Moose Factory is a community in the
Cochrane District, OntarioCochrane District, Ontario is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1921 from parts of Timiskaming and Thunder Bay districts....
,
CanadaCanada 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...
. It is on
Moose Factory IslandMoose Factory Island is an island in the Moose River, Ontario, Canada, about from its mouth at James Bay. It is adjacent to the community of Moosonee across the Moose River, from which it is accessible by water taxi....
, near the mouth of the
Moose RiverThe Moose River is a Canadian river in the Hudson Plains ecozone of northern Ontario which flows 100 km northeast from the junction of the Mattagami and Missinaibi Rivers into James Bay. Its drainage basin is 108,500 km² and it has a mean discharge rate of 1370 m³/s. Its full length...
, which is at the southern end of
James BayJames Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...
. It was the first
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking settlement in Ontario and the second
Hudson's Bay CompanyThe 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...
post to be set up in
North AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
after
Fort RupertWaskaganish is a Cree village of about 2000 people at the mouth of the Rupert River on the south-east shore of James Bay in the Eeyou Istchee territory in Northern Quebec, Canada...
. Across the Moose River is the nearby community of
MoosoneeMoosonee is a town in northern Ontario, Canada, on the Moose River approximately south of James Bay. It is considered as "the Gateway to the Arctic" and has Ontario's only saltwater port...
, which is accessible by
water taxiA water taxi or water bus, also known as a commuter boat, is a watercraft used to provide public transport, usually but not always in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or on demand to many locations, operating in a similar...
in the summer and
ice roadIce roads are frozen, human-made structures on the surface of bays, rivers, lakes, or seas in the far north. They link dry land, frozen waterways, portages and winter roads, and are usually remade each winter. Ice roads allow temporary transport to areas with no permanent road access...
in the winter.
The island and town are mainly inhabited by indigenous
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...
people, but are politically divided into two entities:
- Factory Island 1 (population: 1451) - Indian reserve
In Canada, an Indian reserve is specified by the Indian Act as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." The Act also specifies that land reserved for the use and benefit of a band which is not...
of 3.08 square kilometres (1.2 sq mi) that make up the northern two-thirds of the island, belonging to the Moose Cree First NationThe Moose Cree First Nation is a Cree First Nation in northern Ontario, Canada. Since time immemorial, their traditional territory is on the west side of James Bay...
and is governed by an elected Chief, Deputy Chief, and Councilors. In 2005, Patricia Faries-Akiwenzie, a practicing lawyer from Moose Factory, became the first woman to be elected as Chief.
- Unorganized Cochrane District
Unorganized Cochrane North Part is an unorganized area in the District of Cochrane in northeastern Ontario, Canada. It comprises all parts of the district north of Timmins and Iroquois Falls which are not part of an incorporated municipality.-Communities:...
(population: 1007) - Unincorporated southern third of the island, home to the old Hudson's Bay CompanyThe 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...
post and government services, governed by the provincial Local Services Board and the federal Weeneebayko Health Ahtuskaywin that administers the regional medical facility, Weeneebayko General Hospital.
"Factory" refers to the archaic term for the
trading posts systemFactory was the English term for the trading posts system originally established by Europeans in foreign territories, first within different states of medieval Europe, and later in their colonial possessions...
used by European colonial powers.
History
The area was explored by
Pierre-Esprit RadissonPierre-Esprit Radisson was a French-Canadian fur trader and explorer. He is often linked to his brother-in-law Médard des Groseilliers who was about 20 years older. The decision of Radisson and Groseilliers to enter the English service led to the formation of the Hudson's Bay Company.Born near...
in the winter of 1670/71 from the base at Rupert House. In 1673,
Charles BaylyCharles Bayly, , the first overseas governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, likely spent his early years in the court of Queen Henrietta Maria, the wife of Charles I...
of the
Hudson's Bay CompanyThe 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...
established a fur-
trading postA 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....
originally called
Moose Fort. Besides trading, it was also intended to protect the company's interests from French traders to the south. The fort was profitable and had a direct impact on the fur trade in
New FranceNew France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
. So in 1686,
Chevalier de TroyesPierre de Troyes, Chevalier de Troyes , a captain in the French army arrived at Quebec in August 1685 with reinforcements for the colony...
led a small contingent of French soldiers north on an
expedition to raid HBC fortsThe Hudson Bay expedition of 1686 was one of the Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay. It was the first several expeditions sent from New France against the trading outposts of the Hudson's Bay Company in the southern reaches of Hudson Bay...
. The English defenders were caught by total surprise and surrendered. The French captured Moose Fort and renamed it to Fort St. Louis. Ten years later in 1696, the English recaptured it and burned it to the ground. No trace has remained of this original fort.
The Hudson's Bay Company set up a new fort in 1730, one mile upstream from the old site, to accommodate Cree traders for whom travel to the other James Bay posts was too dangerous. Five years later, this one also was destroyed by a fire that started in the kitchen, but was rebuilt over a period of seven years.
In 1821, when the Hudson's Bay Company merged with the rival
North West CompanyThe North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
, there were no longer any serious threats and the post expanded beyond the fort's
palisadeA 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...
s. Thereafter it came to be known as Moose Factory. It became HBC's main base on James Bay, being the administrative headquarters of the Southern Department. The Governor of Rupert's Land and Council met frequently there to plan for the coming year's operations.
