Misplaced Pages

#44955

100-549: The Gitchi-Gami State Trail is a multi-use recreational trail in development along the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, USA. Planned to extend 88 miles (142 km) from Two Harbors to Grand Marais , the trail currently comprises five unconnected segments. The route will be situated primarily along state-owned right-of-way for Minnesota State Highway 61 , with deviations for greater scenic diversity. "Gitchi-Gami"

200-465: A "New Discovery" in 1749, and by 1750 was titled Richmond Gulf. The name was changed to Richmond Fort and given the abbreviation RF from 1756 to 1759, it served mainly as a trade goods and provisions storage location. Additional inland posts were Capusco River and Chickney Creek, both circa 1750. Likewise, Brunswick (1776), New Brunswick (1777), Gloucester (1777), Upper Hudson (ca. 1778), Lower Hudson (1779), Rupert, and Wapiscogami Houses were established in

300-471: A 7.3-mile (11.7 km) segment that goes to Lutsen . Lastly there is a 1-mile (1.6 km) completed segment outside Two Harbors and a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) section leading into Grand Marais. New sections are under construction during the summer of 2011, with others in planning stages. 47°11′49″N 91°23′06″W  /  47.196825°N 91.384912°W  / 47.196825; -91.384912 North Shore (Lake Superior) Lake Superior

400-491: A jury of HBC officials and supporters. During the trial, a crowd of armed Métis men led by Louis Riel Sr. gathered outside the courtroom. Although Sayer was found guilty of illegal trade, having evaded the HBC monopoly, Judge Adam Thom did not levy a fine or punishment. Some accounts attributed that to the intimidating armed crowd gathered outside the courthouse. With the cry, " Le commerce est libre! Le commerce est libre! " ("Trade

500-590: A major iron ore port and a source of labor for the inland iron mines on the North Shore. Besides mining, fishing became the other major industry of North Shore communities. In 1885, 195 commercial fishermen lived in Duluth. Duluth fish catches increased to a peak of 10,000 tons of fish caught in 1915. It has since declined. Current annual fish catches have fallen to under 1,000 tons per year. In 1875 Philadelphia financier Charlemagne Tower , who owned extensive interests in

600-704: A major remodelling and restoration of retail trade shops planned in 1912. Following the war, the company revitalized its fur-trade and real-estate activities, and diversified its operations by venturing into the oil business. During the Russian Civil War , the company briefly operated in the Siberian far east , even obtaining an agreement with the Soviet government until departing in 1924. The company co-founded Hudson's Bay Oil and Gas Company (HBOG) in 1926 with Marland Oil Company (which merged with Conoco in 1929). Although

700-587: A month later, the governor and general manager met Banting at the King Edward Hotel to demand a retraction. Banting stated that the reporter had betrayed his confidence, but did not retract his statement and reaffirmed that HBC was responsible for the death of indigenous residents by supplying the wrong kind of food and introducing diseases into the Arctic. As A. Y. Jackson , the Group of Seven painter with whom Banting

800-600: A rebuilt Fort Langley (1840) on the Lower Fraser to Fort Kamloops by 1850 and the rest of the transportation network to York Factory on the Hudson Bay along with the New Caledonia district fur returns. The Guillaume Sayer trial in 1849 contributed to the end of the HBC monopoly. Guillaume Sayer , a Métis trapper and trader, was accused of illegal trading in furs. The Court of Assiniboia brought Sayer to trial, before

900-711: A result of the rivalry and were inherently unprofitable. Their combined territory was extended by a licence to the North-Western Territory , which reached to the Arctic Ocean in the north and, with the creation of the Columbia Department in the Pacific Northwest , to the Pacific Ocean in the west. The NWC's regional headquarters at Fort George (Fort Astoria) was relocated to Fort Vancouver by 1825 on

1000-491: A trading post. The first Fort Langley was subsequently built (1827), establishing an early settlers long lasting presence in current day southern British Columbia. The fur trade in a wet climate turned out to be marginal and quickly evolved into a salmon trade site with abundant supply in the vicinity. The HBC stretched its presence North on the coastline with Fort Simpson (1831) on the Nass River , Fort McLoughlin (1833) and

1100-594: Is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, it became the largest and oldest corporation in Canada, before evolving into a major fashion retailer, operating retail stores across both the United States and Canada. The company's namesake business division is Hudson's Bay , commonly referred to as The Bay ( La Baie in French). After incorporation by English royal charter in 1670,

SECTION 10

#1733106601045

1200-473: Is an anglicization of the name for Lake Superior in the Ojibwe language . The longest completed section runs 17.6 miles (28.3 km) from Gooseberry Falls State Park to the town of Beaver Bay , passing through Split Rock Lighthouse State Park on the way. Another 3-mile (4.8 km) segment runs from Schroeder to Tofte through Temperance River State Park . The trail resumes at the other side of Tofte for

