Fort St. Pierre

Fort St. Pierre was the first La Verendrye fort built west of Fort Kaministiquia. It was built in 1731 when the first western commander started his explorations, fur trading and the search for the western sea. The fort was located at the west end of Rainy Lake near the mouth of Rainy River. The actual construction took place in the fall and was carried out by La Verendrye's nephew, Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye and his eldest son, Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye while the father returned to Fort Kaministiquia for the winter. Although considered more symbolic than economic, the fort provided an early link in the important trade route from Montreal to the west.

La Colle, a Swampy Cree chief who assisted La Vérendrye a great deal, had his main camp in the vicinity of the fort. He and his warriors helped control the Sioux of the Prairies in the period that the La Vérendrye's were moving westward.

External links

* [http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/transactions/1/lakeofthewoods.shtml Manitoba Historical Society]

* [http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/transactions/3/verendryes.shtml Manitoba Historical Society]

* [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBioPrintable.asp?BioId=35577 Dictionary of Canadian Biography]