Part 2: Fur Trade on the Red River

Part 2: In a Nutshell

  • The Hudson’s Bay Company of Great Britain and the North West Company of France were the leading fur trading companies in Canada.
  • The Canadian fur trading companies extended south along the Red River into North Dakota.
  • Charles Chaboillez started the first trading post in North Dakota.
  • Alexander Henry started the first permanent trading post in North Dakota, Fort Pembina.
  • Mrs. Pierre Bonza gave birth to the first non-Indian child in North Dakota.
  • Alexander Henry was the first non-Indian to farm in North Dakota.
  • Alexander Henry had the first library in North Dakota.
  • Alexander Henry enjoyed eating water plants called “cattails.”
  • Furs were divided into two classes—fine furs and rough furs.
  • John Fubbister was really Isobel Gunn.
  • The first European settlement in North Dakota that included women and children was the Selkirk Colony at Pembina.
  • The Earl of Selkirk brought displaced Scottish people to the Red River Valley to farm.
  • An 1818 treaty between the United States and Great Britain set the U.S.-Canadian boundary line at the 49th parallel.
  • In 1823, Major Stephen Long led a survey party that located the 49th parallel which proved that Pembina was in the United States, not in Canada.
  • The Hudson’s Bay Company and the Selkirkers moved from Pembina into Canada after the border was located.
  • The American Fur Company, established by John Jacob Astor, set up at Pembina after the Hudson’s Bay Company left North Dakota.
  • A child who has an Indian and a white parent is called Métis.
  • The Métis lifestyle blended parts of both the Indian and European cultures.
  • By the 1820s, the Métis made up most of the population of the Red River Valley.
  • The Red River was a water highway used by the fur trading companies in the Pembina area.
  • The Red River cart, pulled by a horse or an ox, was invented by the Métis.
  • Red River carts became the primary means of transportation for the fur trading companies.
  • Joe Rolette, a Métis, was the first person to organize Red River cart caravans between Pembina and St. Paul.
  • Red River carts trails ran between Fort Garry (Winnipeg) and St. Paul.
  • Norman Kittson established the first post office in North Dakota.
  • The first school in North Dakota was taught by a priest in his home at Pembina in 1818.
  • Father George Belcourt and Norman Kittson established a new settlement at St. Joseph (Walhalla), 30 miles west of Pembina.
  • Kittson’s trading post is the oldest building in North Dakota.
  • Father Belcourt established the first flour mill in North Dakota.
  • Reverend Barnard of Pembina brought the first printing press to North Dakota.
  • Charles Cavaleer established the first permanent non-Indian agricultural colony in North Dakota.
  • Cavalier County and the city of Cavalier were named after Charles Cavaleer.
  • Pierre Bottineau was a Métis who was called “The Walking Peace Pipe” because he worked at keeping peace between the settlers and the Indian tribes.
  • Bottineau mapped the townsite for Wahpeton.
  • Bottineau County and the city of Bottineau were named after Pierre Bottineau.
  • The Anson Northrup, piloted by Anson Northrup, was the first steamboat to travel on the Red River.