Fort Athabasca River

Fort Athabasca River (1778-Unk) - An independent British fur trading post and fort first established in 1778 by Peter Pond, an American explorer and fur trader. Located on the west bank of the Athabasca River at the junction with the Embarras River near Embarras Portage. Abandoned in Unk. Also known as Peter Pond's Fort, History An independent fur trading post and fort first established by Peter Pond in 1778 on the Athabasca River at the junction with the Embarras River near Embarras Portage. In 1778, Peter Pond left Sturgeon Fort to open direct trade with native peoples in the fur-rich Athabasca country. Pond established a trading post on the Athabasca River, about 40 miles from Athabasca lake, where he wintered in 1778–79. There he intercepted numbers of Crees and Chipewyans, who normally travelled the long & difficult route to the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) Prince of Wales Fort on Hudson Bay. These tribes were happy to see traders who would come to them and they discounted their furs to avoid the trek. Pond said he made 140 packs of 90 pounds each that season but he left most of them behind, they would not all fit in his three canoes. He traveled east to Grand Portage, later the site of Grand Portage Post, and returned to Athabasca to bring out the remaining furs. The post was probably abandoned at the end of the 1779 or 1780 season because Pond spent the winter of 1780–81 at Michilimackinac. Current Status Unknown. {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: Embarras Portage, Alberta, Canada. Map point is approximate and not accurate. Maps & Images Lat: 58.45 Long: -111.5 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....' See Also: Sources: Wade, Mark S., Mackenzie of Canada:The Life and Adventures of Alexander Mackenzie, Discoverer, William Blackwood & Sons Ltd., Edinburgh and London, 1927, Online Voorhis, Ernest, comp., Historic Forts and Trading Posts of the French regime and of the English Fur Trading Companies, Dept.of the Interior, Ottawa, Pdf, Page 34. Links: North American Forts - Fort Athabasca River River Wikipedia - Fort Athabasca River Parks Canada - Peter Pond] DCB/DBC - Biography Peter Pond] Visited: No