Alberta Register of Historic Places

Fort Chipewyan III

Fort Chipewyan

Other Names:

Fort Chipewyan IV
H. B. C. Post
H. B. Co. Post
H.B.C. Post
HBC Post
Hudson Bay Company Fur Trading Post
Hudson's Bay Company Post
Hudson's Bay Post

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place
The Fort Chipewyan III archaeological site contains evidence of one of the most influential late eighteenth/early nineteenth-century fur trade posts established in the Athabasca region, and the oldest continuously occupied Euro-Canadian settlement in Alberta. It is situated on nearly three hectares of land within the modern town of Fort Chipewyan, approximately 220 km north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Although no buildings remain standing, rectangular mounds, cellar depressions, rock alignments and dispersed historic materials represent the site. An historic cairn was established to honour the fort in the 1930s, and in 1959 the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada commemorated the location with a plaque. Artifacts excavated from this site are housed in the collections of the Royal Alberta Museum.

Heritage Value
The heritage value of the Fort Chipewyan III archaeological site lies in its identity as one of the most important fur trading posts in Canada, serving as a key distribution centre for furs, goods and men trading in the Peace, Slave, Athabasca and Mackenzie River basins. It was also the Athabasca regional headquarters for both the North West Company (ca. 1802-1821) and the Hudson's Bay Company (post-1821).

Fort Chipewyan III was the third location selected for the post, after it had been originally established in 1788 on the south shore of Lake Athabasca. The isolation of the original location, however, necessitated its movement to the lake's northwest shore. First moved to Mission Point (Fort Chipewyan II), in 1803 it was shifted to a rocky promontory to the east (Fort Chipewyan III). Its strategic lakeside location near the debouchments of four major rivers provided a connection with the Peace, Slave, Athabasca and Mackenzie River systems. Its operation was instrumental in the expansion of trade to the Mackenzie River basin and the regions which would later become the Yukon, British Columbia and northern Saskatchewan.

Fort Chipewyan III administered and supplied several subsidiary posts (Fond du Lac, Fort McMurray, Salt River Post on Slave River, Red River, Fort Vermilion, Battle River, Dunvegan, Fort St. John and Hudson's Hope posts on the Peace River). It also served as the stopping or overwintering location for numerous nineteenth-century northern exploration parties, and was an important regional center for the work of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Between 1815 and 1821, Fort Chipewyan III was at the centre of the armed conflict that developed as a result of competition between the North West and the Hudson's Bay Companies, resulting in an eventual decline in the dominance of the North West Company in the Athabasca region and the amalgamation of the two companies in 1821. It became headquarters for the Hudson's Bay Company's Athabasca operations after 1821.

After 1870, the Hudson's Bay Company made a number of changes to the way trade was conducted at Fort Chipewyan III. This included rebuilding and expanding the post. Buildings were replaced, new ones were added and all were rebuilt on stone foundations. The new structures included a large depot, two large storehouses, officers and servants' quarters, an office and a jail. In 1883, the transportation system was modernized when the traditional York boats were replaced by a fleet of sternwheel steamers.

Jurisdiction over the Athabasca region passed to the Dominion of Canada in 1869, when Canada purchased the Hudson's Bay Company territories. Despite this, the local and regional economy continued to be dominated by the fur trade until after the Second World War, and the Hudson's Bay Company retained interests in Fort Chipewyan. The fur trade seriously declined during the 1950s, although the Hudson's Bay Company continued to maintain a store in the town of Fort Chipewyan until 1987.

Archaeological excavations were carried out at Fort Chipewyan III in 1978, 1979 and 1985. Excavations revealed at least three phases of rebuilding, noting that the remains of early buildings had not been completely removed by successive reconstruction phases. Building remains were identified with either 'post-in-ground' or 'post-on-sill' construction with stone foundations, and a few had evidence of dove-tailed corners. Artifacts and animal bones were also identified, representing activities from the early nineteenth century to the modern era.

Sources: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: Des. 19). Parker, James. 1987. Emporium of the North: Fort Chipewyan and the Fur Trade to 1835 (Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism, Canadian Plains Research Centre: Edmonton, Alberta). 1979, Heitzmann, Roderick J., Historical Resources Assessment, Fort Chipewyan III, Archaeology in Alberta 1978, Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Paper No. 14, compiled by J. M. Hillerud, p 14-21.; 1980, Heitzmann, Roderick J., Fort Chipewyan III and IV Historical Resources Assessment Programme 1979, Archaeology in Alberta 1979, Archaeological Survey of Alberta Occasional Paper No. 15, compiled by Paul F. Donahue, p 91-100. 990, Forsman, Michael R.A., The archaeology of fur trade sites in the Athabasca District in Proceedings of the Fort Chipewyan and Fort Vermilion bicentennial conference edited by Patricia A. McCormack and R. Geoffrey Ironside, pp. 45-62; 1993, Forsman, Michael R.A., The last bourgeois' house at Fort Chipewyan in The Uncovered Past: Roots of Northern Alberta Societies edited by Patricia A. McCormack and R. Geoffrey Ironside, Circumpolar research series number 3, pp. 45-62.

Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the Fort Chipewyan III archaeological site include:
- the information potential resident in the remaining archaeological deposits at the site;
- the information value in the records made and collections recovered in the several archaeological studies conducted at the site;
- the site's strategic location, which was suited to the related requirements of fur production, provisioning and transportation to and from trading locations in the Athabasca, Peace, Slave and Mackenzie River systems and provided access to abundant natural fisheries that provided a plentiful and inexpensive source of food for the residents, the fur brigade participants and northern explorers;
- extensive archival records for the post, which detail its function as a depot and administrative headquarters for widely dispersed subsidiary posts at Fond du Lac, Fort McMurray, Salt River Post (Slave River), Red River, Fort Vermilion, Battle River, Dunvegan and Fort St. John and Hudson's Hope on the Peace River;
- the information value in the historic records available for the post, which detail its involvement in some of the most violent armed conflict between the North West and Hudson's Bay Companies between 1815 and 1821, resulting in both taking up armaments and capturing prisoners to disrupt the others' trade.

Location

Street Address:
Community:	Fort Chipewyan
Boundaries:	Lot 24, Block 3, Plan 5642NY
Contributing Resources:	Archaeological Site / Remains: 1 Collection: 1 Landscape(s) or Landscape Feature(s): 1

ATS Legal Description:

Mer	Rge	Twp	Sec	LSD
4	7	112	8	11 (ptn.)

PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):

Plan	Block	Lot	Parcel
5642 NY	3	24

Latitude/Longitude:

Latitude	Longitude	CDT	Datum Type
58.712285	-111.148858	Secondary source	NAD83

UTM Reference:

Northing	Easting	Zone	CDT	Datum Type

Recognition

Recognition Authority:	Province of Alberta
Designation Status:	Provincial Historic Resource
Date of Designation:	1987/08/10

Historical Information

Built:	1800 to 1800
Period of Significance:	1800 to 1950
Theme(s):	Developing Economies : Communications and Transportation Developing Economies : Trade and Commerce Peopling the Land : People and the Environment
Historic Function(s):	Commerce / Commercial Services : Trading Post
Current Function(s):
Architect:
Builder:
Context:	Fort Chipewyan was a district headquarters and northern depot site, arguably once the most important fur trade site west of Fort William and York Factory. This Fort Chipewyan is probably the third location of a site with this name, dating c. 1800 to 1950. Not only headquarters for the North West Company's rich Athabasca district, it also served as the depot for the Peace and Mackenzie River regions. Brigades from the more distant areas could not make the return trip to Fort William in the short summer season so exchanged their furs for next season's trade outfits at Fort Chipewyan. Fort Chipewyan figured importantly in N.W. Co - Hudson's Bay Company rivalry and after union in 1821 was maintained by the HBC. It was an important post for well over a century. The Northwest Company moved their post to this site from the nearby site of Ft. Chip II in 1803 (presumably under John Finlay). The post was like its predecessors to Chipewyan I and II the district headquarters and principal northern depot for the NW Co. Trade goods and supplied were stored there for the posts on the Peace and Mackenzie Rivers, and furs were collected there for shipment east. For a while Ft. Chipewyan had competition from an XY Co. post and from Fidler's Nottingham House (HBC), but by 1805 the XY Co and NW Co. had amalgamated, and the HBC was forced out by competition and bullying. The next ten years were prosperous for Ft. Chipewyan, but by 1814 the returns from furs were showing a decline and the famous library which had been started by Roderick Mackenzie was, according to Willard Wenzel, 'not only neglected, but almost destroyed. The Canadians...are now disgusted at the treatment they received...'. In 1815 the HBC returned to the area and build Ft. Wedderburn near Ft. Chipewyan. HBC property was damaged, the English and First Nations were intimidated by the NW Co. Samuel Black and others, provisions were withheld, and finally Colin Robertson, the head of the HBC's Athabasca program, was captured and held prisoner for most of one trading season. Union in 1921 bought the rivalry to an end, and Ft. Chipewyan became the headquarters for the HBCo's Athabasca district. The trade, however continued to decline. It continued being the depot for the Peace River region, although by 1833 the Athabasca River was being supplied from Edmonton. About the middle of the 19th century the post seems to have been rebuilt, as H.J. Moberly described it in the late 1860s, thus: 'the houses well built and white washed, set in an orderly row, with the Church mission society's chapel at one end...(it had) the appearance of a small village'. The post was rebuilt in 1870 under the direction of Roderick MacFarlane. The site was occupied for about 150 years and during that time was extensively rebuilt. Archaeological excavations on the site in 1978, 1979, and 1985 revealed, however, that remains of early buildings have not been obliterated by successive construction phases. On the contrary, well preserved archaeological evidence points to at least three building periods. Some structures were erected using a post-in-ground technique, some with post on sill on the ground, post on sill on a stone foundation, and a few with dovetailed corners. Artifacts and faunal remains are numerous on the site, covering a full time range from the early 19th century to the present day. Some stratification is present in occupational deposits on the site. Disturbance from vehicle traffic across the site, camping, day-use activity and pot-hunting has caused some impact to the archaeological resource, but the site is still considered to have outstanding archaeological significance.

Additional Information

Object Number:	4665-0012
Designation File:	DES 0019
Related Listing(s):
Heritage Survey File:	HS 22487
Website Link:
Data Source:	Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (File: Des. 19)