Daniel Greysolon Dulhut had built a fort, (Fort Caministigoyan), at the Kaministiquia River in 1679. In 1717 Fort Kaministiquia was founded by French merchants to be the first in a series of forts reaching westward to expand trade. It would also begin an organized search for a water route which they hoped would lead them to the western sea. The expansion did not proceed further until Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye became commandant in 1728. He began to make plans to expand westward and began his explorations in 1731. This led to a fort at Grand Portage and Fort St. Pierre in that year. In 1732 the next important link in the movement west was built on Lake of the Woods. It was called Fort St. Charles. Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut (c. ... The Kaministiquia River is a Canadian river which empties into western Lake Superior at the city of Thunder Bay. ... Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (November 17, 1685 – December 5, 1749) was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer. ... Grand Portage is an unorganized territory located in Cook County, Minnesota, on Lake Superior, at the northeast corner of the state near the Ontario border. ... Fort St. ... Lake of the Woods from space, May 1998 Lake of the Woods. ... Fort St. ...

Fort Kaministiquia continued to be the first link with the expansion forts. The British constructed a new fort, Fort William, at this location in 1803. The city of Thunder Bay now occupies the area where Fort Kaministiquia provided the base for so much western history. Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. ... Nickname: Motto: Superior by nature Location of Thunder Bay, Ontario Coordinates: Country Canada Province Ontario Region Northwestern Ontario District Thunder Bay District CMA Thunder Bay Established 1970 (amalgamation between Fort William and Port Arthur) Incorporated as Towns Port Arthur in 1884 Fort William in 1892 Incorporated as Cities Both Port...

External links

• Fort Kaministiquia

• Thunder Bay Museum