Fort Bourbon was one of the forts built by La Vérendrye during his expansion of trade and exploration west from Lake Superior. Besides providing support for the important

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

in what is now

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, La Vérendrye wanted to conduct exploration of potential routes for what he believed was an interior western sea. The name "Fort Bourbon" was also given to

York Factory York Factory was a settlement and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) factory (trading post) on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. York ...

while it was occupied by the French. ''First Fort Bourbon'' was at the mouth of the

Saskatchewan River The Saskatchewan River (Cree: , "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining of the North Saskatchewan River and South Saskatchewan River just east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan ...

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg () is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Its southern end is about north of the city of Winnipeg. Lake Winnipeg is Canada's sixth-largest freshwater lake and the third- ...

. The youngest La Vérendrye son,

Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye (9 November 1717 – 15 November 1761) was a French Canadian fur trader and explorer. He, his three brothers, and his father Pierre La Vérendrye pushed trade and exploration west from the Great Lakes. He, hi ...

, led an initial exploration to the area in 1737. An

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

thwarted the mission. In 1740 Louis-Joseph had a successful trip exploring the Saskatchewan River to a short distance west of Cedar Lake and mapping the site for the first

Fort Paskoya Fort Paskoya (or Paskoyac or Pasquia) was a French fort and trading post on the lower Saskatchewan River above Cedar Lake. It was named after a Cree word for 'narrows', or after the Opaskwayak Cree Nation, whom the explorers encountered. "Pask ...

at the west end of Cedar Lake. On his return toward Lake Winnipeg, he mapped the area and established a site for the first Fort Bourbon. The map of 1740 indicated a site between the

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

and Lake Winnipeg, on the northern shore of the Saskatchewan or White River. In 1741, the elder La Vérendrye sent an expedition of men to establish the fort. ''Second Fort Bourbon:'' Fort Bourbon was moved upstream at an uncertain date. It was probablyElizabeth Browne Losey,"Let Them be Remembered:The Story of the Fur Trade Forts",1999,page 60 at the inflow of the Saskatchewan into Cedar Lake, the same location as first

. In 1758, when the French withdrew from the west during the Seven Years' War (French and Indian War), it was plundered and burned. In 1777, Todd & McGill had a post about a mile and a half upstream.

References

External links

''Manitoba Historical Society - Names and Places''

''Manitoba Historical Society - Grand Rapids''
French forts in Canada French forts in North America Forts in Manitoba 1741 establishments in the French colonial empire {{NewFrance-stub