Rupert's Land, showing the location of York Factory

York Factory was a historic settlement and longtime headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in North America, located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in present-day northeastern Manitoba, Canada. The depot overlooks the bay approximately 100 km (60 mi) SSE of Churchill at the mouth of the Hayes River. During the 17th through late 19th century, the depot and its predecessors were the central base of operations for company's control the fur trade and other business dealings with the First Nations throughout Rupert's Land, its vast territory comprising the entire watershed of Hudson Bay that now forms much of Canada. The current wooden structure dates from 1831 and is the oldest and largest wooden structure in Canada built on permafrost. It served as the company headquarters until 1957 and is now owned by the Canadian Government and operated by Parks Canada as the York Factory National Historic Site of Canada.

History

Aerial view of York Factory, ca. 1925

The current wooden structure is the latest in a long time of company headquarters located at or near the site. The first company headquarters on the bay, Fort Nelson, was established at the mouth of the nearby Nelson River in 1682. The establishment of the fort provoked a quick response from France, which sent a naval force to Hudson Bay to capture and destory the fort in 1684. The company buitl a second fort on the site, naming it after the Duke of York. In 1697, after the largest Arctic naval battle in North America, the French captured the fort and renamed it Fort Bourbon. The French force had suffered greatly in the naval battle with three British warships and the depleted force had captured the fort through a ruse, laying siege while giving the appearance of being a much stronger force. The fort was returned to the British in 1713 as part of the Treaty of Utrecht. After 1713, the headquarters was relocated to the current site on the mouth of the Hayes River.

Between 1788 and 1795 the company constructed an octagonal star fort of stone and brick on the site. The choice of material was poor, however, as the stone and brick could not stand up to heaving permafrost, and in 1831 the stone fort was razed. The three-story center section of the current compound was completed that same year, with the two-story wings finished within the two years that followed.

During its first century, the depot operated by drawing First Nations traders to the post, rather than sending its own traders out into the field. Its position at the mouth of the Nelson allowed access by canoe from the watersheds of the Saskatchewan and Red rivers.

In the late 18th century, the centralized nature of the company's operation from the depot began to become a disadantage against the more nimble voyageurs of the North West Company, who traveled among the First Nations on the vast water network of lakes and rivers. In response the company began sending out its own traders from the depot and eventually established its inland posts, first along the Saskatchewan River, then streching as far as the Oregon Country.

The depot remained in company hands after the acquisition of Rupert's Land by the Dominion of Canada in the 1870. It is currently staffed by Parks Canada from June 1 to mid-September. Archaeological expeditions of the 18th century "octagon" have been conducted since 1991.

External links

• Parks Canada: York Factory National Historic Site of Canada (http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/mb/yorkfactory/index_e.asp)
• Manitoba forts (http://www.geocities.com/naforts/mb.html)