1300-807: Is covered with washed up rocks. When it hits the lake at a steep angle, it breaks off and makes sharp cliffs ending at the lake. To people who camp in the state parks along Minnesota's North Shore, the term North Shore refers to both the shore of the lake and all the rivers which run into the lake. Thus there are numerous "North Shore state parks," most of which are not actually on the lakeshore, and several of which are not even particularly close to it. The majority of Ontario Provincial Parks are undeveloped nature reserves with no formal campgrounds or visitor centers. 47°39′N 90°40′W  /  47.650°N 90.667°W  / 47.650; -90.667 Hudson%27s Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company ( HBC ; French : Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson )

1400-650: Is free! Trade is free!"), the Métis loosened the HBC's previous control of the courts, which had enforced their monopoly on the settlers of Red River. Another factor was the findings of the Palliser Expedition of 1857 to 1860, led by Captain John Palliser . He surveyed the area of the prairies and wilderness from Lake Superior to the southern passes of the Rocky Mountains. Although he recommended against settlement of

1500-690: The Alaska Panhandle by present-day Wrangell . The RAC-HBC agreement (1839) with the Russian American Company (RAC) provided for such a continuing presence in exchange for the HBC to supply the Russian coastal sites with agricultural products. The Puget Sound Agricultural Company subsidiary was created to supply grain, dairy, livestock and manufactured goods out of Fort Vancouver, Fort Nisqually, Fort Cowlitz and Fort Langley in present-day southern British Columbia. The company's stranglehold on

1600-555: The American Revolutionary War , a French squadron under Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse captured and demolished York Factory and Prince of Wales Fort in support of the American rebels. In its trade with native peoples, Hudson's Bay Company exchanged wool blankets, called Hudson's Bay point blankets, for the beaver pelts trapped by aboriginal hunters. By 1700, point blankets accounted for more than 60 percent of

1700-659: The Beaver (1836), the first steamship to ever roam the Pacific Northwest for resupplying its coastline sites. The HBC was securing a trading monopoly on the coastline keeping away independent American traders: "By 1837, American competition on the North West Coast was effectively over". The HBC gained more control of the fur trade with both the coastline and inland tribes to access the fur rich New Caledonia district in current day northern British Columbia: "monopoly control of

1800-577: The Deed of Surrender , authorized by the Rupert's Land Act 1868 . At its peak, the company controlled the fur trade throughout much of the English- and later British-controlled North America . By the mid-19th century, the company evolved into a mercantile business selling a wide variety of products from furs to fine homeware in a small number of sales shops (as opposed to trading posts ) across Canada. These shops were

1900-586: The Fraser River . The three boats 40some crew led by the James McMillan were first to officially ever make it to Puget Sound from the continent, to reach its northern end into Boundary Bay and to bypass the mouth of the Fraser. They shortcut through two mainland rivers and a portage in order to finally reach the lower Fraser. Friendly tribes were identified along with subsistence farming land suitable for sustaining

2000-621: The Lake Superior & Mississippi Railroad was built, people could move across the country in days instead of months. In 1869 Duluth grew from 14 families in January to a population of 3,500 in July. Construction on the Duluth Harbor was begun to allow steamboat shipping between Duluth, Buffalo , Detroit , and Chicago . The town of Beaver Bay was founded in 1869 as a fishing community, and Grand Marais

2100-529: The Netherlands , were sold by the end of 2019. Until March 2020, the company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "HBC.TO" until Richard Baker and a group of shareholders took the company private. HBC is, as of 2022, the majority owner of eCommerce companies Saks Fifth Avenue and Saks Off 5th , both established as separate operating companies in 2021. HBC wholly owns SFA,

SECTION 20

#1733106601045

2200-652: The Nonsuch , commanded by Captain Zachariah Gillam , while the Eaglet was commanded by Captain William Stannard and accompanied by Radisson. On 5 June 1668, both ships left port at Deptford , England, but the Eaglet was forced to turn back off the coast of Ireland. The Nonsuch continued to James Bay , the southern portion of Hudson Bay, where its explorers founded, in 1668, the first fort on Hudson Bay, Charles Fort at

2300-867: The North-West Territories , was brought under Canadian jurisdiction under the terms of the Rupert's Land Act 1868 , enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Deed enabled the admission of the fifth province, Manitoba , to the Confederation on 15 July 1870, the same day that the deed itself came into force. During the 19th century the Hudson's Bay Company went through great changes in response to such factors as growth of population and new settlements in part of its territory, and ongoing pressure from Britain. It seemed unlikely that it would continue to control

