Buckingham House

Buckingham House was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post established in 1792 on the wooded north bank of the North Saskatchewan River near present-day Elk Point, Alberta. It was created during an intensely competitive phase of the Canadian fur trade, when the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company were extending their networks westward and upriver in search of beaver pelts and access to Indigenous trading partners. The post was initially called Moose Hills and was established by William Tomison, who arrived with 28 men in October 1792. Its location placed it directly opposite the commercial interests of the North West Company, whose nearby Fort George had been established during the same period. For most of its existence, Buckingham House was the Hudson's Bay Company's furthest upstream post on the Saskatchewan River. Its position was strategically important because it served as an entrepôt for the company's posts and trade routes connected with the upper Beaver River and surrounding inland territories. The post was not a large or dominant installation. It generally had fewer employees and fewer trade goods than Fort George, its North West Company rival, and the two establishments maintained a relationship characterized by commercial rivalry, tension, and occasional practical cooperation. Several Hudson's Bay Company officers were associated with the post's administration, including Peter Fidler, George Sutherland, James Pruden, and Henry Hallet. Their work involved managing trade goods, receiving and shipping furs, provisioning the settlement, and maintaining relations with Indigenous communities and neighboring company personnel. Competition could become openly confrontational. During a drought, Buckingham House's leadership attempted to restrict Fort George's inhabitants from using the Buckingham House well. Access was restored after John McDonald of Garth warned William Tomison that the dispute would otherwise result in one of them being forced into the well, illustrating the difficult relations between the two companies. The post's economic prospects declined as local beaver populations diminished and the broader geography of the trade network changed. By 1800, the Hudson's Bay Company had established or developed other posts farther upriver, including Fort Edmonton, reducing Buckingham House's strategic importance. Buckingham House was abandoned that year, as was nearby Fort George. The North West Company subsequently favored Fort de l'Isle, located about 20 miles upriver, while other structures and materials from the area were later salvaged or relocated. The post therefore existed for only about eight years, but it formed part of the early network of European trading establishments that reshaped commerce, travel, diplomacy, and settlement in the inland Canadian West. The site is now interpreted as a historic location rather than an operating commercial brand. Since 1993, an interpretive centre has operated at the location of Fort George and Buckingham House, presenting the history of the competing posts and the fur trade. Buckingham House should consequently be understood as a historical Hudson's Bay Company trading post, not as a contemporary consumer brand or an independently incorporated company.

Buckingham House emerged from the late-eighteenth-century expansion of the Canadian inland fur trade. At the time, the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company were competing to control routes, trading relationships, and access to fur-producing territories beyond the older coastal and bay-based centres. The North West Company established Fort George on the North Saskatchewan River in 1792 after moving upriver from Pine Island Fort. The move reflected declining beaver supplies in the earlier location and growing unrest among Plains communities in that area. The Hudson's Bay Company responded by establishing its own post nearby. William Tomison arrived in October 1792 with 28 men and created a settlement initially known as Moose Hills. It was subsequently known as Buckingham House. The post occupied the wooded north bank of the North Saskatchewan River, near Fort George, with a gully and several hundred yards separating the two installations. Its placement was not accidental: Buckingham House was intended to challenge the North West Company's new post and secure the Hudson's Bay Company's position farther upstream. Until 1795, Buckingham House was the Hudson's Bay Company's most upstream post on the Saskatchewan River. It functioned as a trading and supply point connected to routes leading toward the upper Beaver River and other inland posts. The post exchanged European and company merchandise for furs and also participated in the provisioning system needed to maintain long-distance travel and settlement. It remained smaller than Fort George, with fewer personnel and less merchandise, but its existence demonstrated the Hudson's Bay Company's willingness to place competing establishments deep within North West Company territory. The two posts generally maintained an uneasy but workable relationship. Competition was often sharp, yet the proximity of the settlements also created practical interdependence. A drought produced one of the clearest confrontations recorded in the post's history. Buckingham House's officers attempted to prevent Fort George residents from using the Buckingham House well. John McDonald of Garth, associated with Fort George, challenged William Tomison over the restriction and threatened an extreme resolution if access was not restored. The dispute ended with access to the well being reopened. The post was administered at different times by Hudson's Bay Company officers including Peter Fidler, George Sutherland, James Pruden, and Henry Hallet. Their tenure formed part of the company's broader effort to organize a chain of inland posts, move furs toward company depots, and compete with the North West Company's more extensive western network. Buckingham House's importance was therefore strategic as much as commercial. Its usefulness diminished as local beaver supplies declined and the network of posts changed. By 1800, the Hudson's Bay Company had established Fort Edmonton and other posts farther upriver, making Buckingham House less necessary. The post was abandoned in 1800. Nearby Fort George was also abandoned, and the North West Company shifted its activity toward Fort de l'Isle, approximately 20 miles upriver. In 1809, Alexander Henry the younger salvaged usable material from Fort George and transported it downriver to Fort Vermilion, although this later action related primarily to the North West Company post. The physical settlement no longer operates as a trading establishment. Its historical setting is interpreted together with Fort George through a provincial historic-site and museum program. An interpretive centre has operated at the location since 1993, preserving the memory of the two rival posts and explaining the commercial, logistical, and Indigenous-history context of the Saskatchewan River fur trade.

