Page "Waskaganish, Quebec" Paragraph 4

Rupert House or Charles Fort was the first trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company.

It is, in fact, two years older than that company which was founded in 1670.

On 29 September 1668, the Nonsuch ( ship ) under the command of Zachariah Gillam and guided by Médard des Groseilliers anchored at the mouth of the Rupert River.

Charles Fort, as they called it, was built on the south bank of the river.

In October 1669 they returned to England with a load of beaver pelts.

The post was occupied sporadically thereafter and new buildings were added.

In 1670-1679 Charles Bayly was governor.

In 1672 Charles Albanel reached Charles Fort from the Saint Lawrence.

Finding all the English out hunting, he waited a week, left a letter, and returned to Quebec.

In 1674 Albanel reached the fort again and was sent to England.

In 1681, fearing French attack, a new Charles Fort was built downstream on a hill top.

In 1686 the fort was captured by the French and burned.

In 1688 the English tried to re-establish the fort, but it was captured again by D ' Iberville, this time by sea.

For the next century the east coast of James Bay was visited by HBC ships from Fort Albany, Ontario.

In 1776 the site was re-occupied and named Rupert House or Rupert Fort or Fort Rupert.

From then until the early 1900s, Fort Rupert was an important trading location, supplying inland communities and other posts via the Rupert River with regular canoe brigades.

In 1991 the archaeologist J. V. Chism found the sites of the two Charles Forts.

The first was at the site of the new tourist lodge and the second at the Anglican church.