Jasper House, Trading post and national historic site in Jasper National Park, Canada.
Jasper House is the second site of a trading post on the Athabasca River, at the northern end of Jasper Lake in Jasper National Park. Apart from a small cemetery, no significant ruins remain; the site is marked by a commemorative stone and plaque.
A trading post on the Athabasca River ran from 1813 to 1884, first on the west shore of Brûlé Lake and from 1830 at the north end of Jasper Lake. Originally Rocky Mountain House, it was renamed for postmaster Jasper Hawes, who ran it from 1815 or 1817 to 1821. It served travellers crossing Yellowhead or Athabasca Pass, was used seasonally by Henry John Moberly into the 1860s, and closed in 1884.
The location served as a meeting point where European traders, Indigenous peoples, voyageurs, and missionaries exchanged goods and knowledge during the fur trade era. These interactions shaped the daily rhythm of life along the river for many decades.
The site is accessible via interpretive trails and viewing points reachable from Highway 16 within Jasper National Park. Visitors can explore the ruins while experiencing the natural forest setting that surrounds the historic grounds.
Apart from a small cemetery, no significant ruins remain at the site. The last building was dismantled in 1909, when surveyors for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway used its lumber to build a raft. A commemorative stone and plaque now mark the spot, designated a national historic site in 1924.
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