Northern Trading Company facts for kids
The Northern Trading Company was a business that traded furs in northern Canada during the early 1900s. They had trading posts in areas like Alberta and the Northwest Territories, especially around the Athabasca River and Mackenzie River. This company was a big player in the North American fur trade.
They competed directly with the famous Hudson's Bay Company, which was a much older and larger fur trading company. By 1922, the Northern Trading Company managed about eight percent of all the fur trading in Canada's northern regions.
Who Started the Company?
A very important person in the Northern Trading Company was Colonel J.K. "Peace River Jim" Cornwall. He started his fur trading work in the Peace River and Lesser Slave Lake areas in the early 1900s.
Colonel Cornwall helped the company grow by taking over other fur trading posts. For example, in 1911, they took over the posts belonging to a company called Hislop & Nagle in the Northwest Territories. This helped the Northern Trading Company expand its reach even further north.
What Did They Do?
Besides trading furs, the Northern Trading Company also ran a transportation business. They used steam-driven vessels (boats powered by steam) to move goods and people on the rivers.
Their main goal was to supply their own fur trading posts. However, they also offered services to other people and businesses. They carried passengers and freight (goods) on their boats, helping to connect communities in the vast northern territories.
The End of the Company
The Northern Trading Company faced difficulties and went into a process called "receivership" in 1926. This means that people they owed money to took over the management of the company. For the next seven years, the company struggled to stay in business under the control of its creditors.
Finally, in 1931, the company was officially closed down, a process called "liquidation." All of its remaining fur stock was sold to the Hudson's Bay Company. The part of the company that handled river transportation was sold off and reorganized into a new business called Northern Waterways Limited.
