Lac La Biche
Although the recorded history of the Lac La Biche community begins with
David Thompson discovering the Portage from Little Beaver River to a
creek and system of small lakes that flow into Lac La Biche on southeast
corner, there is good evidence that a community of free-men had already
called the area home. Thompson first followed the route in 1798.
At the confluence of Beaver River and Moose River, which flowed out
of Moose Lake, Thompson met Laderoote, his pilot. Laderoote, was a
free-man who clearly had been to Lac La Biche before, possibly with
Aboriginal peoples who already had well-established trade relationships
with Fort George. Free-men such as Laderoote were usually voyageurs who
were former servants of the fur companies. Retired from service, these
men chose to remain and take up residence in the West rather than return
to Eastern Canada. The region between Lac La Biche and Jasper became a
favoured area of settlement for free-men who often acted as guides or
pilots.
For the fur trade companies, the route through Lac La Biche to the
Athabasca River was a critical transportation link for a number of
years. Eventually, as the area ran low on furs and resources, most of
the Athabasca traffic transferred to the Methy portage, and the
Clearwater route, which bypassed the area and took the trappers and
traders directly into the high north, emerging at present-day Fort
McMurray.
Meanwhile, active fur trading commenced at Lac La Biche. In 1798,
David Thompson established a post named Red Deers Lake House for the
North West Company (NWC) and in 1799, Peter Fidler built Greenwich
House, which was the first Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) house outside of
the official Rupertsland territory.
Even at that early date, many of the families now living in the area
were already present. Such people included: Joachim Cardinal; Antoine
and Joseph Desjarlais; Jean Baptiste and Ignace Lavallee; Jean Marie and
Francois Boucher; LaFrance; Beauregard; Laboucane; and Parenteau.
After the amalgamation of companies, the HBC retained a post at Lac
La Biche, including both it and Lesser Slave Lake in the Saskatchewan
trading district. It apparently stayed active for only one year, closing
in 1823. The HBC post was re-opened in 1852. In 1856, it was listed by
the Select Committee for the HBC as serving a population of 500 First
Nations people.
[Top] [Back] |
The Mission at Lac La Biche
The Saskatchewan Riel Rebellion
impacts Lac La Biche
|