Historic Fort William Park

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Yesterday we traveled the short distance from Sleeping Giant to Trowbridge Park in Thunder Bay.  After getting set up we went to Wal-Mart for groceries and found WiFi in the parking lot of the Landmark Hotel.  We spent the rest of the day planning out our 6 days we will be here.  It was a disappointment that the campground does not have WiFi, so we will be accumulating several posts, then uploading them all at once when we find WiFi.

Today, Thursday, we went to Historic Fort William Park located west of Thunder Bay.  The park is a re-creation of Fort William during 1817.  Fur trading was big in Canada during this period.  As we mentioned before, there were two large companies, Hudson Bay, headquartered in London, and the Northwest Company, headquartered in Montreal.  Fort William was owned and run by NWC and was a gathering place once a year during the summer months where trappers brought their furs from as far west as the Pacific Ocean and as far east as Montreal.  Supplies also came during this time from Montreal.

The vehicle used for transportation was the birch-bark canoe.  Some things to ponder.  First, think about the terrain both east and west of here.  It is tough and desolate.  There is no completed waterway in either direction, so the canoes had to be portaged around non-navigable areas, of which there were many.  Now think about the 800 pounds of stuff they were carrying.  At each portage, the canoe was unloaded and carried.  At about 250 pounds.  The canoes were light for their size, about 22 feet, but think about 2 or 3 guys lugging that thing for sometimes miles over hilly rough trails.  Then they went back for the cargo, making multiple trips. Geez…, makes ya tied just thinking about it!

The journey took 6 weeks from Montreal and over 2 months from the northwest.  For the trappers, this was payday, but they did not receive money, they received company credits.  The fur pelts were the “currency” and it was based on the beaver.  The beaver was one unit, the fox, for example could be worth 1/2 to 2 units.  A 1/2 unit would get you a  tin coffee cup, a wool blanket could cost 12 units.  So a trapper would amass credits that they could use to buy goods or services at Fort William.

Craftsman, doctors, and cooks, etc. working at Fort William were there under contract from NWC.  They received room, food, and clothes, but were paid by company credits.  So, for anything additional they used company credits.  When they left, quit or retired, they had to go to Montreal for their “lump sum”.  See any similarity?  They lived on credit, just like many do today.

 

Trapping was done in the winter months so the trek to Fort William started as soon as the ice melted.  This was a busy place during summer months.  When the trading was completed the pelts were packaged into 90 to 100 pound bundles in preparation for shipment back to Montreal.  The trappers gathered they goodies and made their way back to their trapping grounds.

This is the building where the pelts are pressed and packaged.  The interpreter is demonstrating how one moves 500 pounds of pelts to the canoe.

The Park interprets life at the fort.  We learned how tin cups are made.  They are actually made from steel sheets dipped in molten tin.  The sheets came from Europe via Montreal.  We learned how birch bark canoes are made.  The bark is lashed to the rib frame with strips made from tree roots.  The seams are sealed with a mixture of charcoal, bear grease, and tree sap.

All in all it made for an interesting day.  There were interpreters at many of the 42 buildings in the park.  They each talked about or demonstrated their expertise.  Here are a few shots taken around the park.

Inside the barrel maker workshop.  Since most shipping was by water, barrels and kegs provided a good waterproof shipping container for items that absolutely had to stay dry, and of course, were used for liquids also.

The Fort had glass windows, but the glass of this era caused distortion.

 

The Fort front gate.

The weather was perfect today, high 70s and bright sunshine.  We’re hoping for more of the same for tomorrow as we explore the area.