Fort Edmonton facts for kids
Fort Edmonton (also called Edmonton House) was a series of trading posts built by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). These forts were active from 1795 to 1914. They were all located on the north banks of the North Saskatchewan River in what is now central Alberta, Canada.
Fort Edmonton was a very important stop for traders and travelers. It was one of the last points on the Carlton Trail, a main route for Metis freighters. This trail connected the Red River Colony to areas further west. The fort was also a key stop on the York Factory Express route, which linked London, via Hudson Bay, to Fort Vancouver. It also connected to the Great Northland, as it was close to the Athabasca River, which flows into the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean. For a time, Edmonton was the southernmost of the HBC's forts.
Between 1795 and 1830, Fort Edmonton was built in four different places. Before 1821, each Fort Edmonton was built near a Fort Augustus of the North West Company (NWC).
The fifth and final Fort Edmonton, built from 1830 to 1914, eventually grew into the city we know today as Edmonton.
Fort Edmonton was also known as Fort-des-Prairies by French-Canadian trappers and coureurs des bois. In Cree, the most spoken Indigenous language in the region during the 19th century, it was called amiskwaskahegan, meaning "Beaver Hills House."
In the late 1700s, the HBC, which started in 1670, was in strong competition with the NWC. Both companies wanted to control the trade of animal furs in Rupert's Land.
When one company built a fur trading post, the other would quickly build its own post very close by, or even further up the river. This competition was especially strong along the Saskatchewan River in the 1790s.
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First Fort Edmonton (1794–1802)
Coordinates: 53°46′5″N 113°10′19″W / 53.76806°N 113.17194°W In the summer of 1795, the North West Company built Fort Augustus. It was located where the Sturgeon River meets the North Saskatchewan River. This spot is just north of the modern city of Fort Saskatchewan. It is about 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of where the final Fort Edmonton would be.
That autumn, the Hudson's Bay Company built Edmonton House very close by. They also used the same two rivers. To show how competitive they were, Fort Augustus and Edmonton House were said to be only a "musket-shot" apart. This closeness also offered some safety for the European traders in a new land.
John Peter Pruden, a clerk for the HBC, named Edmonton House. He named it after Edmonton, Middlesex, England. This was the birthplace of both Pruden and Sir James Winter Lake, an HBC Deputy Governor.
Second Fort Edmonton (1802-1810)
Coordinates: 53°31′44″N 113°29′53″W / 53.52889°N 113.49806°W By 1802, there were fewer furs to trade and less firewood available. So, it was decided to move both Fort Edmonton and Fort Augustus upstream. They moved to what is now the Rossdale area in downtown Edmonton. This area had been a meeting place for Indigenous peoples for thousands of years.
The first European woman known to live in this area was Marie-Anne Lagimodière. She was a French-Canadian and the grandmother of Louis Riel. She traveled west with her fur trader husband, Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière. She even took part in hunting trips. The couple lived at Fort Augustus from 1807 to 1811.
John Rowand, who became the main leader (Chief Factor) at Fort Edmonton from 1823 to 1854, first worked at Fort Augustus. He was there from 1804 to 1806, and again from 1808 onwards.
In 2012, workers found evidence of this Fort Edmonton. They were digging under a torn-down building at the Rossdale Power Plant.
Third Fort Edmonton (1810–1812)
Coordinates: 54°3′40.88243″N 112°16′11.9″W / 54.0613562306°N 112.269972°W Both Fort Augustus and Fort Edmonton moved again. This time, they went to the mouth of White Earth Creek. This is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of modern Edmonton. It's the northernmost point of the North Saskatchewan River, near today's Smoky Lake, Alberta. This place is also known as Fort White Earth.
This location was only used for two years. One reason was that the Cree people were encouraged to visit other posts to avoid fights with the Blackfoot. However, the Blackfoot, who usually lived further south, did not want to travel so far. So, they took their trade to American posts instead.
Even though the Hudson's Bay Company and North West Company were still rivals, their two posts were built inside a shared palisade (a strong fence of pointed logs).
After being left in 1812, the forts fell apart. Not much is left of them today. There is no official sign at the site. A local creek on the south side of the river, called Fort Creek, might be named after these old forts.
Fourth Fort Edmonton (1812–1830)
Coordinates: 53°31′44″N 113°29′53″W / 53.52889°N 113.49806°W Fort Edmonton and Fort Augustus moved back to their second site at the Rossdale flats. This location proved to be much better for Indigenous people to visit for trade.
Workers began building the new post on October 6, 1812. The post leader, James Bird, marked out the exact spot on October 10.
The name Fort Augustus was no longer used after the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company merged in 1821. After the merger, the combined company used the Hudson's Bay Company name. Fort Edmonton then became the main office for the Saskatchewan District of Rupert's Land. This huge area stretched from the Canadian Rocky Mountains in the west to Fort Carlton in the east. It went from the 49th parallel in the south to Lesser Slave Lake in the north.
