Herschel Island Post
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Herschel Island Post (1915-1937) - A Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fur trading post first established in 1915 at present day Herschel Island, Yukon. Abandoned in 1937. Also the site of Herschel Island RCMP Post (1903-1964).
HistoryA Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fur trading post first established in 1915 on Herschel Island, Yukon. Herschel Island was a known trading point for Eskimo and native tribes but had also become a wintering and processing point for the very active American whaling industry in the Artic. Access from the sea and by rivers from the interior made it a good supply point for interior trappers and whaling vessels alike. After an unsuccessful try in 1914, two HBC ships sailed from Vancouver BC to Herschel Island in 1915 to open a trading post. The new HBC post at Herschel Island established the northwestern edge of the Canadian fur trade until it closed in 1937. HBC records start in 1915 and end in 1937. In later years the company traders noted increasing cash sales and some years with "No Fur". Kutchin Indians from Old Crow became regular customers because trading goods were cheaper and more plentiful at the Herschel Island post but that did not last. The HBC post closed in 1937. Herschel Island RCMP Post (1903-1933, 1933-1937, 1948-1964) The Herschel Island RCMP Post was established in 1903 to police activities associated with the American whaling fleet and collect customs duties from them. That fleet was gone by 1910 and the RCMP was occupied with more normal policing and administrative duties until 1933. From 1933 to 1937 they only manned the post during the summer months and after 1937 they abandoned it altogether. The post was reactivated after World War II in 1948, deactivated in 1964 and transferred to Crown Assets Disposal in 1968.
Current StatusSome remains. Saxberg below has detailed maps of the site, timeline of events and pictures of artifacts.
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