2400-656: The Northern Pacific Railroad , began to investigate the possibility of iron mining inland from the North Shore. (Vast quantities of banded iron formations had been deposited about 2,000 million years ago in the Animikie Group .) Although the scare of 1873 had depressed the price of iron to $ 5.50 per ton, by the 1880s it was back to about $ 9.25 per ton. Tower started acquiring land in the Vermilion Range , where ore had an iron content of 69%. Tower also acquired

2500-649: The Siskiyou Trail , into Northern California as far south as the San Francisco Bay Area , where the company operated a trading post at Yerba Buena ( San Francisco ). The southern-most camp of the company was French Camp , east of San Francisco in the Central Valley adjacent to the future site of the city of Stockton . These trapping brigades in Northern California faced serious risks, and were often

2600-459: The coureurs des bois permission to scout the distant territory". Despite this refusal, in 1659 Radisson and Groseilliers set out for the upper Great Lakes basin. A year later they returned to Montreal with premium furs, evidence of the potential of the Hudson Bay region. Subsequently, they were arrested by French authorities for trading without a licence and fined, and their furs were confiscated by

2700-497: The 12th century, on the easternmost portion of the North Shore, the ancestors of the Ojibwa migrated into the area. These people left behind small pits dug in the ground which archaeologists now call Pukaskwa Pits . On the Minnesota portion of the North Shore there are only three archaeological sites, and it is not known who dug them. By the 18th century the Ojibwa had settled the length of

2800-660: The 17th century, the French colonists in North America, based in New France , operated a de facto monopoly in the North American fur trade . Two French traders, Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers (Médard de Chouart, Sieur des Groseilliers), Radisson's brother-in-law, learned from the Cree that the best fur country lay north and west of Lake Superior , and that there

2900-575: The 1818 Treaty settled the 49th degree parallel border only as far as the Rocky Mountains , the HBC was looking for a site further West in case the parallel border would become further extended at the end of the 10 years joint occupancy term. By 1824, the HBC was commissioning an expedition to travel from the Fort George regional headquarter on the southern shore of the Columbia River all the way to

3000-578: The American Fort Hall , 483 km (300 mi) to the east. In 1837, it purchased Fort Hall, also along the route of the Oregon Trail . The outpost director displayed the abandoned wagons of discouraged settlers to those seeking to move west along the trail. HBC trappers were also deeply involved in the early exploration and development of Northern California . Company trapping brigades were sent south from Fort Vancouver, along what became known as

3100-750: The Columbia River replaced Spokane House in 1825. Fort Umpqua was established in 1832 in present-day southern Oregon after the Willamette River had been explored up toward its headwaters by mainly the NWC. Nisqually House was built during the same year to establish a presence further North on Puget Sound in present-day State of Washington , resulting in Fort Nisqually a few years later closer to present-day Canadian sites. The HBC established Fort Boise in 1834 (in present-day southwestern Idaho) to compete with

Gitchi-Gami State Trail - Misplaced Pages Continue

3200-534: The East India Company in 1732, which it viewed as a major competitor. Hudson's Bay Company's first inland trading post was established by Samuel Hearne in 1774 with Cumberland House, Saskatchewan . Conversely, a number of inland HBC "houses" pre-date the construction of Cumberland House, in 1774. Henley House, established in 1743, inland from Hudson Bay, at the confluence of the Albany and Kabinakagami Rivers,

3300-486: The HBC controlled nearly all trading operations in the Pacific Northwest region and was based at its headquarters at Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia River . Although claims to the region were by agreement in abeyance, commercial operating rights were nominally shared by the United States and Britain through the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 , but company policy, enforced via Chief Factor John McLoughlin of

3400-518: The HBC paddle wheeler Distributor were responsible for spreading the influenza virus down the Slave River and Mackenzie River . Less than a decade after the 1918 global flu pandemic , a similar virus spread territory-wide over the summer and autumn, devastating the aboriginal population of the north. Returning from the trip, Banting gave an interview in Montreal with a Toronto Star reporter under

3500-399: The HBC. It became operative for the outfit of 1780 and was the first joint-stock company in Canada and possibly North America. The agreement lasted one year. A second agreement established in 1780 had a three-year term. The company became a permanent entity in 1783. By 1784, the NWC had begun to make serious inroads into the HBC's profits. The North West Company (NWC) was the main rival in

3600-580: The Minnesotan portion of the North Shore. Land claims were made near modern Duluth, Knife River , Beaver Bay , Buchanan, Burlington Bay, French River, Stewart River and Silver Creek. Ninety-nine fishermen had settled in northern Minnesota by 1857, when an economic panic caused most of the claims to be abandoned. In 1865 the Vermilion Lake Gold Rush brought a new wave of settlement to the North Shore. American settlement began in earnest in 1869. When

