Forts of Edmonton - the story of the five Edmonton House's
- Tom Monto
- Apr 6, 2021
- 12 min read
Updated: Jan 8
Many people have expressed an interest to me about the presence of old fur-trading posts in Edmonton.
Fort-des-Prairies
Wikipedia has this to say:
Fort Edmonton was called Fort-des-Prairies, by French-Canadian trappers and coureurs des bois. (source unknown)
Morice in his book Dictionaire historique places the lower [upper?] Fort des Prairies near the site of present-day Edmonton. This is according to a footnote in an interesting book entitled Five Fur Traders of the Northwest, published by University of Minnesota Press. This is a compilation of reprints of old diaries and journals kept by five explorer/fur traders - Peter Pond, John Macdonell, Archibald N. McLeod, Hugh Faries, and Thomas Connor (available for reading on Peel's Prairie Province website).
link:
But deciphering what Morice meant by Fort des Prairie requires more research.
Here's another brief write-up from Five Fur Traders of the Northwest (from p. 98):
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"It is difficult to determine the location of Fort des Prairies since the name seems to have been applied to several different posts. Pond puts it above (upstream of) the fork of the Saskatchewan on the North Branch, whereas Bain says it was just below the junction of the two branches. See Davidson, North West Company, p. 37n.
In tracing Thompson's route of 1808, Tyrrell says the explorer passed Fort a la Corne "on the site of the old French Fort des Prairies," some [kilometres] below the forks.
Coues points out as the trade pushed up the river, the name was applied to establishments on the upper reaches of the North Branch, such as Forts George, Vermilion and Augustus [at Fort Saskatchewan and/or Rossdale]. When two of these were operating, they were sometimes called Upper and Lower Forts des Prairies. (Thompson, Narratives, p. lxxxviii, Coues, New Light, 2:481n.
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The Fort des Prairies might have even been the name of the fort that might have been built by traders operating out of New France in the 1700s (before the British Conquest).
La Verendrye came through Prairies in 1738 Pierre La Verendry, of New France, is sometimes reputed to be the first white man to sight the Rocky Mountains in what is now Canada. His route of travel was said to be via Saskatchewan River so it seems he came through Edmonton. But it seems he never came much farther west than Winnipeg, which still in those days was an adventure in itself.)
Beaver pelts were important to New France, and it seems that Le Verendrye noticed the abundancy of that animal in the Edmonton area. Already the Native name Beaver Hills was in use for the hills [eight kilometres] off on the southside of the river (now Elk Island Park). Beavers prefer the level park region of Edmonton's environs over the heavily-timbered area to the southwest of the city.
But if he didn't come to Edmonton, then there were likely other early French traders who did. "Although there is no record to show what the French traders did, it may be taken for granted that when the NW Co. entered the field and established a post here, they took advantage of the previous occupation of the French. (Claresholm Review-Advertizer, April 9, 1920, p. 2)
French traders' Fort-des-Prairies
The location of Fort-des-Prairies has never been discovered. Being built of natural local materials, it would not leave long-standing traces. Frank Oliver, when he arrived in Edmonton in 1880s, said he saw evidence of an old fort at the mouth of Groat ravine. This, he thought, might have been that old French fort itself. (Coutu in his book Castles to Forts discusses this.)
Certainly, it seems, this place, Edmonton, has been a gathering place for Natives in their seasonal travels for millennia. So the location would have been a good location for a post.
"Fort des Prairies, a name applied at different times to various fur-trading posts, among them Fort à la Corne, Fort Augustus*, Fort La Jonquière, and Fort aux Trembles on the Saskatchewan River. The name Lower Fort des Prairies was later applied to Fort Vermilion, and the name Upper Fort des Prairies to Fort Augustus."
Source: W. Stewart WALLACE, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. II, Toronto, University Associates of Canada 1948, 411p., p. 367
*Fort Augustus was the name given to forts operated by the North West Company, the HBC's main competitor. The two corporations merged in 1821.
Here's another thing pulled off the internet:
"Fort Augustus (1794-1821) - A North West Company post first established by Angus Shaw in 1794 near present day Edmonton, Alberta."
If Fort Augustus operated from 1794 to 1821, which it did, and it was situated next to the HBC's Fort Edmonton's, which it was, then it was a series of posts, not just one.
Although to be truthful, the NWC was more flexible or crafty, and it was not the NWC that moved to be near the HBC posts but the other way around.
Such was the case in 1795. The HBC moved its fort in a rush to be close to the NWC fort (Fort Augustus) that had already moved unexpectedly upriver to the mouth of the Sturgeon River, at today's Fort Saskatchewan.
The HBC officials/workers, when they had time to take a breath after getting the fort established, named it Fort Edmonton. This was the first of five successive posts, in different locations, that would have that name (causing much confusion for the head honchos in faraway London).
