Fort de la Corne was one of the two French forts established on the

Saskatchewan River The Saskatchewan River (Cree: ''kisiskāciwani-sīpiy'', "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining together of the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan Rivers to Lake Winn ...

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 Jonquière Fort La Jonquière was a French fort built along the Saskatchewan River in the spring of 1751. It was purported to have been the furthest west outpost of New France. The fort was named after the Governor General of New France at the time, Jacque ...

built two years earlier.) It was originally called Fort St. Louis, and later also called Fort des Prairies, Nippeween and Fort à la Corne. It was located downstream from the

Saskatchewan River Forks Saskatchewan River Forks refers to the area in Canada where the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan rivers merge to create the Saskatchewan River. It is about east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The province of Saskatchewan maintains the ...

at the mouth of the Pehonan Creek a mile west of the later HBC post. It was built in 1753 by

Louis de la Corne, Chevalier de la Corne Louis de la Corne or Louis Chapt, Chevalier de la Corne (June 6, 1703 – November 15, 1761) was born at Fort Frontenac in what is now Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and began his career in the colonial regular troops as a second ensign in 1722 and was ...

, the third of the four western commanders who followed La Vérendrye. It was a fur trade post, the western end of the chain of posts that diverted furs away from the English on Hudson Bay and a base for exploration of the Saskatchewan which the French thought might lead to the Pacific. For most of its existence it was an outpost of

Fort Paskoya Fort Paskoya or Paskoyac or Pasquia was a French fort and trading post on the lower Saskatchewan River above Cedar Lake. Around 1740 La Vérendrye built four forts to control the chain of lakes west of Lake Winnipeg. These were Fort Pascoya, For ...

. It was closed in 1759 with the fall of New France. The site was apparently well-chosen. In 1775 the "Pedlars" built post in the area before moving upstream to

Fort Sturgeon Fort Sturgeon (1776–1780) was the first trading post on the North Saskatchewan River. It was located about 4 miles west of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. It and was also called Peter Pond Fort, Fort Pond, Fort la Prairie, Fort des Prairies, Lower S ...

in 1776. In 1795 the Pedlars or

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 ...

built a Fort St Louis on the right bank of the river immediately below Peonan Creek. About five miles upstream were three more houses possibly called Isaac's House, named after Isaac Batt, and Fort aux Trembles. In 1796 the Hudson's Bay Company built the first Carleton House a mile and a half downstream. In 1846 the Hudson's Bay Company built its ''Fort St. Louis'' a few miles from original fort. This fort became linked to 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 ...

by a side route called ''Fort à la Corne Trail'' 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 ...

. Today the Fort à la Corne Provincial Forest surrounds the site of the old fur trade posts. The site 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 1926. The

James Smith First Nation The James Smith First Nation ( cr, ᓂᐦᑖᐏᑭᐦᒋᑲᓂᕽ ''nihtâwikihcikanihk'', meaning: ''at the place of good growth'') is a Plains Cree Indigenous band government whose reserve is north of Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada. James ...

is nearby. In the 2000s, diamond exploration was undertaken in the Fort à la Corne kimberlite field by

De Beers De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and c ...

and ShoreGold. A partnership of

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

and Star Diamond Corporation continued work through the 2010s and in early 2021 announced significant finds of commercial-grade diamonds. It was not yet known whether the project would proceed to a commercial mining operation.

References

*Arthur Morton, "A History of Western Canada", no date

External links

Vérendrye.shtml Manitoba Historical Society - La Vérendrye

Manitoba Historical Society - Timeline
{{coord, 53, 09, N, 104, 48, W, type:landmark_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Corne, de la North West Company forts National Historic Sites in Saskatchewan Hudson's Bay Company forts Populated places on the Saskatchewan River Forts or trading posts on the National Historic Sites of Canada register 1753 establishments in the French colonial empire Kinistino No. 459, Saskatchewan Division No. 15, Saskatchewan

See also

References

External links