3700-539: The North Shore Scenic Drive remains a popular tourist route, starting at the historic Glensheen Mansion, passing several state parks, all the way to Grand Portage. The North Shore lies on the north side of the Midcontinent Rift System which ran 1,300 miles (2,000 km) northwest from southern Michigan, through what is now Lake Superior, and south-southwest into Kansas . As the granitic crust

3800-460: The North Shore and northern Minnesota. In 1821 the North West Company was forced to merge with the Hudson's Bay Company. With the eventual depletion of fur-bearing animals, the fur trade and associated settlement diminished. When American settlers moved westward, the governments of the United States and Britain began to dispute the border between the territory that would become Minnesota and

3900-519: The North Shore approximately as far as the modern Canadian–Minnesota Border. The Minnesota portion of the North Shore was settled mostly by the Cree and the Dakota lived to the south. The first white explorer to reach Lake Superior was Frenchman Étienne Brûlé who was sent out by Samuel de Champlain to search for the Northwest Passage in 1623 or 1624. His exploration allowed Champlain to create

4000-496: The North Shore than Tower’s holdings around Two Harbors and Tower, an inland mining settlement named after its founder. Porter coerced Tower into selling the Minnesota Iron Company for 8.5 million dollars. He opened Chandler Mine, Pioneer Mine, Zenith Mine, Savoy Mine and Sibley Mine between 1889 and 1899. In 1896 the iron traveling through Two Harbors exceeded 2,000,000 tons. Two Harbors steadily built more docks and replaced

4100-554: The North Shore. When they returned, they brought a flotilla of Native Americans with fur pelts, beginning interest in the fur trade in the Lake Superior region. Conflicts between native tribes began to escalate toward war during this period when an alliance of Anishinaabe tribes was formed and defeated the Dakota in a battle west of Sault Sainte Marie in 1662. This warfare between the tribes along Lake Superior prevented European trade in

Gitchi-Gami State Trail - Misplaced Pages Continue

4200-598: The Royal Navy in the Battle of Hudson's Bay (5 September 1697), the largest naval battle in the history of the North American Arctic. D'Iberville's depleted French force captured York Factory by laying siege to the fort and pretending to be a much larger army. The French retained all of the outposts except Fort Albany until 1713. A small French and Indian force attacked Fort Albany again in 1709 during Queen Anne's War but

4300-540: The West. The Society floated £2 million in public shares on non-ceded land held ostensibly by the Hudson's Bay Company as an asset and leveraged this asset for collateral for these funds. These funds allowed the Society the financial means to weather the financial collapse of 1866 which destroyed many competitors and invest in railways in North America. In 1869, after rejecting the American government offer of CA$ 10   million,

4400-436: The agreement that his statements on HBC would remain off the record. The newspaper nonetheless published the conversation, which rapidly reached a wide audience across Europe and Australia. Banting was angry at the leak, having promised the Department of the Interior not to make any statements to the press prior to clearing them. The article noted that Banting had given the journalist C. R. Greenaway repeated instances of how

4500-426: The area for several years. In 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company was founded, which began the fur trade nonetheless. In the late 1670s, Daniel Greysolon , Sieur du Lhut, helped negotiate a more permanent peace between these tribes, thus providing safe trade across Lake Superior for the French. With this, the foundations for European settlement on the North Shore were laid. Fort Kaministiquia , around modern Thunder Bay,

4600-468: The area of modern-day Canada, and stretches into the present-day north-central United States . The specific boundaries remained unknown at the time. Rupert's Land would eventually become Canada's largest land "purchase" in the 19th century. The HBC established six posts between 1668 and 1717. Rupert House (1668, southeast), Moose Factory (1673, south) and Fort Albany, Ontario (1679, west) were erected on James Bay; three other posts were established on

4700-461: The coastal fur trade allowed the HBC to impose a uniform tariff on both sides of the Coast Mountains". By 1843, under pressure from the Americans to withdraw further North with the looming Oregon Treaty border negotiation finalized in 1846, and strong of its coastal presence on the northern coast, HBC built Fort Victoria at the southern end of present-day Vancouver Island in southern BC. A well sheltered ocean port with agricultural potential in

4800-421: The company a monopoly over the region drained by all rivers and streams flowing into Hudson Bay in northern parts of present-day Canada, taking possession on behalf of England. The area was named " Rupert's Land " after Prince Rupert, the first governor of the company appointed by the King. This drainage basin of Hudson Bay spans 3,861,400 square kilometres (1,490,900 sq mi), comprising over one-third of

4900-442: The company approved the return of Rupert's Land to Britain. The government gave it to Canada and loaned the new country the £300,000 required to compensate HBC for its losses. HBC also received one-twentieth of the fertile areas to be opened for settlement and retained title to the lands on which it had built trading establishments. The deal, known as the Deed of Surrender , came into force the following year. The resulting territory,

