| Fort Pelly | |
|---|---|
| National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Province | Saskatchewan |
| Municipality | St. Philips No. 301 |
| Origin of name | Sir John Pelly, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company |
| Founder | Hudson's Bay Company |
| Website | History coming alive : R.M. of St. Philips, Pelly and district, Volume 1 |
| Fort Pelly | |
|---|---|
| Assiniboine River Saskatchewan Canada. | |
| Type | Fort |
| Built | First fort 1824-1842; second 1856-1870 |
| Controlled by | Hudson's Bay Company |
Fort Pelly was a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post located in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The fort was probably named after Sir John Pelly, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. The current village of Pelly, Saskatchewan, takes its name from the fort[1], and is located approximately 8 miles north of the site of the fort.
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The first fort [link]
The first Fort Pelly, at 51°46′42″N 102°00′19″W / 51.77833°N 102.00528°W, was constructed by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1824, in the northeast corner of the elbow of the Assiniboine River. It was situated at a convenient portage point between the Assiniboine and Swan Rivers. It was the center of the Hudson's Bay Company's Swan River District. Its first chief trader was Alan McDonell, who selected the site, and constructed its first buildings. The fort consisted of a dwelling house, and Indian house, several staff houses, a store, and stables, all enclosed within a square palisade, 120 feet a side. The fort traded with Cree and Salteaux Indians from the surrounding area. The first fort was destroyed by fire in the winter of 1842 and rebuilt immediately by chief trader Cuthbert Cumming. In 1849 Thomas McKay, who would become first mayor of Prince Albert and a prominent territorial politician, was born at Fort Pelly.
The second fort [link]
Fort Pelly was moved to 51°46′35″N 101°59′51″W / 51.77639°N 101.9975°W, approximately one quarter mine southeast, in 1856 due to problems with occasional flooding at the old location, although the old fort was still in some capacity used until at least 1859. On July 15, 1870, the Hudson's Bay Company surrendered its lands to Canada, while retaining its posts and some land immediately surrounding them. The fort was now located on block 17 of the Fort Pelly Reserve. Around 1871 Fort Ellice succeeded Fort Pelly as district headquarters. In 1909 the Canadian Northern Railway was built 6 miles north of Fort Pelly, and trade at the fort all but ceased, and it was abandoned in June, 1912.
Current status [link]
During the summers of 1971 and 1972, the former fort sites were excavated by the Saskatchewan Museum of Natural History, at which time all known buildings were located, and 7,000 objects were recovered. The first Fort Pelly site was designated a Historic Site by the Province of Saskatchewan in 1986 and is operated by the Saskatchewan Parks Service, while the site of the second fort was purchased by the Fort Pelly Historical Society and transferred to the Crown as a national historic site.
References [link]
- History coming alive : R.M. of St. Philips, Pelly and district, Volume 1, St. Philips / Pelly History Book Committee, 1988.
