Hungry Hall was the name of two unrelated Canadian trading posts. 1. Saskatchewan River (NWC,1791): In 1790 William Thorburn of the North West Company built a post on the right bank 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 ...

near

Nipawin, Saskatchewan Nipawin () is a town in Saskatchewan, Canada, on the Saskatchewan River portion of Tobin Lake. The town lies between Codette Lake, created by the Francois-Finlay Dam (built in 1986) and Tobin Lake, created by the E.B. Campbell Dam built i ...

to cut off the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

trade at

Cumberland House, Saskatchewan Cumberland House () is a community in Division No. 18, Saskatchewan, Census Division No. 18 in northeast Saskatchewan, Canada on the Saskatchewan River. It is the oldest community in Saskatchewan and has a population of about 2,000 people. Cum ...

. Next year, he moved downriver and built a post on the left bank of the river opposite Petaigan Creek. It was called Hungry Hall because of its poor returns. Malcomb Ross was sent up from Cumberland House to build a competing post beside him. It seems to have been closed in 1794. Today the site is probably under Tobin Lake. A version of Thorburn's name was given to Tobin Rapid. The name may have been transferred to the Lake. 2. Rainy River (HBC,1825): In 1825, the Hudson's Bay Company built Hungry Hall on the Rainy River close to the former Asp House. In 1834 it was abandoned by agreement with the

American Fur Company The American Fur Company (AFC) was a prominent American company that sold furs, skins, and buffalo robes. It was founded in 1808 by John Jacob Astor, a German Americans, German immigrant to the United States. During its heyday in the early 19th c ...

. In 1863 it reappears in the records as an outpost. It was closed in 1893 due to American competition. The site is at the current Oak Grove Resort where a historical marker has been installed on the riverbank.Elizabeth Browne Losey,"Let Them Be Remembered: The Story of the Fur Trade Forts",1999, Its name was borrowed by a band of the Rainy River First Nations.

References

{{reflist * Manitoba archives /search /HBCA online:-search Asp Hal

North West Company forts Hudson's Bay Company trading posts