5000-400: The company diversified into a number of areas, its department store business is the only remaining part of the company's operations, in the form of department stores under the Hudson's Bay brand. The company also established new trading posts in the Canadian Arctic. The medical scientist Frederick Banting was travelling in the Arctic in 1927 when he realized that crew or passengers on board

5100-412: The company was granted a right of "sole trade and commerce" over an expansive area of land known as Rupert's Land , comprising much of the Hudson Bay drainage basin . This right effectively gave the company a commercial monopoly over that area. The HBC functioned as the de facto government in Rupert's Land for nearly 200 years until the HBC relinquished control of the land to Canada in 1869 as part of

SECTION 50

#1733106601045

5200-440: The company's Columbia District , was to discourage U.S. settlement of the territory. The company's effective monopoly on trade virtually forbade any settlement in the region. Over and above the NWC Fort George headquarters site, the HBC carried on the early presence in the region of the NWC when it merged in 1821 with noteworthy sites: Spokane House , Fort Okanogan and Fort Nez Percés . Fort Colville located further North on

5300-399: The company's profits during the monopoly years. Its trade covered 7,770,000 km (3,000,000 sq mi), and it had 1,500 contract employees. Between 1820 and 1870, the HBC issued its own paper money . The notes, denominated in sterling, were printed in London and issued at York Factory for circulation primarily in the Red River Colony . Although the HBC maintained a monopoly on

5400-428: The conflict played out in North America as well. D'Iberville raided Fort Severn in 1690 but did not attempt to raid the well-defended local headquarters at York Factory. In 1693 the HBC recovered Fort Albany ; d'Iberville captured York Factory in 1694, but the company recovered it the next year. In 1697, d'Iberville again commanded a French naval raid on York Factory. On the way to the fort he defeated three ships of

5500-442: The decade of the 1770s. These post-date Cumberland House, yet speak to the expanding inland incursion of the HBC in the last quarter of the 18th century. Minor posts also during this time period include Mesackamy/Mesagami Lake (1777), Sturgeon Lake (1778), Beaver Lake Posts. In 1779, other traders founded the North West Company (NWC) in Montreal as a seasonal partnership to provide more capital and to continue competing with

5600-653: The entity that operates Saks Fifth Avenue's physical locations; O5, the operating company for Saks Off 5th stores; The Bay, an eCommerce marketplace and Hudson's Bay, the operating company for Hudson's Bay's brick-and-mortar stores. In July 2024, HBC announced that it would acquire the Neiman Marcus Group for US$ 2.65 billion and fold it into the new flagship entity Saks Fifth Avenue Global. HBC owns or controls approximately 3.7 million square metres (40 million square feet) of gross leasable real estate through its real estate and investment arm, HBC Properties and Investments, established in October 2020. For much of

5700-460: The expedition and brought the two to England to raise financing. Radisson and Groseilliers arrived in London in 1665 at the height of the Great Plague . Eventually, the two met and gained the sponsorship of Prince Rupert . Prince Rupert introduced the two to his cousin, the reigning king – Charles II . In 1668 the English expedition acquired two ships, the Nonsuch and the Eaglet , to explore possible trade into Hudson Bay. Groseilliers sailed on

5800-404: The fall and winter, First Nations men and European fur trappers accomplished the vast majority of the animal trapping and pelt preparation. They travelled by canoe and on foot to the forts to sell their pelts. In exchange they typically received popular trade-goods such as knives, kettles, beads, needles, and the Hudson's Bay point blanket . The arrival of the First Nations trappers was one of

5900-429: The first cargo of fur resulting from trade in Hudson Bay. The bulk of the fur – worth £1,233 – was sold to Thomas Glover, one of London's most prominent furriers. This and subsequent purchases by Glover proved the viability of the fur trade in Hudson Bay. A royal charter from King Charles II incorporated "The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay" on 2 May 1670. The charter granted

6000-413: The first map of the lake in 1632. Charles Raymbault and Isaac Jogues , Jesuit missionaries, were the next significant explorers, who tried to establish a more permanent missionary post further west but only got as far as Sault Ste. Marie. In 1658 two French explorers, Pierre-Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers , became the first whites to circumnavigate Lake Superior by sailing south along

6100-646: The first step towards the department stores the company owns today. In 2006, Jerry Zucker , an American businessman, bought HBC for US$ 1.1 billion. In 2008, HBC was acquired by NRDC Equity Partners , which also owned the upmarket American department store Lord & Taylor . From 2008 to 2012, the HBC was run through a holding company of NRDC, Hudson's Bay Trading Company , which was dissolved in early 2012. HBC's U.S. headquarters are in Lower Manhattan , New York City, while its Canadian headquarters are in Toronto . The company spun off most of its European operations by August 2019 and its remaining stores there, in

