Fort Carlton was a

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

fur trading post from 1795 until 1885. It was located along the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...

not far from Duck Lake. It is in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and was rebuilt by the

government of Saskatchewan The Government of Saskatchewan (french: Gouvernement de la Saskatchewan) refers to the provincial government of the province of Saskatchewan. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. In modern Canadian use, the term "g ...

as a feature of a provincial historic park and can be visited today. It is about 65 kilometres north of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

History

First called Carlton House, there were several historic Fort Carlton posts that operated in different periods and at three locations. Two posts were established in 1795 and 1805 respectively. A series of forts named Fort Carlton operated at a third location starting in 1810.

Three locations

* The first Fort Carlton (1795–1801) was built at a safer site near the old French post of

Fort de la Corne Fort de la Corne was one of the two French forts established on the Saskatchewan River in the 20 years between the end of La Vérendrye's push west from Lake Superior in 1731–1743 and the fall of New France in 1763. (The other was Fort La Jo ...

in 1795 following the destruction of

South Branch House South Branch House (1785-1794, 1805-1870) was the only significant fur trading post on the South Saskatchewan River. Most trade was on the North Saskatchewan River which was closer to the wooded beaver country. West of the Saskatchewan River Forks ...

. James Bird was in charge; James Sandison (Sanderson) was his assistant; and John Peter Pruden was an apprentice. From 1799 to 1801, Joseph Howse (Howes) was the writer in charge. The

North West Company The 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 is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

(NWC) had a nearby post called Fort St. Louis. It produced few furs and was closed in 1801. * The second Fort Carlton (1805–1810) was built on the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

six miles upstream from the former South Branch House. Joseph Howse (Howes) was a trader. There was a nearby NWC post. In 1810 both companies abandoned the South Saskatchewan and moved to the third Fort Carlton. * The third Fort Carlton (1810–1885) was built on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan at the Great Crossing Place, a ford of that river. John Peter Pruden was master (1814–1815), master and trader (1815–1820), and chief trader (1821–1837) except for a brief furlough to London in 1824–1825. The area was

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

and not beaver country, but there were plentiful woods nearby and even a supply of limestone. The NWC had its Fort La Montée inside the same stockade as the HBC's Fort Carlton. In 1816 the Nor'Westers moved out and established a second Fort La Montée on the north bank 3 miles upstream. With the union in 1821 La Montée was abandoned and whatever could be salvaged was rafted down to Fort Carlton. In 1824 a group of Natives attacked Fort Carlton but were driven off. By 1835 the buildings were in disrepair and a new hexagonal fort was built 200 yards to the west. This fell into disrepair and a new fort was built a few yards east of the first fort in 1855–1858. About this time it was a depot for the winter express mail. Men coming from the upper Saskatchewan and

Athabasca River The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') is a river in Alberta, Canada, which originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is pro ...

s would meet and exchange mail with men coming from the

Red River Colony The Red River Colony (or Selkirk Settlement), also known as Assiniboia, Assinboia, was a colonization project set up in 1811 by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, on of land in British North America. This land was granted to Douglas by the Hud ...

south of Lake

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. There was a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

epidemic in 1869. Steamboats arrived on the Saskatchewan River in 1874. The last fort at this location burned down in 1885 after a period of use as a police post (see below).

Commercial

As a Company post it primarily dealt in provisions, namely

pemmican Pemmican (also pemican in older sources) is a mixture of tallow, dried meat, and sometimes dried berries. A calorie-rich food, it can be used as a key component in prepared meals or eaten raw. Historically, it was an important part of indigenou ...

and buffalo robes although other furs were traded as well. Lawrence Clarke served as its last

Chief Factor A factor is a type of trader who receives and sells goods on commission, called factorage. A factor is a mercantile fiduciary transacting business in his own name and not disclosing his principal. A factor differs from a commission merchant in ...

. It was a major base of operations for the Saskatchewan District of the Hudson's Bay Company. Situated on the

Carlton Trail The Carlton Trail was the primary land transportation route in the Canadian Northwest for most of the 19th century, connecting Fort Carlton to Edmonton along a line of intermediate places. It was part of a trail network that stretched from the Red ...

, running from the

in present-day Manitoba to

Fort Edmonton Fort Edmonton (also named Edmonton House) was the name of a series of trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) from 1795 to 1914, all of which were located on the north banks of the North Saskatchewan River in what is now central Alberta, ...

in what is now

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Fort Carlton served as an important centre for travellers.

Police and military use 1880–1885

Treaty Six Treaty 6 is the sixth of the numbered treaties that were signed by the Canadian Crown and various First Nations between 1871 and 1877. It is one of a total of 11 numbered treaties signed between the Canadian Crown and First Nations. Specifica ...

between the

Canadian monarch The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the found ...

and various

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

and

Saulteaux The Saulteaux (pronounced , or in imitation of the French pronunciation , also written Salteaux, Saulteau and other variants), otherwise known as the Plains Ojibwe, are a First Nations band government in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Al ...

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

was initially negotiated and signed near the Fort in 1876. Big Bear (Mistahimaskwa) had used the site in his initial negotiations for Treaty Six in about 1884, and finally, the following year he surrendered here after his engagement at Steele Narrows. The Prince Albert blockhouse was employed by the

Royal North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territor ...

on evacuating from Fort Carlton after the first fire. The

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...

leased the fort from the HBC in the 1880s, and it was its main base in the

Saskatchewan Valley The Saskatchewan Valley is a geographic area in Saskatchewan, Canada encompassing generally a triangle from North Battleford, to Saskatoon, north to the Saskatchewan River Forks east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Historically home to the Cree ab ...

region. Following the

Battle of Duck Lake The Battle of Duck Lake (26 March 1885) was an infantry skirmish outside Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, between North-West Mounted Police forces of the Government of Canada, and the Métis militia of Louis Riel's newly established Provisional Govern ...

it was abandoned by the police and

Prince Albert Volunteers The Prince Albert Volunteers (PAV) is the name of two historical infantry units headquartered in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The unit was first raised in 1885 during the North-West Rebellion and disbanded after hostilities ceased. In the 20th cen ...

, then it was briefly occupied by Gabriel Dumont's

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

forces. The rebels soon chose to withdraw to Batoche. During the 1885 conflict, the fort was destroyed by fire.

Provincial park and reconstructed fort

Fort Carlton was reconstructed in 1967 and it was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1976. It features a partial reconstruction of the fort c. 1880, including four replica buildings of "Red River frame" construction. In 1986 the site was designated a

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

of Saskatchewan.

Notes

References

External links

Fort Carlton
-

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

Canadian Registry of Historic Places

- Virtual Saskatchewan
Fort Carlton Provincial Park
{{Authority control North-West Rebellion

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

National Historic Sites in Saskatchewan

Hudson's Bay Company forts North West Company forts Museums in Saskatchewan Open-air museums in Canada History museums in Saskatchewan Rosthern No. 403, Saskatchewan Forts or trading posts on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Canadian Register of Historic Places in Saskatchewan Division No. 15, Saskatchewan Prince Albert Volunteers Provincial parks of Saskatchewan