Moose Factory

MOOSE FACTORY
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Established: 1672
Established by: BRITAIN

In 1672, an English group that later became the Hudson Bay Company established a trading post on Moose Factory Island on the Moose River. Cree fur trappers and their families, anxious to cut the distance required to trade fur, began settling around the post shortly after the post was built.

Originally called Moose Fort, the post was captured in 1686 by the French during a daring overland winter attack led by Pierre de Troyes. The installation was returned to the English in 1713 with the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht. Trading activities did not resume until 1730. In 1735, a fire broke out destroying most of the post (but it was rebuilt shortly thereafter).

FAST FACT
The name “Factory” comes from the title of the person in charge of the fur trading post which was “Factor.” Moose Factory holds the distinction of being the second oldest English-speaking settlement in Ontario. Kingston (formerly Fort Frontenac) is older.