SECTION 60

#1733106601045

6200-448: The first to explore relatively uncharted territory. They included the lesser known Peter Skene Ogden and Samuel Black . The HBC also operated a store in what were then known as the Sandwich Islands (now the Hawaiian Islands ), engaging in merchant shipping to the islands between 1828 and 1859. Extending the presence it had built in present-day British Columbia northern coast, the HBC reached by 1838 as far North as Fort Stikine in

6300-462: The forests between the North Shore and the Canada–US border under protection. The government of Minnesota slowly began to acquire the lands which became the modern North Shore state parks. The first park to be formally organized was Jay Cooke State Park in 1915. In the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps established several camps organized along the North Shore and built rustic structures in what would become several North Shore state parks. Today

6400-518: The fox fur trade always favoured the company: "For over $ 100,000 of fox skins, he estimated that the Eskimos had not received $ 5,000 worth of goods." He traced this treatment to health, consistent with reports made in previous years by RCMP officers, suggesting that "the result was a diet of 'flour, sea-biscuits , tea and tobacco,' with the skins that once were used for clothing traded merely for 'cheap whiteman's goods. ' " The HBC fur trade commissioner called Banting's remarks "false and slanderous", and

6500-405: The fur trade during the early to mid-19th century, there was competition from James Sinclair and Andrew McDermot (Dermott), independent traders in the Red River Colony. They shipped furs by the Red River Trails to Norman Kittson , a buyer in the United States. In addition, Americans controlled the maritime fur trade on the Northwest Coast until the 1830s. Throughout the 1820s and the 1830s,

6600-429: The fur trade. The competition led to the small Pemmican War in 1816. The Battle of Seven Oaks on 19 June 1816 was the climax of the long dispute. In 1821, the North West Company of Montreal and Hudson's Bay Company were forcibly merged by intervention of the British government to put an end to often-violent competition. 175 posts, 68 of them the HBC's, were reduced to 52 for efficiency and because many were redundant as

6700-419: The future of the West. The iconic department store today evolved from trading posts at the start of the 19th century, when they began to see demand for general merchandise grow rapidly. HBC soon expanded into the interior and set-up posts along river settlements that later developed into the modern cities of Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton . In 1857, the first sales shop was established in Fort Langley . This

6800-419: The glaciers ran into the basin and began to fill, forming the Great Lakes . The shoreline at its maximum reached over 500 feet (150 m) above its current height, and at its minimum fell to 250 feet (75 m) below its current level. When the levels of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron fell 2,000 years ago, it created rapids at Sault Sainte Marie, which restricted the release of water from Lake Superior and brought

6900-412: The government. Determined to establish trade in the Hudson Bay area, Radisson and Groseilliers approached a group of English colonial merchants in Boston to help finance their explorations. The Bostonians agreed on the plan's merits, but their speculative voyage in 1663 failed when their ship ran into pack ice in Hudson Strait . Boston-based English commissioner Colonel George Cartwright learned of

7000-401: The harbor for shipping iron. In 1887, when the railroad was completed, the Minnesota Iron Company owned 95.7 miles (154.0 km) of track, 26,800 acres (108 km ) of property, 13 locomotives, 340 cars, the loading docks at Two Harbors and five pit mines. This growth attracted the interest of Henry H. Porter, a Chicago railroad owner. He bought 25,000 acres (100 km ) of land further up

7100-510: The high points of the year, met with pomp and circumstance. The highlight was very formal, an almost ritualized "Trading Ceremony" between the Chief Trader and the Captain of the aboriginal contingent who traded on their behalf. During the initial years of the fur trade, prices for items varied from post to post. The early coastal factory model of the English contrasted with the system of the French, who established an extensive system of inland posts at native villages and sent traders to live among

7200-607: The lake, eastern tourists began to travel onto Lake Superior for recreational purposes. They would then canoe or be ferried from Duluth up the North Shore and would stay in hunting and fishing camps. In the 1920s, the North Shore highway was built, which helped make the North Shore accessible by land. At the same time commercial fishermen began to go out of business as catches declined. Many of these fishermen built cabins and resorts, which were inhabited by more rich people on recreational trips. Certain exclusive clubs also bought land for resort and sport purposes. The Naniboujou Club Lodge

7300-423: The lumber industry moved into Wisconsin and Minnesota.. Lumber and forest products were shipped by rail from Duluth and Superior, Wisconsin to southern and eastern mills. Because of conservation efforts, many of the forests along the North Shore are now protected from deforestation, but there is still a strong paper industry that relies on pulpwood . In 1855 when a lock system first allowed steamboats onto

7400-691: The manner of the Dutch fur-trading operations in New Netherland . By adoption of the Standard of Trade in the 18th century, the HBC ensured consistent pricing throughout Rupert's Land. A means of exchange arose based on the " Made Beaver " (MB); a prime pelt, worn for a year and ready for processing: "the prices of all trade goods were set in values of Made Beaver (MB) with other animal pelts, such as squirrel, otter and moose quoted in their MB (made beaver) equivalents. For example, two otter pelts might equal 1 MB". During

