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VOYAGEURS & COURS-DE-BOIS
One of the lesser known aspects of the history of the fur trade in western Canada is the appearance of the XY Company (XY Co.) in 1798. The XY Co. began as a splinter group of unhappy partners and employees of the North West Company (NWC). This group was rebelling against Simon McTavish and embarked on a campaign of direct competition with the NWC. The XY Co. was a serious threat to the NWC and attracted prominent NWC partners such as Alexander Mackenzie.
The Peace River was an area of major interest to the XY Co. for a number of reasons: furs; game and access to locations in Lesser Slave Lake and New Caledonia (northern British Columbia). The XY Co. built at least four posts on the Peace River, all of which were location between Fort Fork and Lake Athabasca. Their posts were built in close vicinity to existing NWC posts and the NWC and XY Co. employees competed with each other to obtain game, furs and information from the local First Nations. The major historical source for the XY Co. building at Fort Fork is the journals of David Thompson who wintered at Fort Fork in 1802-3. On June 5th, 1803 Thompson notes: “At 10 Am a canoe of the XY well loaded with Goods of various Kinds arrived here [Fort Fork] & put up above us about 100 Yards. They are to build here.” Thompson mentions the intense competition between the two companies in the Fort Fork area but reveals little about the nature of the XY Co. post other than it had “stockades” and housed a clerk and 3-4 employees.
In the summer of 1804 Simon McTavish died and a new agreement was reached in which the XY Co. merged with the NWC. Most of their posts, including the post at Fort Fork, were closed. Unfortunately the XY Co. post at Fort Fork has completely eroded away on its location on the Peace River.
BASIC INFO
GeoTourism Canada Site #: GS41
Site Ownership: Government of Alberta
Opened: 1803
Closed: 1804
Operated by: XY Co . Site Size:
Further Reading:
Hugh A. Dempsey. ‘David Thompson on Peace River.’ Alberta
Historical Review 14(1) Winter 1966.
A.S. Morton. A History of the Canadian West to 1870-1
PUBLIC ACCESS
Access: The public has access to the site
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CREDITS
Author: Dallas Wood
Date: 2007
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