Fort Lac la Pluie was a fur trade depot established by the

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

sometime between 1775 and 1787. It was located on a high bank on the west side of modern

Fort Frances Fort Frances is a town in, and the seat of, Rainy River District in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census was 7,466 Fort Frances is a popular fishing destination. It hosts the annual Fort Frances C ...

, Ontario across from

International Falls, Minnesota International Falls (sometimes referred to as I-Falls) is a city in and the county seat of Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,802 at the time of the 2020 census. International Falls is located on the Rainy R ...

on the Rainy River downstream (west) of some rapids (Chaudière portage) where the river flows out of

Rainy Lake Rainy Lake ( French: '; Ojibwe: ') is a freshwater lake with a surface area of that straddles the border between the United States and Canada. The Rainy River issues from the west side of the lake. Today it is harnessed to make hydroelectricit ...

. Upstream at the outlet of the lake was the old French post of

Fort Saint Pierre Fort Saint Pierre on Rainy Lake was the first French fort built west of Lake Superior. It was the first of eight forts built during Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, the elder Vérendrye's expansion of trade and exploration wes ...

(1731-1758). The site is marked by a granite boulder. MortonArthur S Morton, "A History of Western Canada", page 427 describes some runnable rapids, Fort Saint Pierre and a fall that had to be portaged before reaching the fort, which implies that the river level may have changed.Elizabeth Browne Losey. ''Let Them Be Remembered: The Story of the Fur Trade Forts.'' 1999. The place was a depot rather than a trading post and served two purposes. By this time the trade had reached the rich

Lake Athabasca Lake Athabasca ( ; French: ''lac Athabasca''; from Woods Cree: , " herethere are plants one after another") is in the north-west corner of Saskatchewan and the north-east corner of Alberta between 58° and 60° N in Canada. The lake is ...

country which was too far to reach from Montreal in one season. Each May, when the ice broke up, boats with trade goods would head west from Montreal and winterers with canoe-loads of fur would head east. They would meet at

Grand Portage Grand Portage National Monument is a United States National Monument located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota that preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe heritage. The area became on ...

on Lake Superior, exchange goods and head back before the freezup. To further save time goods and furs would be shuttled between Grand Portage and Lac la Pluie. Second, it was a source of food. The

voyageurs Voyageurs (; ) were 18th- and 19th-century French and later French Canadians and others who transported furs by canoe at the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the ...

had no time to hunt and it was difficult to haul food from Montreal. Rainy Lake produced

wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, mnomen, psíŋ, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically and is sti ...

and fish. The fort also built kegs and canoes. With the growth of

pemmican Pemmican () (also pemican in older sources) is a mixture of tallow, dried meat, and sometimes dried berries. A calorie-rich food, it can be used as a key component in prepared meals or eaten raw. Historically, it was an important part of indigeno ...

production around Lake Winnipeg its importance as a food source diminished. It declined further when the two companies merged and trade shifted from Montreal to Hudson Bay. In 1792 two men were killed while out fishing. Around 1795 John McKay (fur trader) of the Hudson's Bay Company had a rival post nearby. With the merger of the two firms in 1821 it was taken over by the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1830 it was named Fort Frances in honor of Governor Simpson's new wife. Its date of closure is uncertain.

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