7500-549: The mouth of the Rupert River . It later became known as "Rupert House", and developed as the community of present-day Waskaganish , Quebec. Both the fort and the river were named after the sponsor of the expedition, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, one of the major investors and soon to become the new company's first governor. After a successful trading expedition over the winter of 1668–69, Nonsuch returned to England on 9 October 1669 with

7600-474: The north bank of the Columbia River; it became the HBC base of operations on the Pacific Slope. Before the merger, the employees of the HBC, unlike those of the North West Company, did not participate in its profits. After the merger, with all operations under the management of Sir George Simpson (1826–60), the company had a corps of commissioned officers: 25 chief factors and 28 chief traders, who shared in

7700-574: The region was broken by the first successful large wagon train to reach Oregon in 1843 , led by Marcus Whitman . In the years that followed, thousands of emigrants poured into the Willamette Valley of Oregon. In 1846, the United States acquired full authority south of the 49th parallel ; the most settled areas of the Oregon Country were south of the Columbia River in what is now Oregon. McLoughlin, who had once turned away would-be settlers when he

7800-547: The region, the report sparked a debate. It ended the myth publicized by Hudson's Bay Company: that the Canadian West was unfit for agricultural settlement. In 1863, the International Financial Society bought controlling interest in the HBC, signalling a shift in the company's outlook: most of the new shareholders were less interested in the fur trade than in real estate speculation and economic development in

7900-511: The rights to the Duluth Iron & Railway Co. , which entitled him to 10 square miles (26 km ) of land for every mile (1.6 km) of rail built between Duluth and Agate Bay (Two Harbors), 25 miles (40 km) northeast along the shore. Speculators bought up land at Agate Bay; the rail line was not completed until 1887, so all travel to Agate Bay was originally by steamboat. Between 1884 and 1885 two large wooden loading docks were built in

8000-405: The shoreline to its present level. The modern shoreline is composed of basalt lava flows. In the south, near Duluth, other materials, such as slate , greywacke and sandstone, are found a short distance inland; but in the north, the entire bedrock made of basalt and gabbro is exposed in patches miles from shore. When the bedrock hits the surface of the lake at a shallow enough angle, the beach

8100-456: The territory which would become Ontario in future years. Many geologic surveys were taken because of these disputes, which revealed the rich mineral resources in this area. In 1854 the LaPointe Treaty surrendered all Ojibwa lands to the United States government. Because of this white settlers moved into the region in order to mine the natural resources, thus beginning American settlements on

8200-498: The trade. The number of indigo stripes (a.k.a. points) woven into the blankets identified its finished size. A long-held misconception is that the number of stripes was related to its value in beaver pelts. A parallel may be drawn between the HBC's control over Rupert's Land with the trade monopoly and government functions enjoyed by the East India Company over India during roughly the same period. The HBC invested £10,000 in

8300-399: The treaty's many provisions, it required France to relinquish all claims to Great Britain on the Hudson Bay, which again became a British possession. (The Kingdom of Great Britain had been established following the union of Scotland and England in 1707). After the treaty, the HBC built Prince of Wales Fort , a stone star fort at the mouth of the nearby Churchill River . In 1782, during

8400-639: The tribes of the region, learning their languages and often forming alliances through marriages with indigenous women. In March 1686 the French sent a raiding party under the Chevalier des Troyes more than 1,300 km (810 mi) to capture the HBC posts along James Bay. The French appointed Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville , who had shown great heroism during the raids, as commander of the company's captured posts. In 1687 an English attempt to resettle Fort Albany failed due to strategic deceptions by d'Iberville. After 1688 England and France were officially at war , and

8500-476: The vicinity would allow the new regional headquarter to further develop the trade on salmon, timber and cranberries. Trade via the Hawaiian post was also increasing. The Fort Rupert (1849) at the northern end of the island would open up access to coal fields. On the continent mainland, Fort Hope and Fort Yale (1848) were built to extend the HBC presence on the Fraser River as far as navigable. Brigades would link

8600-659: The west. In 1763 according to the terms of the Treaty of Paris , the British took possession of all French holdings east of the Mississippi River , including the North Shore. In 1784 the North West Company , the newly organized rival to the Hudson's Bay Company, started moving traders into its new fort at Grand Portage . With new headquarters on the North Shore, the North West Company began to build 40 new forts and ports all along

8700-514: The western shore of Hudson Bay proper: New Severn (1685), York Factory (1684), and Fort Churchill (1717). Inland posts were not built until 1774. After 1774, York Factory became the main post because of its convenient access to the vast interior waterway-systems of the Saskatchewan and Red rivers. Originally called "factories" because the "factor" , i.e., a person acting as a mercantile agent, did business from there, these posts operated in