In 1905, the Cree signed a treaty (
Treaty 9Treaty 9 was an agreement established in July, 1905, between the Government of Canada in the name of King Edward VII and various First Nations in northern Ontario. One First Nation community in the bordering Abitibi region of northwestern Quebec is included in this treaty...
) with the government that established the Factory Island Indian Reserve. Around the same time, the Parisian furrier company
Revillon FrèresRévillon Frères was a French fur and luxury goods company, founded in 1723.At the end of the 19th century, Revillon had stores in Paris, London, New York, and Montreal. -Fur trading operation:...
set up a trading post on the west bank of the Moose River. This post, first known as Moose River Post, grew into the town of Moosonee and provided stiff competition to the HBC Moose Factory post. In 1931, the
Temiskaming and Northern Ontario RailwayThe Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario....
was completed at Moosonee. This allowed supplies to be delivered from the south by train, thereby making sea voyages redundant that could only be done once per year. In 1936, the last supply ship arrived.
After World War II, the Hudson's Bay Company transformed into a retail business, and in 1960, it opened a modern retail store in Moose Factory. The HBC staff house and other historic properties were converted into the open-air museum of Centennial Park that opened in 1967. The HBC continued to operate in Moose Factory until 1987, when its operations in northern Canada, including Moose Factory, were sold to
The North West CompanyThe North West Company is a grocery and merchandise store in remote communities across northern Canada and Alaska. Through its subsidiary, Cost-U-Less stores it also operates in the US territories of Guam, The CNMI, and American Samoa and in the Caribbean....
. Today, the North West Company operates a grocery and general goods store at the Moose Cree Complex and a furniture, outdoor vehicles, fast food outlet and convenience store near some of the historic HBC buildings.
Economy
The economy of the island is based on the service sector, tourism, and construction. The largest employer is the Weeneebayko General Hospital, followed by Moose Cree First Nation and Northern Stores.
Traditional subsistence lifestyles are no longer practiced by the Cree population but the majority of people still practice the traditional spring and fall goose hunt. Still practiced are the preparation and tanning of moose hides, the making of moccasins, moose hide mitts, beading, tamarack geese and snowshoes, with the handicrafts being sold locally.
Education
Moose Factory has three schools:
- Ministik Public School is a public elementary school operated by the Moose Factory Island District School Area Board
- Delores D. Echum Composite School is a senior elementary and secondary school operated by the Moose Cree Education Authority
- Christian Academy is a private school
Some post-secondary programs are provided by Northern College.
Attractions and tourism
Notable attractions in Moose Factory include:
- St. Thomas' Anglican Church
St. Thomas' Anglican Church is an historic Carpenter Gothic style Anglican church edifice built by the Hudson's Bay Company in Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada.-History:Construction began in 1864 but was not completed until 1885. St...
- a historic Carpenter GothicCarpenter Gothic, also sometimes called Carpenter's Gothic, and Rural Gothic, is a North American architectural style-designation for an application of Gothic Revival architectural detailing and picturesque massing applied to wooden structures built by house-carpenters...
style Anglican church, completed in 1885
- Centennial Park:
- Hudson's Bay Company staff house - originally the "officers' dwelling" for HBC doctors, captains, clerks, and secretaries, it is now used as a museum and tourism office. The staff house was built between 1847 and 1850, making it the oldest building in the James Bay area and the last surviving HBC officers' dwelling.
- Hudson's Bay Company cemetery - Oldest tombstone is from 1802, marking the grave of the Cree wife and children of John Thomas who was the post's factor
A factor, from the Latin "he who does" , is a person who professionally acts as the representative of another individual or other legal entity, historically with his seat at a factory , notably in the following contexts:-Mercantile factor:In a relatively large company, there could be a hierarchy,...
at that time. There are only a few graves of British men, since they would return home upon retirement or completion of their contract.
- Joseph Turner House - oldest known surviving servant house of the HBC, built in 1863.
- William McLeod House - carpenter's house built in 1889.
- Ham Sackabuckiskum House - the only surviving Cree summer home and one of the first balloon-frame construction house in Moose Factory, built in 1926 by the HBC as an incentive to ensure loyalty from Cree trappers.
- Blacksmith shop - last known surviving HBC blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shop, built in 1849 and was used until 1934.
- Powder magazine - the only stone structure, built in 1865, was part of the palisaded warehouse complex. In the early 20th century, it was converted from gunpowder to general storage.
- Cree Cultural Interpretive Centre - an interpretive centre that displays many aspects of Cree culture and crafts.
- Cree Village Eco-lodge - an eco-tourist lodge and restaurant.
Outdoor tourism in summer and winter, such as
trap-lineTrap-lining or trap line refers to a feeding strategy amongst certain families of birds, notably hummingbirds and woodpeckers. These birds visit a circuit of specific plants, trees, or other feeding sites, much as trappers check their lines of traps....
tours, canoe expeditions, and
snowmobileA snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including...
trips, are locally provided. The
Tidewater Provincial ParkTidewater Provincial Park is a provincial park located on four islands in the Moose River estuary between Moosonee and Moose Factory, Ontario, Canada.-External links:*...
is nearby on the adjacent island facing Moosonee.
The 19th century buildings associated with the Hudson's Bay Company post were designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1957.
Notable natives and residents
- NHL Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player Jonathan CheechooJonathan Earl Cheechoo is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger currently playing for the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League. During the 2005–06 National Hockey League season, he led the NHL with 56 goals and won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy...
is a native of Moose Factory.
External links