• 1993

  Interpretive centre begins operating at the site

  [1]Buckingham House (fur-trade post)en.wikipedia.org

  An interpretive centre began operating at the Fort George and Buckingham House location, presenting the history of the rival fur-trade establishments.

• 1800

  Buckingham House is abandoned

  [1]Buckingham House (fur-trade post)en.wikipedia.org

  Declining local beaver supplies and the development of other upriver posts, including Fort Edmonton, led to the closure of Buckingham House.

• 1795

  Remains the Hudson's Bay Company's furthest upstream Saskatchewan post

  [1]Buckingham House (fur-trade post)en.wikipedia.org

  Until this period, Buckingham House represented the Hudson's Bay Company's most upstream establishment on the Saskatchewan River.

• 1792

  Hudson's Bay Company establishes Moose Hills

  [1]Buckingham House (fur-trade post)en.wikipedia.org

  William Tomison arrived with 28 men and established the Hudson's Bay Company post originally called Moose Hills, later known as Buckingham House, near the North West Company's Fort George.

An upstream Hudson's Bay Company fur-trade post established to compete with the North West Company's Fort George and to extend the company's access to inland fur-producing regions.

• Fur trade · 1792

  Fur procurement and trade

  Buckingham House's central commercial function was the receipt and exchange of furs, especially beaver pelts, within the Hudson's Bay Company's inland trading network. Furs were obtained through trade with Indigenous communities and were then routed through the company's chain of posts and transport corridors. The post's relatively small scale and short operating life reflected both intense competition and changing supplies.

• Trading-post supplies · 1792

  Trade provisions and goods

  Like other late-eighteenth-century fur-trade posts, Buckingham House supplied manufactured merchandise and provisions used in exchange and in the operation of the settlement. Its role included supporting travel and communications between the Saskatchewan River and connected inland posts, although the available sources do not provide a complete inventory of goods.

• 1800

  Close Buckingham House and shift the network upriverStrategy

  Background

  Local beaver supplies had declined, while Fort Edmonton and other Hudson's Bay Company posts had been established farther upriver.

  Action taken

  The Hudson's Bay Company abandoned Buckingham House.

  Aftermath

  The site ceased to function as a trading post, and the company's inland network became organized around other upriver establishments.

  Source

• 1792

  Establish a competing post beside Fort GeorgeStrategy

  Background

  The North West Company had established Fort George upriver in response to declining beaver supplies and changing regional conditions. The Hudson's Bay Company sought to protect its commercial position by creating a nearby post.

  Action taken

  William Tomison established Moose Hills, later called Buckingham House, on the North Saskatchewan River near Fort George.

  Aftermath

  The decision created a direct commercial rivalry between the two companies and made Buckingham House an important, though smaller, Hudson's Bay Company outpost until its closure in 1800.

  • North West Company — The North West Company continued operating the nearby Fort George, resulting in sustained rivalry and occasional disputes over resources.

  Source

1. 1Buckingham House (fur-trade post)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Fort George and Buckingham House: Provincial Historic Sitealberta.ca