Lapierre House
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Lapierre House (1846-1851, 1851-1892) - A Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fur trading post and fort first established in 1846 near present day Fort McPherson, Yukon. Probably named for Louis Lapierre, a guide in that area. Abandoned in 1892. Spelled in a variety of ways including La Pierre and LaPierre. Lapierre House I (1846-1851)A Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fur trading post and fort first established in 1846 at the west end of the Stony Creek Pass, the portage route across the Richardson Mountains which connected the Peel River with Bell River. The post was completed by the spring of 1846. Edward McGillivray and four men were sent from Peel River to pass the winter at the new station. McGillivray and his men squared timbers for new buildings and constructed a river boat that was completed by June 1848 and named the "Pioneer". Alexander H. Murray journeyed to the post in June 1848 and left the post on 18 Jun 1848 to establish Fort Yukon. Lapierre House II (1851-1892)The post was relocated in 1851 to the present site along the Waters River west of Fort McPherson and east of the community of Old Crow. HBC records begin in 1851 and end in 1892. Lapierre House was probably built to support travelers between Fort McPherson and the Yukon River by providing a reliable supply of caribou meat. Records from Lapierre House indicate that the native peoples brought in mostly meat to trade rather than furs. Because of it's unique location at the edge of the tree line and into the permafrost region, Lapierre House supported a number of scientific expeditions. Robert Kennicott, a young American naturalist, under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution, visited the post in 1860, 1861 and 1862. Other scientists followed in later years. After this post was abandoned by the HBC in 1893, the Anglican Church purchased the remaining the buildings from them. The location continued to be an important stop on the route between Fort McPherson and Fort Yukon as did Rampart House. A number of families lived there for at least part of the year up to the 1930's. A store operated at the site between 1925 and 1935. Old crow is a small community of about 250 people without road access to the outside world, a small airstrip provides the only access. Most of the inhabitants of both Rampart House and Lapierre House moved to Old Crow. Current StatusPart of the Lapierre House Historic Site. This site, with a variety of archaeological resources, is cooperatively owned and managed by the Yukon Government and the Vuntut Gwichin First Nation.
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