The former Nor'Wester, John Rowand, was put in charge of Edmonton in 1821 as chief trader. In 1823, Rowand was promoted to chief factor. Rowand managed the Saskatchewan District from Fort Edmonton until he died in 1854.
Fifth Fort Edmonton (1830–1915)
Coordinates: 53°31′55″N 113°30′24″W / 53.53194°N 113.50667°W Because of floods in the late 1820s, a new fort was built in 1830. This new fort was on higher ground, above the river flats. This fifth and final fort stood for 85 years. However, its use as a fur trading post slowly ended starting in 1891. In its last years, the Fort was next to the Alberta Legislature Building. The Legislative Building opened in 1913, just north of the fort.
Rowand's Time as Leader
During this time, John Edward Harriott, a long-serving member of the HBC, became the chief trader under Rowand. The two men became family when Harriott married one of Rowand's daughters. When Rowand traveled with HBC Governor George Simpson, Harriott would take over as chief factor.
Rowand's leadership from the 1830s brought big changes to the Saskatchewan District. For the first time, missionaries, artists, and curious travelers came to Edmonton. Sometimes they stayed for a long time. This made Rowand a bit frustrated. Before this, the only Europeans who came this far west were men on company business.
With Rowand making Edmonton his home, the fort became a very important center in the west. Any traveler going further west had to stop there first to get supplies. Rowand built a three-story house inside the fort just for him and his family. This showed his important position to everyone. People nicknamed this house "Rowand's Folly."
Missionaries Arrive
Two Catholic missionaries, Francois-Norbert Blanchet and Modeste Demers, were the first to visit Fort Edmonton in 1838. Starting in 1840, the fort hosted the Wesleyan missionary Robert Rundle. He was a company chaplain. Rundle stayed until 1848. His work was challenged by Jean-Baptiste Thibault, a Catholic priest. Both tried to teach Indigenous people in the area about their faiths.
A chapel was built inside the fort in 1843. Reverend Rundle proudly said it could hold "one hundred Indians." The chapel also had two small rooms for Rundle's private use. Meanwhile, Rowand complained that having ministers in his fort distracted Indigenous people and hurt the fur trade. However, Rowand personally liked Rundle and trusted him to teach his children.
Father Pierre-Jean De Smet spent the winter of 1845-46 at Fort Edmonton. He had traveled from Oregon Country to meet Indigenous people of the Rocky Mountains.
In 1852, the Oblate missionary Albert Lacombe first visited Fort Edmonton. Rundle had left in 1848, so Lacombe easily moved into the old Methodist chapel. Lacombe felt sorry for the fur trade workers. He said their summer work was "as hard as that of the African slave." But he found little sympathy for the workers from John Rowand or the HBC clerks. The next year, Lacombe moved to Lac St. Anne. However, he had a new Catholic chapel built in the fort in 1857. This chapel lasted almost twenty years before it was moved outside the fort.
Another Methodist missionary, Reverend Thomas Woolsey, was sent to Edmonton in 1852. He was upset to find Lacombe living in the former Methodist chapel. Woolsey's twelve years at the fort were marked by disagreements with Catholic missionaries. He also struggled to convert Catholics to Protestantism.
In 1854, the St. Joachim mission was officially started at Fort-des-Praires (Fort Edmonton).
Oregon Mission
Fort Edmonton was an important stop on the York Factory Express trade route. So, it was involved in the Oregon Boundary Dispute, even though it was far away. Two British Army lieutenants, Mervin Vavasour and Henry James Warre, were sent on a secret mission. They pretended to be rich travelers. Their real goal was to scout the lower Columbia River valley and Puget Sound. They needed to find out which HBC posts could be used in a military conflict. Sir George Simpson, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, encouraged this trip.
Warre and Vavasour reported that the mountain passes were not good for moving troops. Their mission took them through Fort Edmonton in the fall of 1845. They returned through it on their way back to Montreal in 1846. They wrote that moving troops and supplies through such wild country and over such difficult mountains seemed "quite unfeasible." Like other forts he visited, Vavasour drew a map of Edmonton.
Other Important Visitors
The artist Paul Kane first visited the fort in 1845. He created several artworks based on his time there.
Rowand's Death
In May 1854, John Rowand died while on the yearly York Boat trip eastward. Stories say he tried to stop a fight between some of the tripmen at Fort Pitt. In his anger, he suddenly died. He was first buried at Fort Pitt. Later, he was moved and buried in Montreal, as he wished in his will.
Later Years
Later Leaders
After a few short-term leaders, William J. Christie became a long-serving chief factor at Edmonton. He was there from 1858 to 1872. Christie's student, Richard Charles Hardisty, who later became a Canadian Senator, served as chief factor in Edmonton for a short time from 1862 to 1864.
