North West Co.
The British Fur Trade at Cedar Lake

The North West Company headquarters were located at Grand Portage, on the northern shore of Lake Superior. The company operated several posts in the wilds of present-day Minnesota.

One such interior trade house was located on the north shore of (lower Red) Cedar lake. This site is just four miles west of present-day Aitkin. This site was significant in fur trade history, dating back to the French fur trade era.

British Trade Dominance In The Region

Our region flew under the flag of France until about 1763. Following the British defeat of France at Quebec in 1760, the Proclamation of 1763 established a new government at Quebec. The British made our region Indian country, and off-limits to traders. Following the American Revolution, this region became part of United States unorganized territory under the Act of 1783. The lack of an American presence in the region during that period again opened this area to the fur trade, this time attracting British traders.

In Montreal, about 1784, a loosely organized cartel of entrepreneurs formulated a partnership that would dominate the region until after the War of 1812. This enterprise was called the North West Company and made their operations headquarters at Grand Portage on the shore of Lake Superior.

Pike Expedition Encounters The British

The region west of the Mississippi that was not already part of American territory, was purchased from France in the Louisiana Purchase in 1804. Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike left from St. Louis on a mission of discovery in 1805 to seek the source of the Mississippi, secure land through treaty for a military post (Fort Snelling), and gather intelligence regarding British activity and trade in the region. The expedition first encountered British trade operations at (Lower Red) Cedar lake on January 2, 1806. Pike became the invited guest of the post factor, Mr. Grant and spent time at the post. Pike made the following observations of the post:

The North West Company have made establishments at several places on the south side of Lake Superior, and on the head waters of the Sauteaux and St. Croix, which discharge into the Mississippi. The first I met with on the voyage up was at Lower Red Cedar Lake, about 150 miles above Isle de Corbeau, on the east side of the river, and distant from there about six miles. It is situated on the north point of the lake, and consists of log buildings, flanked by picketed bastions on two of its angles.

British Trade Dominance In The Region Ends

While Congress had permitted foreign traders on their soil through an Act passed in 1803, the British fur trade dominance was eventually doomed by the War of 1812. The war changed the formerly permissive American government's attitude towards foreign exploitation of the profitable fur trade. Congress enacted a law in 1816 that forbade foreign commercial interests on American soil, which of course included the fur trade. The North West Company were pressed to relinquish their hold on the fur trade in this region and soon were replaced by John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company. The North West Company eventually merged with the Hudson's Bay Company in about 1821.


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and the Mud River Music Fest
©2008 Aitkin Festival of Adventures Committee
"Festival of Adventures" is a trademark/servicemark of the Aitkin Festival of Adventures Committee

In addition to our Festival of Adventures fur trade rendezvous, we also offer an 1890s pinery camp experience. In the era that followed the statewide Jack Pine harvest, White Oak became an important replacement to Jack Pine. During the pinery camp era, White Oak was cut as a hardwood. White Oak was used in the making of furniture and for cooperage. As the river pigs floated the White Oak logs to the mill, deer would gather along the river to drink. Deer and the river were the constant companions of the men as they floated White Oak to the mill each spring.