Grand Portage National Monument is a United States National Monument located on the north shore of

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

in northeastern

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

that preserves a vital center of

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

activity and Anishinaabeg

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

heritage. The area became one of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

's four main fur trading centers in North America, along with

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great L ...

Fort Detroit A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

, and

Michilimackinac Michilimackinac ( ) is derived from an Ottawa Ojibwe name for present-day Mackinac Island and the region around the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.. Early settlers of North America applied the term to the entire region ...

. The ''Grand Portage'' is an (2720 rod)

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as Motor vehicle, motorized vehicles, bicycles and horseback, horses. They ...

which bypasses a set of waterfalls and rapids on the last of the Pigeon River before it flows into

. This path is part of the historic

trade route A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. The term can also be used to refer to trade over land or water. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a singl ...

of the French-Canadian

voyageurs Voyageurs (; ) were 18th- and 19th-century French and later French Canadians and others who transported furs by canoe at the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ...

and coureur des bois between their wintering grounds and their depots to the east. Composed of the Pigeon River and other strategic interior streams, lakes, and portages, this route was of enormous importance in pre-industrial times. It provided quick water access from Canada's settled areas and Atlantic ports to the fur-rich

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to "sole trade and commerce" over Rupert's Land was granted to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based a ...

and the

North-Western Territory The North-Western Territory was a region of British North America extant until 1870 and named for where it lay in relation to Rupert's Land. Because of the lack of development, exploration, and cartographic limits of the time, the exact boun ...

. Some upstream from Lake Superior, this trade route crosses the Height of Land Portage, on the Northern continental divide, and connects South Lake in the Pigeon River/Great Lakes watershed with North Lake of the Rainy River watershed. Grand Portage therefore was an essential link between the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the

Nelson River The Nelson River is a river of north-central North America, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. The river drains Lake Winnipeg and runs before it ends in Hudson Bay near Port Nelson, Manitoba, Port Nels ...

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast o ...

and that of the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

to the Atlantic Ocean.

History

As early as 2,000 years ago, Native American Nations probably used ''Gichi-onigaming'', or "the Great Carrying Place", to travel from summer homes on Lake Superior to winter hunting grounds in the interior of Minnesota and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. In 1729

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

guide ''Auchagah'' drew a map for

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (17 November 1685 – 5 December 1749) was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader, and explorer. In the 1730s, he and his four sons explored the area west of Lake Superior and es ...

, one of the early French fur traders, showing how to reach the "western sea" of

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

. In time, Grand Portage became the gateway into rich northern fur-bearing country, where it connected remote interior outposts to lucrative international markets. The Grand Portage trail is an trail connecting Grand Portage with Fort Charlotte on the Pigeon River. ''Voyageurs'' from the

would carry their furs by canoe to Fort Charlotte, and portage the bundles of fur to Grand Portage. There they met traders from Montreal, and exchanged the furs for trade goods and supplies. Each canoe "brigade" then returned to its starting place. The fur traders built Fort Charlotte as a trading fort at Grand Portage. There they built the Grand Hall in the French colonial style, which housed their meetings, a general store, and other facilities. British operations in Grand Portage came under pressure after the signing of the

Jay Treaty The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, Between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, commonly known as the Jay Treaty, and also as Jay's Treaty, was a 1794 treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted ...

in 1795, the finalization of western portion of the U.S./Canada border in 1818, and gradual settlement of the Minnesota Territory by U.S. settlers. In mid-July 1802, partners of the

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

, the most successful fur trade company in North America, met in their Grand Hall at Grand Portage. They voted to move their summer headquarters from the protected shores of Lake Superior's Grand Portage Bay north to the mouth of the Kaministiquia River. Almost from the time the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Nor'Westers had organized at Grand Portage in the mid-1780s, an emerging

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

wanted them to stop competing with Americans in this territory. The July vote meant that the North West Company would tear down its 18 buildings and transport the materials north in company schooners for use in constructing the planned new Fort William, far from U.S. soil. The buildings were constructed from native squared

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

and

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

and were surrounded by more than 2,000 cedar pickets. In 1854 the Ojibwe signed a treaty with the U.S. establishing Grand Portage as part of their reservation. A school was established to educate the tribe members and a post office was created in 1856. In 1887 the government chose to abolish the reservation, opening it to general settlement. In 1951 the property was designated as the Grand Portage National Historic Site and opened for visitors. In 1958, it was designated a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

. The portage trail has also been separately designated a Minnesota State Historic Site. The monument's lie entirely within the boundaries of the Grand Portage Indian Reservation. The depot was reconstructed to allow celebration of the fur trade and Ojibwe lifeways. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1966.

Attractions and events

The

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

trail exists in much the same location and condition as in historic times. Visitors can hike from Lake Superior to the Pigeon River. Volunteers and park staff at the monument dress in period attire. They staff the Kitchen, Great Hall, Canoe Warehouse, Ojibwe Village and Voyageur Encampment in and around the Stockade, and explain and interpret what life was like at the trading post at the turn of the 18th century. During the second weekend of August, the Grand Portage National Monument hosts a '' rendezvous'' re-enactment. At the same time, the Grand Portage Indian Reservation holds a pow wow, which attracts many Native American visitors. The Rendezvous and Pow Wow coincide with the Perseid meteor shower. The four corner rooms off of the Great Hall are each decorated to represent a different aspect of the fur trade, including a shareholder's bedroom, a trading post with examples of furs and goods that would have been exchanged, a London streetscape with finished goods made from the furs that came through Grand Portage, and a hatter's shop showing the steps of turning beaver pelts into fine felt hats.

Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center

Opened in 2007, the ''Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center'' features exhibit galleries about Ojibwe culture and the fur trade, a bookstore, multi-media programs, park offices, archives and a classroom. The center is a collaboration between the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. It overlooks the reconstructed fur trading post.

Grand Portage

Voyageur route

This section covers the voyageur route from Grand Portage westward to the juncture of the route from Fort William at Lac La Croix. The Pigeon River is about directly north of the reconstructed fort. The Pigeon flows basically east and enters Lake Superior at a bay about east northeast. The portage trail meets the Pigeon about northwest at the former Fort Charlotte. The portage existed to bypass the river east of Fort Charlotte. From Fort Charlotte the canoe route then went west up the Pigeon past the mouth of the Arrow River to the east-west Mountain Lake. The old Native American route went north, with a drop of , to the east-west Arrow Lake. The voyageurs, with their heavy freight canoes, cut a new route that ran west over the Petit Neuf or Watape Portage to Watape Lake which is in the Arrow River drainage. Then through the Petit Detroit to Rove Lake and the Grand Neuf or Long Portage to Rose Lake at the west end of Arrow Lake. From Rose Lake up the Arrow to South Lake. From South Lake north over the 700-yard Height of Land Portage to North Lake whose waters flow west to Lake Winnipeg. From here the route went west down through several rivers and numerous lakes to Lac La Croix where the route from Fort William came in. Lac La Croix is about west of Grand Portage and about west of Height of Land Portage.

Trail today

The ''Grand Portage'' was developed in order to avoid numerous short portages. Beginning at the stockade on Grand Portage Bay of

, the trail leads westward into the wilderness to a mid-point on the Pigeon River, bypassing numerous rapids and a variety of waterfalls. (The most notable are ''Middle Falls'' and ''Pigeon Falls''. Both are part of the Grand Portage State Park and are within the Rove Formation. Middle Falls is most easily seen from Pigeon River Provincial Park on the Canadian side of the border.) The portage begins on Lake Superior, elevation , rising as it moves westward through two notches in the Sawtooth Mountain range. It briefly levels off around after . Another you reach the inland county highway. From here, the trail is more level, rising to , the highest location on the trail, before dropping back to at Fort Charlotte on the Pigeon River. The trail's high point is the head of a drainage flowing to the Pigeon River at Fort Charlotte. The headwaters has become a large

beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

pond. The dam is located along the trail route and has a boardwalk atop it, added for modern visitors. Grand Portage of-the Pigeon River Minnesota

Archeology

Almost all the information known about the physical layout of Grand Portage National Monument comes from archeological studies. * Cooper, David J., Of Sextants and Satellites: David Thompson and the Grand Portage GIS Study CRLS Colloquium, Kenora, Ontario, Canada, 2004. * Hamilton, Scott, Graham, James, Norris, Dave, "If These Walls Could Speak:" Using GIS to Explore the Fort at Grand Portage National Monument, Department of Anthropology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay Ontario, Canada, 2004. * Birk, Douglas A., Archeologist/Historian, Grand Portage National Monument Maintenance Area Preliminary Survey, February 2006. * Clark, Caven, Ph.D., Late Prehistoric Cultural Affiliation Study, Grand Portage National Monument, Prepared by Archeological Consulting Services, Ltd., Tempe, Arizona, November 9, 1999 * Woolworth, Alan R., An Historical Study of the Grand Portage, Grand Portage National Monument, Minnesota, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1993 * Woolworth, Alan. Archaeological Excavations at the North West Company's Depot, Grand Portage, Minnesota in 1970–1971 (1975) * Woolworth, Alan. Archaeological Excavations at Grand Portage National Monument: 1963–1964 Field Season (1969) * Woolworth, Alan. Archaeological Excavations at Grand Portage National Monument: 1962 Field Season (1968) * Woolworth, Alan. Archaeological Excavations at the North West Company's Fur Trade Post, Grand Portage, Minnesota, in 1936–1937 (1963)

Route west

John McDonell, a clerk for the

, identified the routes between Grand Portage and Rainy Lake in the 1790s. Henry Hind in 1860 traced the route and provided more details than provided by McDonell.

Image gallery

Image:GRPO from Mount Rose.JPG, The Grand Portage depot and dock as seen from the top of Mount Rose Image:Grand Portage Trail Sign.jpg, Informational sign located at the midway point of the Grand Portage Trail Image:GRPO reenactor in trade shop.JPG, A visiting reenactor in the reconstructed trade shop located in the Great Hall Image:GRPO Rendezvous Camp.JPG, Rendezvous camp at Grand Portage August 2008 File:Great Hall Grand Portage MN Fall.jpg, Great Hall in the fall of 1983. Mount Rose rises behind the hall. Image:Grand Portage Pow Wow 2009.JPG, Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Pow Wow at the Grand Portage Indian Reservation in 2009

References

External links

National Park Service - Grand Portage National Monument

Video documentary on 'Grand Portage during the peak of the Fur Trade'

''Manitoba Historical Society: Grand Portage - Bas de la Riviere Route (F)''
{{authority control 1960 establishments in Minnesota Historic trails and roads in Minnesota Living museums in Minnesota Museums in Cook County, Minnesota National Park Service national monuments in Minnesota Native American history of Minnesota Native American museums in Minnesota North West Company Ojibwe in Minnesota Protected areas established in 1960 Protected areas of Cook County, Minnesota Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Cook County, Minnesota Portages on the National Register of Historic Places Ojibwe culture