The hectic work of establishing this post is described in another blog.
The Wikipedia article "Fort Edmonton" gives good run-down of the five Fort Edmonton's. (The recreated fort in Fort Edmonton Park is a copy of #5.)
The one corrective I would offer is that Edmonton House IV, the start of the present City of Edmonton, began in October 1812. (Since then, we know someone was always living on the site of Edmonton. Prior to 1912, there was no permanent human occupancy as far as we can know.)
A crew was sent to begin construction of a new fur-trading post in what is now Rossdale on October 6, 1812. 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)
Three of the Fort Edmonton's (#2, #4 and #5) were located within the present City of Edmonton. #4 was the one that was started in October 1812.
Philip Coutu's book Castles to Forts A True History of Edmonton gives great information on other forts in Rossdale and on the Victoria /Groat Flats.
Although we think of Edmonton as a northern city, it is interesting to note that Edmonton was for many years the southernmost of the HBC's forts.
Edmonton is located on the farthest north of the major rivers flowing to the Hudsons Bay and to the Company's shipping posts there. But there is a great deal of Northland north of us. And the Northland is where the best furs were - and are, and where the profitable fur-trading posts were.
So I hope that was useful.
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the Wolf's Track, AKA Great North Trail AKA Old North Trail came through Edmonton likely using Old Fort Hill Road, the ford near the High Level Bridge, Walterdale and Rossdale. used by Indigenous travellers for thousands or tens of thousands of years.
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Here's rough timeline of forts on the North Saskatchewan and in Alberta
1740s Fort Basqua (on site of today's The Pas) established at confluence of he Saskatchewan and the Pasquia rivers.
Fort Basqua's sister fort, Fort Poskoyac (La Corne), was established on Saskatchewan River in 1753. It was located downstream from the Saskatchewan River Forks at the mouth of the Pehonan Creek a mile west of the later HBC post [Fort a la Corne?].
it closed in 1759 with fall of New France.
Fort de la Corne was one of the two French forts established on the Saskatchewan River in the 20 years between the end of La Vérendrye's push west from Lake Superior in 1731–1743 and the fall of New France in 1763.
(The other was Fort La Jonquière built two years earlier.)
Chevalier de Niverville's journey up the River Paskayo (likely the Saskatchewan River, then one or other of its main tributaries, the North or South Saskatchewan rivers).
His orders were to establish a fort 300 leagues (perhaps 1000 or 1400 kms) upstream from Paskayo (today's The Pas). The winding of the river, whichever river he took, makes it difficult to measure how far "300 leagues" would have taken him, if he himself could have measured it accurately.
According to one account he went as far as Drayton Valley (where improbably he was held up by the Rockies) and returned to Rossdale to over-winter. (Coutu, Castles to Forts, p. 101)
Chevalier de Niverville was commanded to travel 300 French leagues (or lieue) west of Paskayo (The Pas).
Chevalier de Niverville is credited with an exploration of the Saskatchewan River system, which took soldiers of New France farther into western Canada than any had gone before. In 1751 he was commanded by La Verendrye to organize a group to go 300 leagues upstream from Paskayo (Le Pas) on the Saskatchewan River and establish a trading post. This was done and the Rockeis were reportedly sighted by the travellers. The location of this post has not been found. Theories include Edmonton and Calgary, where the ruins of an old post were found by the NWMP in the 1870s, and the Forks of the Saskatchewan.
a person can see mountains in Alberta as far east as Calgary, Airdrie, and Pigeon Lake, and Hinton easily.
The French lieue had several variants, ranging from 3.25 to 4.68 kilometers (2.02 to 2.91 miles).
1751 Fort La Jonquiere location unknown but likely near Nipawin, SK.
Coutu said there is evidence for it being at later site of RMH or possibly at Edmonton (Coutu, Castles to Forts, p. 72, 101)
some say FLJ might have been along South Saskatchewan. (Coutu, Castles to Forts, p. 71)
when NWMP settled at Calgary, they found remains of a long-abandoned fort of no known name or citizenship.)
(The map created by the North West Company's Peter Pond in 1785 marked a spot below the forks of the Saskatchewan (where the North and South Saskatchewan rivers come together), near today's Prince Albert, with the note "This is the highest point the French Traders possessed")
1754 Anthony Henday said to be first of European stock to come to Alberta. (but possibly not if you look at De Niverville's journey three years earlier.)
(Henday noted his Cree companions called the South Saskatchewan River, Wapasewcopet seepee.)
(1778 Peter Pond wintered at Pond House on Athabasca River
1775 -1778 Pond traveled between Grand Portage and Cumberland House (in present-day Saskatchewan), and points in between, such as Dauphin, where he established his own small trading fort. He spent the winters of 1776-77 and 1777-78 at the confluence of the Sturgeon River (SK) and the North Saskatchewan River.)