The Hudson's Bay Company gave up Rupert's Land to the Government of Canada in 1868. This was due to the Rupert's Land Act 1868. This ended the HBC's control of the vast territory. It also started a new era of settlement in the 1870s.
By the 1890s, the fort was falling apart and mostly empty. The Hudson's Bay Company changed to running retail stores. Business in Edmonton was then done from one of these stores instead.
Explorers
In 1841, James Sinclair stopped at Fort Edmonton. He received instructions on where to cross the Rocky Mountains. With him were about 116 to 121 settlers, mostly Métis, from the Red River Colony. They were hired to settle at Fort Nisqually and Cowlitz Farm in modern Washington state.
Captain John Palliser stayed in Fort Edmonton for a while in 1858. He was on his famous expedition. With the help of the factor's wife, Palliser held a ball there.
In 1859, the 9th Earl of Southesk visited. He was on his way to the Rocky Mountains, hoping the fresh mountain air would improve his health.
Threat of Conflict
In the spring of 1870, Fort Edmonton faced a threat of violence. This was due to a war between the Blackfoot and Cree. It happened after the killing of Cree Chief Maskipiton. A group of Blackfoot approached the fort from the south. They caught some traders with wagons of goods on the south bank. The traders escaped by ferry but had to leave their wagons. The Blackfoot could not cross the North Saskatchewan River because the spring waters were too high. They camped in today's Walterdale neighborhood of Edmonton. They took goods from the wagons and shot muskets at the fort. The men in the fort armed themselves and got ready to fight. But the fort was not attacked directly. The Chief Factor William J. Christie ordered the HBC men not to attack the Blackfoot. He was worried that attacking would cause more violence against the Hudson's Bay Company.
Fifteen years later, on March 19, 1885, during the North West Rebellion, Edmonton's telegraph wire was cut. Many local settlers and their families feared an attack. They took shelter behind the fort's old wooden fence. No attack happened. Within a few weeks, soldiers arrived from southern Alberta and eastern Canada. They came to make sure no local uprising would occur.
Taking Down the Fort
What was left of the fifth Fort Edmonton was taken down in 1915. It was seen as an old, crumbling eyesore next to the Alberta Legislature Building. That building had been finished three years earlier. The Government of Alberta said at the time that they would use the old fort's timbers to create a historical site elsewhere in the city. However, they never did.
List of Chief Factors
| Chief Factors at Fort Edmonton | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chief Factor | Years Served | Notes |
| William Tomison | 1795–1796 | Started Edmonton House to compete with NWC Fort Augustus. |
| George Sutherland | 1796–1797 | |
| William Tomison | 1797–1798 | |
| James Curtis Bird | 1799–1816 | The fort was relocated twice during Bird's time. |
| Hugh Carswell | 1816–1817 | |
| Francis Heron | 1817–1821 | HBC and NWC merged at the end of Heron's time; Fort Augustus became part of Fort Edmonton. |
| James Sutherland | 1821–1822 | |
| John Rowand | 1823–1840 | Longest-serving chief factor at Edmonton. |
| John Edward Harriott | 1841–1842 | Rowand's chief trader and son-in-law by country marriage. |
| John Rowand | 1842–1846 | |
| John Edward Harriott | 1847–1848 | |
| John Rowand | 1848–1854 | Final years of service; died May 30, 1854. |
| William Sinclair | 1854–1857 | |
| John Swanston | 1857–1858 | |
| William J. Christie | 1858–1872 | |
| Richard Charles Hardisty | 1872–1883 | Later a Canadian Senator. |
| James MacDougall | 1883–1885 | |
| Richard Charles Hardisty | 1885–1888 | |
| Harrison S. Young | 1888–1891 | |
| William T. Livock | 1891–1910 | Moved to the retail store on Jasper Avenue in downtown Edmonton. The old HBC department store building is now part of the U of A and the Edmonton Public Library. It is called Enterprise Square. |
Legacy
In 1923, the likely site of the first Forts Augustus and Edmonton at Fort Saskatchewan was named a National Historic Site of Canada. A plaque was placed there.
In 1959, the site of the fourth Fort Edmonton was also made a National Historic Site. A plaque was put near the Alberta Legislature building.
Similarly, the Fort Edmonton-Fort Gary Trail was also named a National Historic Site. A plaque for it was installed in Edmonton in 1996.
Fort Edmonton Park
In 1969, people started rebuilding the fifth Fort Edmonton. It was built five kilometers (3 miles) upstream from its original spot. This time, it was on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River. This reconstruction shows the fort as it looked in 1846. This was the start of Fort Edmonton Park. It has become one of the city's top tourist spots. The park uses different historical buildings to show four distinct time periods. It explores Edmonton's growth from a fur trade post to a busy city after the First World War.
