1846 Hudson's Bay Fort
A fort built on fashion.
In the 1800s, every respectable European gentleman sported a
shiny felt top hat. These hats were a status symbol, the height of
fashion, and luckily for Edmonton, made from beaver pelts. It was
this demand for beaver pelts that prompted the Hudson's Bay Company
to establish a trading post called Edmonton House in 1795. The sole
purpose of the post was to trade European goods to the local Cree,
Blackfoot and other Aboriginal people in exchange for the valuable
beaver pelts.
By 1846, Fort Edmonton was the most important Hudson's Bay
Company post west of the Red River Settlement at Fort Garry
(near modern Winnipeg). The Fort not only traded furs, but produced
goods and supplied other smaller posts. The population of Edmonton
House varied according to the season, but generally visitors could
find approximately 110 men, women and children taking
residence.
Each spring, the men at the Fort would stock the York Boats with
ninety-pound bales of pelts.
Joined by boats from other posts, the "brigades" would paddle
through swift, freezing currents to Hudson Bay. There, they loaded
the furs onto ships that sailed back to England. After a brief
stay, the men would reload their boats with trade goods to
replenish the post trade store and begin their long journey back to
Edmonton.
While at the Fort you can:
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Explore the Fort from top to bottom, from bunkhouse and stables to
the Indian House filled with furs and goods for trade.
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See the giant York boats and find out how they were made.
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Watch a demonstration of the fur press.
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Play traditional Aboriginal games.
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Visit a Cree encampment and learn about trading furs for
goods.
Walk through the buildings inside the Fort!