1785? potato fields went into production at Edmonton. (Coutu, Castles to Forts, p. 101)
French traders out of Montreal built Fort La Jonquiere or other fort at Edmonton (Coutu, Castles to Forts, p. 101)
When the NWC aggressively moved inland to capture French-Canadian fur trade territory, the HBC countered by establishing trading posts in direct opposition.
1786 Pine Island Fort and Manchester House were trading posts on Pine Island, a small narrow island on the North Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan, 50 kms east of Lloydminster. operated to 1793, when destroyed by Gros Ventres fighters. Pine Island Fort was a NWC post; Manchester House was a HBC post.
1792, when the NWC built Fort George on the North Saskatchewan River, the HBC built another post, Buckingham House, right beside them.
(1793-4 the Gros Ventres destroyed South Branch House and Manchester House in 1793–94)
1795 first Fort Edmonton
Fort Augustus came to Fort Saskatchewan site in summer 1795, followed a few months later by HBC's Fort Edmonton.
In the summer of 1795, under the orders of Angus Shaw of the NWC, John McDonald of Garth, James Hughes and crew, built Fort Augustus, three kilometres north of present-day Fort Saskatchewan, at the mouth of Sturgeon River.
A few months later just as winter was approaching, William Tomison (Inland Master and also in charge at Buckingham House) sent his men up to build the first Fort Edmonton, at the mouth of Sturgeon River, a "musket-shot" away from Fort Augustus.
Fort Edmonton was named by Tomison for Edmonton, Middlesex, England, the place of residence of the Lake family, no less than five of whom were influential members of the HBC Committee between 1697 and 1807. (from "The Metis in Alberta" website, http://wayback.archive-it.org/2217/20101208175137/http://www.albertasource.ca/metis/eng/people_and_communities/historic_fort_edmonton.htm
more posts at Fort Saskatchewan site
Soon after the establishment of Fort Augustus and Edmonton House, an additional two posts were created in the same vicinity by the competing XY Company and Ogilvie’s. In this period of bitter rivalry, the smaller forts survived only a short time.
(1795 Carlton House established near Duck Lake, near the site of the old French post of Fort de la Corne. James Bird was in charge; James Sandison (Sanderson) was his assistant; and John Peter Pruden was an apprentice.
From 1799 to 1801, Joseph Howse (Howes) was the writer in charge.
(James Bird and John Peter Pruden figure in Edmonton's history as well. see footnote)
The North West Company (NWC) had a nearby post called Fort St. Louis.
a new Carlton House built in 1805
a new site for Carlton House chosen in 1810, where a series of Carlton Houses, or Fort Carlton's, operated until 1885.)
More posts west of Edmonton
Between the autumn of 1795 and 1799, the NWC and HBC established two more dual sites along the upper North Saskatchewan between Rocky Mountain House and modern Edmonton.
-The NWC’s Boggy Hall was countered by the HBC’s Pembina House.
(a different Pembina House was located in North Dakota 1797 - Wiki "Pembina, North Dakota")
-the NWC’s Whitemud House was countered by the HBC’s Nelson House.
Neither location became important in trade history.
Rocky Mountain House
Rocky Mountain House, established in 1799, when the NWC built Rocky Mountain House and the HBC countered with Acton House, was the last in the chain of dual posts throughout the prairies.
1810 Alexander Henry arrived at RMH. he had been orded by Governor Simpson to make a beeline to Oregon (up the North Saskatchewan and through Howse Pass) to head off Jacob Aster's men who were hurrying to secure possession of the Oregon Territory, which the HBC had been controlling under the name New Caledonia. However Henry found the North Saskatchewan blocked by angry Peigan fighters who wanted to deny HBC access to Flathead customers.
He found David Thompson, who was to be his travelling companion, hiding out at the abandoned Boggy Hall trading post, 40 or 50 miles downriver. (abandoned in 1810)
he had tried to get around the Peigans blocking the river but had gotten lost and had had to turn back.
from Neil Waugh, "The Boggy Hall Incident" https://neilwaughoutdoors.wordpress.com/2015/01/04/the-boggy-hall-incident/
Henry and Thompsondid press on
Waugh: "So they devised Plan B via the Pembina, Lobstick and Athabasca and Whirlpool rivers to the Columbia where much “inconvenience, fatigue, suffering and privation” was encountered, Thompson revealed."
They arrived too late and Astor celebrated grabbing Oregon from the Brits and the HBC.
Boggy Hall location
in the remote pasture alongside Blue Rapids, on the North Saskatchewan River, south-west of Drayton Valley. from https://lifeasahuman.com/2011/arts-culture/history/finding-our-way-through-place-and-time/
Blue Rapids is an old name
"canoeists on the North Saskatchewan now remark that Blue Rapids no longer has any significant rapids."
