The Fur Trade at Lachine National Historic Site, Stone warehouse and fur trade museum in Lachine, Canada
This rectangular stone warehouse at the western end of the Lachine Canal was built in 1803 with fieldstone walls and traditional architectural details from that era. The restored building now contains exhibits about the North American fur trade, displaying objects and documents from the commercial period.
The Northwest Company built this storage facility in 1803 to manage and hold fur pelts before shipping them across the Saint Lawrence River. The location was strategically chosen near the Lachine Rapids to serve as a transfer point between river transport and ocean-going vessels.
The exhibits inside reveal how European traders, Indigenous nations, and voyageurs worked together in the fur trade system. Visitors can see the complex relationships and dependencies that connected these different peoples through commerce and transportation.
The site is easily accessible on foot and visitors can explore both the exhibits inside and the waterfront setting along the canal. Plan to spend time reading the displays and enjoying the views of the surrounding area.
The building sits at the Lachine Rapids, a treacherous stretch of water that paddlers could not navigate, forcing goods to be unloaded and reloaded here. This dangerous passage directly shaped where the warehouse was built and how the entire trade network functioned.
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