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Fort William Historical Park

Established	1973
Location	Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
Type	Historical Park
Website	www.fwhp.ca

Fort William Historical Park (formerly known as Old Fort William) is a Canadian historical site located in Thunder Bay, Ontario, that contains a reconstruction of the Fort William fur trade post as it existed in 1815. It officially opened on July 3, 1973.

History

The North West Company had a major trading post located at Grand Portage, Minnesota. After Britain ceded the area to the United States (US) under the Jay Treaty, in settlement of the northern border, British/Canadian fur traders had to create a new center of operations to avoid US taxes. They moved the trading post north to what became Fort William on the Canadian side of the border.

Fort William Historical Park is known as a living history site. Historic buildings have been reconstructed and costumed historical interpreters recreate Fort William of the year 1815. Fort William was then not primarily a settlement, but a central transport depot within the now-defunct North West Company's network of fur trade outposts. Due to its central role, Fort William was much larger, with more facilities than the average fur trade post. Reflecting this, Fort William Historical Park contains 42 reconstructed buildings, a reconstructed Ojibwa village, and a small farm. Historical interpreters represent the many roles and cultures involved in the fur trade, including Scottish fur traders (people of capital), French Canadian voyageurs and workers, and native hunters and trappers. The native people in the Fort William area are predominantly Ojibwa and are represented accordingly among the interpreters.

The North West Company's "winter partners", fur traders who lived at the post, in the early years married into the upper classes of the native people, strengthening their alliances. There were thus two tiers of society - the fur traders and chiefs, and the workers, who formed liaisons or married native women. The children of the latter became the Métis ethnic group. Children of fur traders and chief's daughters tended to receive thorough English educations (as well as learning Native culture from their mothers' families) and often moved within the upper classes.

Fort William Historical Park has a working community of skilled tradesmen, including a blacksmith, tinsmith, carpenter, cooper, and birch bark canoe builder. They all craft products according to traditional early 19th-century methods and tools. Many of their crafts are not widely practised elsewhere. Fort William's canoe builder has built birch bark canoes for other Canadian cultural sites, including the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

Each summer Fort William Historical Park hosts the Great Rendezvous, a recreation of the annual meeting of company fur traders that took place at this central location. Participants from all over Canada and the United States register to camp for the weekend at Fort William Historical Park and take part in this historical reenactment.

Fort William Historical Park is located on the banks of the Kaministiquia River at Point de Meuron. This point is a few kilometres upstream from the original fort's site, which has been built over as part of the city of Thunder Bay, but holds historical significance of its own. Point de Meuron derives its name from the mercenary De Meuron soldiers who used the point as a base camp when attacking Fort William on behalf of the North West Company's rival, the Hudson's Bay Company, in 1816.

Fort William Historical Park is a historical site operated by the Ontario provincial government. It has been noted as one of Canada's top ten tourist attractions and as one of Canada's top living history sites.

Location

The park is located at the South end of King Road, which runs off of Broadway Avenue two kilometres west of Highway 61.

Amphitheatre

In 2008 the Fort built an amphitheatre to host a variety of events. It is one Canada's largest purpose built outdoor entertainment venues. The Amphitheatre is designed to host events with audience sizes up to 50,000. It is configured to be capable of hosting multiple independent events at the same time. The Amphitheatre is a year round venue, featuring 6 regulation size hockey ice surfaces in the winter.

Affiliations

The Museum is affiliated with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.

References

1. Joseph M. Mauro, A Golden Gateway of the Great Northwest - History of Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay, Ontario: Lehto Printers Ltd., 1981, pp. 21-23

• Morrison, Jean F. Superior rendez-vous place : Fort William in the Canadian fur trade. Toronto : Natural Heritage Books, 2007. 1st ed. appeared in 2001. The most authoritative book on Fort William

External links

• Fort William Historical Park The Official Site

48°20′34″N 89°21′30″W / 48.34278°N 89.35833°W / 48.34278; -89.35833

• Hudson's Bay Company forts
• Living museums in Canada
• Museums in Thunder Bay, Ontario
• National Historic Sites in Ontario
• North West Company
• Forts in Ontario
• Music venues in Ontario