Fort Assiniboine

: "For the fort in Montana, USA, see Fort Assinniboine."

Fort Assiniboine is a historic Hudson's Bay Company trading post in Alberta, Canada, north-west of Edmonton, situated on the Athabasca River at Highway 33. With a current population of approximately 200 people, this hamlet was a stopping point along the Klondike Trail and gets its name from the Assiniboine people.

Fur Trade Fort

By the early 1820s, Hudson’s Bay Company trade on Lesser Slave Lake was in decline. The council adopted a resolution in 1823 calling for a fort further up the Athabasca River to reduce transport times. This was part of a much larger effort by the Company to reorganize its transportation routes, seeking out advantages and efficiencies in its operations after the merger with the North West Company. Under the new plan, Fort Assiniboine became the northern terminus of an overland route between Edmonton House/Fort Edmonton, linking the North Saskatchewan and Athabasca River systems. This new portage trail replaced the circuitous path and lengthy portage associated with the Beaver River and Portage La Biche route, resulting in significant savings for the Company. The distance between Edmonton House and Fort Assinibone was roughly 80 miles, and a party on horseback could make the trip in about 2 days. The fort never grew as large as some of the other Alberta forts, its role as a transportation hub and provision centre ensured its survival between the 1820s and 1880s. [Elizabeth Browne Losey, "Let them Be Remembered: The Story of the Fur Trade Posts," (New York: Vantage Press, 1999) 481-486]

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