Forts out on the prairies
Both companies made one attempt at establishing posts out in the plains, building Chesterfield Houses at the junction of the Red Deer and South Saskatchewan Rivers. The posts lasted a mere two years and were never rebuilt.
(Bow River Post established circa 1824, I think)
(Pembina post in North Dakota as well)
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1802 new Fort Edmonton and Fort Augustus built in 1802 at Rossdale
Lagimodiere was here then
(1810 Boggy Hall Incident see above)
1810 Fort Edmonton and Fort Augustus moved to near Smoky Lake
1812 Fort Edmonton moved back to Rossdale (or at least constuction begun of a new Fort Edmonton again back at Rossdale)
Fort Augustus was built back at Rossdale also in 1812.
which was built first is unclear.
1820 amalgamation of HBC and NWC
The position of Edmonton as administrative center of the provisioning posts, and as one link in the system of trails that led across the prairies and into the mountains, brought many visitors to the post.
1824 horse track opened between Fort Assiniboine and Edmonton. the trek provided a shortcut for Athabasca River traffic to avoid Methye portage and to get goods into larger more-efficient York boats and out of smaller northern canoes.
1830 Fort Pitt built at large bend in North Saskatchewan River, just east of today's AB-SK boundary. (wiki: Fort Pitt)
closed up then reopened in 1833
NWMP detachment headquarters. Dickens, son of the author, and 25 NWMP men placed there in 1883.
Fort surrendered to Wandering Spirit and others of Big Bear's band in 1885, when it was burned down.
rebuilt but by 1890 was discontinued as fur trading post.
now a National Historic site and Provincial Park.
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1850s-
Fort Edmonton: Among the visitors were the Palliser expedition, the Hind expedition, the Earl of Southesk with his men, Viscount Milton and Dr. Cheadle, and the Overlanders. As the Fort Edmonton community, and all the little communities around it, continued to grow, more services were provided and soon, the Catholic, Anglican, and Methodist Churches sent missionaries
notes:
the Red Deer river joins the South Saskatchewan just east of today's Empress, Alberta
Blackfoot name for Bow River: Makhabn, meaning “river where bow reeds grow”
in olden days say pre-1840, there were two main rivers, the Bow River and the Saskatchewan. The idea that the South Saskatchewan river is created where the Bow and Oldman rivers join and that the Saskatchewan river is created where the North and South Sask. rivers join seems unusual to me.
Just call them the Bow and the Saskatchewan.
for more info see
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John Peter Pruden
NAME: PRUDEN, John Peter PARISH: Edmonton, Middlesex (
ENTERED SERVICE: 1791
DATES: 1788-28 May 1868
ENGLAND
Appointments & Service Outfit Year*: Position: Post: District: HBCA Reference: *An Outfit year ran from 1 June to 31 May 1791
Arrived in York Factory on the Seahorse C.1/1054 1791-1794
Apprentice York Factory York A.30/5,6
1795-1796 Apprentice Carlton House Saskatchewan B.27/a/1; A.30/6
1796-1797 Apprentice/Writer Buckingham H., Edmonton H. B.24/a/3,4; B.60/a/1,2; A.30/7
1798 Writer Buckingham H., Setting River, Edmonton H. B.196/a/1; B.60/a/4; A.30/8
1799 Bolsover House English River B.20/a/1
1800 Writer Edmonton House Saskatchewan B.60/a/5; A.30/10
1801-1802 Inland York B.239/d/125 1803-1804 Trader Inland York B.239/d/128
1805-1807 In Charge Acton House Saskatchewan B.239/d/131; B.60/a/6
1808 Master and Trader Edmonton Saskatchewan B.239/d/141
1808 To London on King George C.1/420
1809 To York Factory on King George C.1/421
1810-1814 In Charge Carlton House Saskatchewan B.60/a/9-12
1814-1815 Master Carlton House Saskatchewan A.30/14
1815-1816 Master and Trader Carlton House Saskatchewan A.30/15
1817-1820 Master and Trader Carlton House Saskatchewan A.16/39
1821 Chief Trader Carlton House Saskatchewan
1822-1824 Chief Trader Carlton House Saskatchewan B.239/g/2,3
1824 To London on Prince of Wales C.1/804,805
1825 To York Factory on Prince of Wales C.1/806-808
1825-1826 Chief Trader Norway House Norway House B.239/k/1; D.4/12
1826-1836 Chief Trader Carlton House Saskatchewan B.239/k/1,2
1836-1837 Chief Factor Carlton House Saskatchewan B.239/g/16; D.4/22
1837 Retires
1839 Appointed to Council of Assiniboia
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