Fort St. James

Simon Fraser established a North West Company post on Stuart Lake in 1806, in Dakelh territory, and it became the administrative centre of New Caledonia, the fur district that later gave British Columbia part of its identity. The buildings standing today are largely from the 1880s and 1890s and form the largest collection of original wooden fur trade structures in the country: a fish cache, men's house, warehouse and trade store, restored rather than reconstructed. Costumed staff work the site in summer, and a flock of heritage chickens roams it. The lakeshore setting and the Dakelh community of Nak'azdli Whut'en adjoin the site.

History

Simon Fraser and his assistants explored river routes to the Pacific for the North West Company from 1805, and in the winter of 1805-06 James McDougall found Carrier's Lake, now Stuart Lake, in the heart of Dakelh territory, where Fort St. James was built in 1806. It passed to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821, when the two companies merged, and became the headquarters of its vast New Caledonia District; the fur trade took root slowly, because the Dakelh economy was built on fishing rather than trapping, but the post became profitable and kept trading until it closed in 1952 (Wikipedia, Fort St. James).

What to look for

• The original buildings - the largest group of authentic fur trade structures in Canada.
• The trade store - stocked as it would have been for the fur exchange.
• The fish cache - a raised store for the salmon the post depended on.
• The lakeshore setting - Stuart Lake behind the palisade line.

When to go

May to September for staffed operation; the site closes in winter. The Dakelh perspective is presented alongside the company one, which is worth the guided tour.

Before you go

Closed roughly October to May. It is a long drive from Prince George. The site is compact and takes about two hours.

Nearby

Prince George lies southeast; the Ancient Forest is beyond it.