The oldest continuously occupied Euro-Canadian site in British Columbia, Fort McLeod was first established on McLeod Lake by the Northwest Company in 1805 as a fur trading post. From 1821 until 1952 the post was operated by the
Hudson's Bay Company, first as a fur trading post and later as a Hudson's Bay Company Store. Founded in 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company is the oldest company in North America.
The community which grew around the Hudson's Bay post remains quite small, with a population just under 100 at present. Adjacent is the McLeod Lake Indian Reserve No. 1, home of an Athabascan Sekani people known as "Tse'Khene" (the people of the rock, in reference to the Rocky Mountains). The population of the reserve is also just under 100.
Originally named Trout Lake, it became known as McLeod Lake during the tenure of Archibald Norman McLeod, who was in charge of the post for many years. The site of the fort was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1953. Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Tsek'ehne people, one of many of the Athabaskan peoples, had lived in the area for many centuries.
Approximately 20.54 kilometres (12.76 miles) in length, McLeod Lake is fed by Crooked River from the south and the McLeod River from the west, being drained by the Pack River at its north end. The lake is fairly shallow, with an especially shallow shoal toward the north end which boaters have struck on occasion. The Pack River is a tributary of the Peace River, the largest river in Northwest Canada, which drains into the Arctic Ocean. The lake itself is 2,290 ha (5,700 acres) in area. Its eastern shore is followed by Highway 97, the major route in the area. Just south of the lake's centre is
Whiskers Point Provincial Park, a campground and day use park hugging the western side of the lake.
For the angler, the lake is known to contain Dolly Varden, Rainbow Trout, White Sucker, Peamouth and Northern Pikeminnow.
McLeod's Lake Post
1805-1952
Established in 1805, McLeod's Lake Post is the longest continually occupied European settlement in British Columbia. Representatives of the Northwest Company, out of Montreal, set up this post in order to take over the Native trade in the northern part of British Columbia. But, the traders did not "take over" so much as add on to the existing trade. Therefore, there was little conflict during the history of this fur trade post.
In 1821, the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company joined forces under the name Hudson's Bay Company. They operated a store here until 1952. They then moved their store across the lake to the Hart Highway where it stands today.
In 1969 the site came under the management of the Province of British Columbia. At present three buildings date to the 1920s and one to the 1940s. These buildings are more than just a fur trader's residence and work and storage space, they are also a part of the heritage of the Tsek'ehne people. They lived and worked in this area prior to the fur traders' arrival and are still the main group in the area today.
From the plaque at the fort