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 Settlement and Fort Sturgeon River. It was located on the north bank of the river just east of the mouth of the

Sturgeon River (Saskatchewan) Sturgeon River is a river in the Hudson Bay drainage basin in the central part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It flows from its source in the Waskesiu Hills in Prince Albert National Park to the North Saskatchewan River, just west ...

in the Aspen parkland country. To the south the grassland made a sort of "bay" into the forest. The woods to the north provided furs and the grassland to the south buffalo for food. About 1775 a group of "Pedlars" (independent traders from Montreal) were downriver near the old

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 ...

. Seeing the disadvantages of competition they formed a pool (in either 1775 or 1776) which by 1779 became 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 ...

. Among them were

Joseph Frobisher The Hon. Joseph Frobisher (April 15, 1748 – September 12, 1810) M.P., J.P., was one of Montreal's most important fur traders. He was elected to the 1st Parliament of Lower Canada and was a seigneur with estates totalling 57,000 acres. ...

, Peter Pond, Peter Pangman, Nicholas Montour, William Bruce and Bartholomew Blondeau. In 1776 they moved upriver and built Fort Sturgeon. In the spring of 1778 Peter Pond set off with 5 canoes and 20 men, crossed the Methye Portage for the first time and wintered 30 miles south of Lake Athabasca. He returned next year with excellent furs, thereby opening up the

Athabasca Country In fur trade days the term Athabasca Country was used for the fur-producing region around Lake Athabasca. The area was important for two reasons. The cold climate produced some of the densest and thickest beaver fur in North America. The numbe ...

. In 1778 Pangman and Blondeau built a fort upstream near Silver Grove, Saskatchewan. In 1779

William Tomison William Tomison was a Scottish fur trader who helped found and build a number of trading posts for the Hudson Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur tradin ...

of the HBC came up from Cumberland House and traded while the Pedlars were away. The post had more Indian troubles than most and there were several killings on both sides. In 1777 three men from Fort Sturgeon were killed allegedly for maltreatment of the Indians. In 1780 Indians burnt the fort to the ground when the traders were away. The Pedlars returned and built a new post "a little below the old House". Morton guesses this was on the north bank opposite Betts Island 1.5 miles above the Prince Albert bridge.

Peter Fidler Peter Fidler (16 August 1769 – 17 December 1822) was a British surveyor, map-maker, fur trader and explorer who had a long career in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in what later became Canada. He was born in Bolsover, Derbyshire, ...

passed by in 1792 and saw only ruins. In 1794 David Grant had a post on the Sturgeon River but did poorly because of NWC competition and inability to control his men. The XY Company (1798–1804) had a post two miles above the Sturgeon and both the HBC and NWC built competing post on the Sturgeon River itself. Innis mentions a "Hudson's House" built in 1776 above Prince Albert.Harold Innis, "The Fur Trade in Canada:,1970, page 153 The site is marked by a cairn at the end of Peter Pond Road off highway 3 four miles east of Prince Albert. The original site may have been washed away by the river.

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