North West Company Fur Post

Here are a few photos from the annual rendezvous at the North West Company Fur Post. It's in my hometown and I hadn't been since childhood.

In 1804, Europeans used this post to trade goods for beaver furs with Anishinabe hunters. The fur trade was spurred by European fashion and status at that time. At most, a post was kept open for 3 winters(the best time to harvest beaver fur, since beavers have their heaviest coat of the year then) before the surrounding beaver ran scarce and the post was moved elsewhere. Before abandonment, however, posts were burned to the ground so that they would not provide a free shelter if rivaling trading companies were to later move in.

We toured, ran into friends, spent time with family, tasted bread cooked over the fire and spent time in the warm fall sun.