr. Swain arrived, asked for clothes, "being almost naked as we all are for want of another tailor." March 4 cleared the snow out of the yard. March 7 began work on press (fur press?, used to make bundles of furs for shipment out) March 10 cutting ice out of river and the next day putting it in victual house, thus creating an ice-house. where meat could be preserved for later consumption March 16 men hauling birch for mallets and wedges for the press. Natives hired to procure birch rind (birch bark?) for canoes. March 22 men sent to Buckingham House to get wood for building and repairing canoes. March 27 Alexander Flett March 28 laying floor of upper storey

April 2 a stiff gale with snow until noon, then clear. April 4 men began work on bateau. [this boat needed to ship out goods ASAP] April 7 river ice broken in several places. April 12 very hot weather. April 26 shipped out pemmican and furs to Buckingham House. April 27 all around us is on fire so horses gathered in. May 2 Snow May 3 a Native man and wife want to go downriver to see York Factory. May 7 began work on watch-house (watch-tower?) May 14 men crossed five tents of Indians going to southside, all going to war. May 15 the Frenchmen (NW Co.?) set fire to the ground (grass?] sometime ago, and this day it got into the pines and burnt with great fury that consumed 30 pieces of timber that was collected in the spring and could not be got downriver for want of water (the river was low that spring). We had some difficulty to save the other [other logs?] from burning to ashes. The fire flew across the river and set fire to this side also. May 16 I engaged another Native to tent with the hunter as he was lonesome and there is no keeping one Native alone. May 17 cleaning rubbish out of the house and yard. May 20 Sutherland, Oman, Pruden, etc arrived by land. They had been on road since May 1. (footnote, p. 39)

(Interestingly, the name Oman, Pruden (see footnote p. 39) and Irvine, whose presence was noted earlier, were family names that continued in the Edmonton area right into the modern age, after arrival of the railway in 1891.) May 21 left Edmonton House in flotilla of 13 canoes and a boat (the bateau?).

Alexander Flett left in charge of the fort with Pruden, Sinclair and others left in the fort. The first day on the journey they embarked from their night-camp at 3 am and paddled until 7:30 then put up. They arrived the next day. repaired canoes and loaded 4800 lbs of pemmican and 32 bundles of furs and carried off downriver, he noted leaving six men with Pruden to summer at Edmonton house and 8 at B.H. May 28 embarked at 3 am and sailed until 7 pm then put up. killed 3 buffalo. June 1 [page 40 of Saskatchewan Journals and Correspondence, 1795-1802] arrived at Carlton House just three days after Bird and others had left it empty to go downriver with load of furs. Summertime Indians tempted to grab what they could. (footnote , p. 40) Tomison and company arrived shortly at Cumberland House, where Tomison stayed, sending 16 canoes downriver to York Factory. He followed with more furs on July 25th. 1797 Journal of George Sutherland, p. 63- Feb. 17, 1797 seven men including John Pruden came down from Edmonton House to Buckingham House, nine nights on the road through unusually deep snow. Several horses died on the way, and the rolls of birchbark they were bringing were kicked by them and so split that they were rendered useless. However the provisions they helped keep Buckingham House through the winter. (p. 84) March 10 Pruden and Goucher returned to Edmonton House by dogsled, bringing cloth and some kettles. They left after only one day of rest in the fort, because they wanted to beat the spring thaw, which made travel more difficult. (p. 88) ================================= The post got off the ground. This success through hard work of all hands ensured that European business would survive and go on to thrive in the Edmonton area. =========================================================


Background of Edmonton House I (1795-1802)

In the late 18th century, the Hudson's Bay Company, established in 1670, was in fierce competition with the NW Company for the purchase and collection of animal furs in the territory claimed by the HBC, the Rupert's Land.


As one company established a fur trading post, the other would counter by building its post in close proximity or even farther upstream. Expansion up the Saskatchewan River was heated in the 1790s.


From the building of Edmonton House IV (the first buildings of which were constructed in 1812), there has been documented human occupation in what is today's City of Edmonton. (This is not to belittle the thousands of years of occupancy by Natives prior to that and continuing up to the present.)


The start of Edmonton House IV is recorded this way --


An entry in the Edmonton House Journal written at the Edmonton House III, located near Smoky Lake, dated Oct. 6 1812,

"Sent off two men to begin felling Wood for a new Factory in the Neighbourhood of old Edmonton House."


Post Factor James Bird marked out the location of the new post on Oct. 10. (Edmonton House Journals, Correspondence and Reports, 1806-1821 (published by the Historical Society of Alberta), p. 182)


That is how the present City of Edmonton started.


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