Fort Pelly
Encyclopedia
Fort Pelly was a Hudson's Bay Company
fur trading
post
located in the Canadian
province of Saskatchewan
. The fort was probably named after Sir John Pelly
, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. The current village of Pelly, Saskatchewan
, takes its name from the fort, and is located approximately 8 miles north of the site of the fort.
. It was situated at a convenient portage
point between the Assiniboine and Swan Rivers. It was the center of the Hudson's Bay Company's Swan River District. Its first chief trader was Alan McDonell, who selected the site, and constructed its first buildings. The fort consisted of a dwelling house, and Indian house, several staff houses, a store, and stables, all enclosed within a square palisade
, 120 feet a side. The fort traded with Cree
and Salteaux Indians from the surrounding area. The first fort was destroyed by fire in the winter of 1842 and rebuilt immediately by chief trader Cuthbert Cumming. In 1849 Thomas McKay
, who would become first mayor of Prince Albert
and a prominent territorial politician, was born at Fort Pelly.
succeeded Fort Pelly as district headquarters. In 1909 the Canadian Northern Railway
was built 6 miles north of Fort Pelly, and trade at the fort all but ceased, and it was abandoned in June, 1912.
, at which time all known buildings were located, and 7,000 objects were recovered. The first Fort Pelly site was designated a Historic Site by the Province of Saskatchewan
in 1986 and is operated by the Saskatchewan Parks Service, while the site of the second fort was purchased by the Fort Pelly Historical Society and transferred to the Crown
as a national historic site.
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
fur trading
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
located in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
province of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. The fort was probably named after Sir John Pelly
Sir John Pelly, 1st Baronet
Sir John Henry Pelly, 1st Baronet, DL was an English businessman. During most of his career, he was an employee of the Hudson's Bay Company , serving as Governor of the HBC for three decades. He held other noteworthy offices, including Governor of the Bank of England...
, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. The current village of Pelly, Saskatchewan
Pelly, Saskatchewan
-External links:********...
, takes its name from the fort, and is located approximately 8 miles north of the site of the fort.
The first fort
The first Fort Pelly, at 51°46′42"N 102°00′19"W, was constructed by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1824, in the northeast corner of the elbow of the Assiniboine RiverAssiniboine River
The Assiniboine River is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a single main channel embanked within a flat, shallow valley in some places and a steep valley in...
. It was situated at a convenient portage
Portage
Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...
point between the Assiniboine and Swan Rivers. It was the center of the Hudson's Bay Company's Swan River District. Its first chief trader was Alan McDonell, who selected the site, and constructed its first buildings. The fort consisted of a dwelling house, and Indian house, several staff houses, a store, and stables, all enclosed within a square palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
, 120 feet a side. The fort traded with Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
and Salteaux Indians from the surrounding area. The first fort was destroyed by fire in the winter of 1842 and rebuilt immediately by chief trader Cuthbert Cumming. In 1849 Thomas McKay
Thomas McKay (N.W.T. politician)
Thomas McKay was a farmer and political figure in Saskatchewan, Canada. He represented Prince Albert in the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1891 to 1894 and from 1898 to 1905. McKay was the brother-in-law of Lawrence Clarke, and like Clarke was connected to the Conservative...
, who would become first mayor of Prince Albert
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...
and a prominent territorial politician, was born at Fort Pelly.
The second fort
Fort Pelly was moved to 51°46′35"N 101°59′51"W, approximately one quarter mine southeast, in 1856 due to problems with occasional flooding at the old location, although the old fort was still in some capacity used until at least 1859. On July 15, 1870, the Hudson's Bay Company surrendered its lands to Canada, while retaining its posts and some land immediately surrounding them. The fort was now located on block 17 of the Fort Pelly Reserve. Around 1871 Fort ElliceFort Ellice
Fort Ellice was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post built in 1831 in Rupert's Land near the junction of the Assiniboine and Qu'Appelle rivers. The fort was located in what is now west-central Manitoba, Canada, just east of that province's border with Saskatchewan.It was an important fort, as it was...
succeeded Fort Pelly as district headquarters. In 1909 the Canadian Northern Railway
Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...
was built 6 miles north of Fort Pelly, and trade at the fort all but ceased, and it was abandoned in June, 1912.
Current status
During the summers of 1971 and 1972, the former fort sites were excavated by the Saskatchewan Museum of Natural HistoryRoyal Saskatchewan Museum
The Royal Saskatchewan Museum was established in Regina as the Provincial Museum in 1906 to "secure and preserve natural history specimens and objects of historical and ethnological interest." It was the first museum in Saskatchewan, Canada, and the first provincial museum in the three Prairie...
, at which time all known buildings were located, and 7,000 objects were recovered. The first Fort Pelly site was designated a Historic Site by the Province of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
in 1986 and is operated by the Saskatchewan Parks Service, while the site of the second fort was purchased by the Fort Pelly Historical Society and transferred to the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
as a national historic site.