Kwadacha, also known as Fort Ware or simple Ware, is an aboriginal community in northern
British Columbia, Canada, located in the
Rocky Mountain Trench
The Rocky Mountain Trench, also known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks or simply the Trench, is a large valley on the western side of the northern part of North America's Rocky Mountains. The Trench is both visually and cartographically a s ...
at the confluence of the
Finlay,
Kwadacha and Fox Rivers, in the
Rocky Mountain Trench
The Rocky Mountain Trench, also known as the Valley of a Thousand Peaks or simply the Trench, is a large valley on the western side of the northern part of North America's Rocky Mountains. The Trench is both visually and cartographically a s ...
upstream from the end of the Finlay Reach (north arm) of
Williston Lake. The population is about 350. It is in the federal electoral riding of
Prince George-Peace River.
The community is home to
Kwadacha First Nation, a
Sekani First Nation but a member of the
Kaska Dena tribal council.
History
The area is part of the traditional territory of the
Sekani-speaking people, the Kwadacha, and called ''Tahche'' in their language.
In 1927, the
Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) established an outpost of
Fort Grahame, naming it the Whitewater trading post. It was first built in
Deserters Canyon farther along Finlay River, but was later relocated near the meeting of Fox, Kwadacha and Finlay Rivers. It became a "full-fledged" post in 1929.
The fort introduced the local Kwadacha people to its wares as well as commercial trapping, still a mainstay of life in the region and for the
Kwadacha First Nation. .
In 1938, the fort was re-named Fort Ware after William Ware (1872-1957).
Ware had worked for HBC since 1895, rising from
Chief Factor company store at
Telegraph Creek in 1911 to the District Manager of Fur Trade (1927-1932).
William reportedly portaged across Canada to set up Telegraph Creek Trading Post, meeting and hunting with
Louis Riel along the way.
The HBC post was closed on 31 May 1953.
Flooding from Bennett Dam
The community of Fort Ware was relocated from its original location due to the flooding of the lower Finlay Valley by Lake Williston in the late 1960s.
Some current inhabitants of Fort Ware are relocatees (and their descendants) who formerly lived at locations (such as Finlay Forks, located at the confluence of the
Finlay and
Parsnip Rivers). Before the
Bennett Dam
The W. A. C. Bennett Dam is a large hydroelectric dam on the Peace River in northern British Columbia, Canada. At high, it is one of the world's highest earth fill dams. Construction of the dam began in 1961 and culminated in 1968. At the dam, ...
was completed on the
Peace River in 1967, the combined flow of the Finlay and Parsnip were the beginning of the Peace River, but which itself is now the Peace Arm of
Lake Williston. Finlay Forks was one of several native communities that were flooded out during the creation of Lake Williston (British Columbia's largest lake and one of the world's largest man-made lakes).
Infrastructure
Transportation
No provincial highways reach the community, but a logging road extends north from the
Prince George Prince George may refer to:
People
British princes
* George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (1449-1478), middle brother of Edward IV and Richard III.
* Prince George Augustus, later George II of Great Britain (1683–1760)
* Prince George Will ...
region. A 70 km logging road connects the community with the
Tsay Keh Dene village, whose people are closely related. Additionally there are a series of horse trails following the rocky mountain trench north, ending at the