Fort Kaministiquia (former spellings include Fort Camanistigoyan, Fort Kanastigoya, Fort Kamanastigoya and others), was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

fort in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. It was located on the north shore of

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

at the mouth of the

Kaministiquia River The Kaministiquia River is a river which flows into western Lake Superior at the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario. ''Kaministiquia'' (''Gaa-ministigweyaa'') is an Ojibwe word meaning "where a stream flows in island" due to two large islands (McKellar ...

, in modern-day

Thunder Bay, Ontario Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...

, Canada. It and

Grand Portage Grand Portage National Monument is a United States National Monument located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota that preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage. The area became one ...

to the west were the starting points of the early Canadian canoe routes from the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...

. Details of the route can be found under

. In 1685 Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut built a post nearby. In 1688

Jacques de Noyon Jacques de Noyon (12 February 1668 – 12 May 1745) was a French Canadian explorer and coureur des bois. He is the first known European to visit the Boundary Waters region west of Lake Superior. Jacques de Noyon was born on 12 February 1668, in T ...

went from Kaministiquia as far as

Rainy Lake Rainy Lake ( French: '; Ojibwe: ') is a freshwater lake with a surface area of that straddles the border between the United States and Canada. The Rainy River issues from the west side of the lake and is harnessed to make hydroelectricity for ...

. In 1696 the post was abandoned along with many western posts when the system of fur trade permits (congés) was abolished due to a surplus of beaver. In 1717 Zacharie Robutel de la Noue was sent west to find the western sea. It is not clear how far inland he got but he seems to have established Fort Kaministiquia and remained there until 1721.

Coureurs des bois A coureur des bois (; ) or coureur de bois (; plural: coureurs de(s) bois) was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian trader who travelled in New France and the interior of North America, usually to trade with First Nations peoples by ...

seem to have spread out from the fort, but we only know of them from rumors picked up by the English on Hudson Bay. MortonMorton, pages 162,169 thinks they may have gotten as far as Lake Winnipeg. From 1717 it was one of the ''postes du nord'' which included a post on the

Nipigon River The Nipigon River is located in Thunder Bay District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The river is about long (or when measured to the head of Ombabika River) and , and flows from Lake Nipigon to Nipigon Bay on Lake Superior at the communit ...

and one at Michipicoten. La Vérendrye took over the postes du nord in 1728 and in 1731–1743 he pushed trade and exploration west beyond

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg (french: Lac Winnipeg, oj, ᐑᓂᐸᑲᒥᐠᓴᑯ˙ᑯᐣ, italics=no, Weenipagamiksaguygun) is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada. Its southern end is about north of ...

, mainly via Grand Portage using Kaministiquia as a base. It was abandoned in 1758 or 1760 with the fall of New France. Trade was open again by at least 1767, most likely using the easier Grand Portage. When 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 ...

was driven out of Grand Portage (it was on the US side) they established Fort William on the site of Fort Kaministiquia. Whatever remains of the fort is probably buried under the town of Thunder Bay.

References

Bibliography

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

External links

''Fort Kaministiquia''

''Manitoba Historical Society - The French Presence in the West''
{{New France

Kaministiquia Kaministiquia () is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Thunder Bay District on Highway 102 approximately 30 kilometres west of Thunder Bay. A designated place served by a local services board, Kaministiquia had a p ...

History of Thunder Bay

1685 establishments in New France 1696 disestablishments in New France 1717 establishments in New France 18th-century disestablishments in New France