8800-400: The wooden docks with concrete over the course of the next several decades. Iron production continued steadily for many more decades; by the 1950s traditional iron mines had exhausted most of their resources. It had been known for many years that northern Minnesota had an ore called taconite , which could be refined into iron through a process called beneficiation . A taconite processing plant

8900-528: Was a "frozen sea" still further north. Assuming this was Hudson Bay, they sought French backing for a plan to set up a trading post on the Bay in order to reduce the cost of moving furs overland. According to Peter C. Newman , "concerned that exploration of the Hudson Bay route might shift the focus of the fur trade away from the St. Lawrence River , the French governor", Marquis d'Argenson (in office 1658–61), "refused to grant

9000-488: Was built further north along the North Shore at Silver Bay , and it quickly became the major taconite shipping port. Minnesota taconite produces over half of the iron mined in Minnesota at the present date. Northern Minnesota is essentially covered with one large forest. Although the potential for a lumber industry was recognized early in the course of European settlement, the distances that it would have to be shipped made it uneconomical. But as eastern forests were logged out,

9100-548: Was built to attract an exclusive clientele, and a group of Duluth businessmen, the Tettegouche Club, bought 9,346 acres (37.8 km ) of land for use as a private retreat. During the early 20th century, the government decided that continued exploitation of the North Shore would destroy it. In 1909 President Teddy Roosevelt organized the Superior National Forest , putting over 3-million acres (12,000 km ) of

9200-409: Was company director, then welcomed them from his general store at Oregon City . He later became known as the "Father of Oregon". The HBC also carried on the early presence in the region of the NWC in present-day central and northern British Columbia with noteworthy sites: Fort Alexandria , Fort d'Épinette (Fort St. John) , Fort St. James , Fort George and Fort Shuswap (Fort Kamloops) . Since

9300-399: Was dependent on Albany River – Fort Albany for lines of communication, was not "finished" until 1768. Next, the inland houses of Split Lake and Nelson Houses were established between 1740 and 1760. These were dependent on York River – York Factory and Churchill River, respectively. Although not inland, Richmond Fort was established in 1749. This was on an island within Hudson Bay. It was titled

9400-547: Was established in 1683. In 1688 Jacques de Noyon became the first European to visit the present-day Boundary Waters Canoe Area region west of Lake Superior. A war between Britain and France, followed by a sharp drop in fur prices, slowed exploration for several decades. In 1732 the French-Canadian La Vérendrye built Fort St. Pierre on Rainy Lake near the head of the Rainy River in order to gain access to

9500-572: Was followed by other sales shops in Fort Victoria (1859), Winnipeg (1881), Calgary (1884), Vancouver (1887), Vernon (1887), Edmonton (1890), Yorkton (1898), and Nelson (1902). The first of the grand "original six" department stores was built in Calgary in 1913. The other department stores that followed were in Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria, Saskatoon , and Winnipeg. The First World War interrupted

9600-403: Was founded by Henry Mayhew and Sam Howenstine in 1871. Another panic in 1873 put an end to this growth, and Duluth shrank to a population of 1,300. In the 1880s, growth began again in Minnesota, and significant growth began for the first time in Canada. The Canadian Pacific Railway was opened in 1881 and brought a wave of settlers from the west. In Minnesota, Two Harbors was founded and became

9700-408: Was removed by the glaciers. This formed the rough, rugged shoreline on the North Shore today. As the glaciers retreated, they left behind eroded igneous material, much of which covers the rocky beaches on the North Shore. The Wisconsin side of the basin and the bottom of the basin filled with the residue from the eroded sandstone and thus are sandy beaches today. The melting water from the retreat of

9800-525: Was settled by Native Americans about 8000 BC when the Wisconsin Glaciers began to recede. By 500 BC the Laurel people had established settlements in the area and had begun to trade metal with other native peoples. The Laurel people were animists and probably created many of the pictographs present on rock faces along the North Shore and other Canadian rock faces in order to communicate with spirits. In

9900-452: Was torn apart by continental drift , lava flowed out from 30–60 miles (50–100 km) under the crust and formed basalt . Tectonic forces were not strong enough to continue to separate the two sides of the continental rift; when the rifting stopped, the lava cooled and the heavy crust sank and was filled with sediment . During recent glaciations , a large amount of the basalt and sandstone , which erode much more easily than granite ,

10000-571: Was unsuccessful. The economic consequences of the French possession of these posts for the company were significant; the HBC did not pay any dividends for more than 20 years. See Anglo-French conflicts on Hudson Bay . With the ending of the Nine Years' War in 1697, and the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713 with the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht , France had made substantial concessions. Among

#44955