Ian Macdonald and Mike McMullen look at 'Old Fort' legend in broader sweep of fur trade history in Chapleau area

Old Fort site at Mulligan's Bay 2012

 Ian Macdonald and Mike McMullen follow up on their earlier article about the location of the Hudson's Bay outpost at Chapleau, in which they confirmed  that it was located on the Nebskwashi River, commonly known known as the Memegos Property, and not at the Old Fort on Mulligan's Bay. They provide more historical background and make suggestions as to what was at the Old Fort on Mulligan's Bay. Mike McMullen traces his Chapleau connection to 1885 when his great-great uncle Patrick Mulligan arrived, and Ian Macdonald spent most of his growing up years there. Mike and Ian visited Chapleau in May 2013 and also attended the Chapleau High School reunion in 2012. Mike and I are cousins -- our grandmothers May (Mulligan) McMullen and Lil (Mulligan) Morris were sisters.Your comments are most welcome. My email is mj.morris@live.ca 

Here is link to earlier story: http://michaeljmorrisreports.blogspot.ca/2013/05/mike-mcmullen-and-ian-macdonald-confirm_28.html

The Old Fort on Mulligan’s Bay

By Ian Macdonald and Mike McMullen

Growing up in Chapleau in the late forties and fifties, we were all aware of the story of the old fort at the Mulligan’s Bay side of the portage to Borden Lake and remember the ruins of the old log cabins. We like most everybody else, simply accepted this as fact and never questioned whether or not such a fort ever existed. It wasn’t until almost a full lifetime has passed that we re-examine this old tale in the context of the actual history of the fur trade in the Chapleau region. It might be prudent to start by taking a step back and viewing this local legend in the broader sweep of history.

The fur trade in Canada was controlled by the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) since its formation in 1670 and then with the North West Company (NWC) from the late 18th century until 1821 when, after decades of fierce competition, HBC finally achieved a complete monopoly again by merging with NWC. We do know that during this early period, both HBC and NWC maintained trading posts side by side at Michipicoten on Lake Superior and possibly on or near Kapuskasing Lake at the northern end of both the Kebsquasheshing and Nemegosenda River systems near the present CNR siding at Elsas. 

Following the merger in 1821, HBC eliminated half of their inland trading posts including those on Kapuskasing Lake and concentrated their trading activity on the profitable Missinaibi river route. Following construction of the Soo locks in the 1850’s, it became easier to supply the inland trading posts from Michipicoten on Lake Superior rather than James Bay and the original north-south supply route to and from Moose Factory ceased completely in the 1860s. The historic monopoly of the HBC on the fur trade in Canada came to an end in 1870 with the sale of HBC lands (Rupert’s Land) to the Crown referred to as the Deed of Surrender. This marked the beginning of the end of the era of the storied Company of Adventurers and the highly profitable fur trade in the Moose-Missinaibi River Valley.

HBC store in Chapleau

We now know for certain that the first recorded presence of the HBC in Chapleau was the construction of a Michipicoten subpost in 1884 (Chapleau Outpost) a mile south of Chapleau on the Nebskwashi River, followed by the opening of a retail store in Chapleau in 1886 managed by Peter Bell.

Survey crew at HBC outpost

Peter Warren Bell was a commissioned officer of the HBC and Chief Trader and Factor of the HBC post at Michipicoten from 1865 until 1886 when he became the first Chief Factor of the HBC store in Chapleau. Bell conceived the concept of the outposts at Chapleau, Dog River and Magpie that were built in 1884 to intercept native trade. He remained Chief Factor in charge of the Michipicoten district at Chapleau from 1886 to 1889 until being replaced by Donald McTavish.

Peter Bell

 Bell, as evidenced in many lengthy post reports and letters, obviously struggled with the challenges of the new era of aggressive retail competition but remained well respected for his empathy with aboriginal culture and frequently expressed concerns about the impact of the new rail era on traditional native life and values. One testament to Bell's contribution to the development of this region of Northern Ontario was the naming of a railway siding in his honour at Peterbell, Ontario where the CN line crosses the historic Missinaibi River.

There is no evidence to date to support the notion that HBC was ever located on Mulligan’s Bay. We know, for certain, that the site of the old fort on Mulligan’s Bay was crown land from 1870 until 1907 when it was transferred to John Mathew Birmingham of Kingston, Ontario, as a land grant (191 acres). In 1901, an Act to provide for the appropriation of certain lands for the Volunteers who served in South Africa and the Volunteer Militia who served on the frontier in 1866 was passed in Ontario. To be eligible, one had to have been a resident or domiciled in Ontario at the time of enlistment or enrolment for active service. Mr. Birmingham was one who met the criteria. As result of the Act, land grants (usually 160 acres) were available in 27 townships in Northern Ontario, including Cochrane Township in the Sudbury District where Mulligan’s Bay is located.

One is left to speculate, therefore, on the era prior to 1870. Perhaps during the early days of heated competition between HBC and the NWC in the period from 1770 to 1821, one or the other company may have built an outpost in the Chapleau area. Unfortunately, there is no record of such a post anywhere in the HBC archives and many NWC records have been lost. The possibility of a hastily built log building surviving from the early 1800s until the mid-20th century is also very unlikely. A more reasonable argument might be that a cabin(s) was built on the site by an independent trader following the end of the HBC monopoly, sometime between 1870 and 1907. 

Bruce Poynter at Old Fort beach 2012

The location was obviously on an established canoe route with an excellent natural beach. Another possibility is that somebody simply built a cabin there as a summering place. The present owner, Bruce Poynter, has discovered many artifacts on the site that suggest that the Mulligan’s Bay site, given a natural beach and location on a major canoe route could well have been an important aboriginal meeting place long before the fur trade era began.

Mike McMullen and Ian Macdonald confirm location of Chapleau Hudson's Bay Company Outpost in new research

Ian Macdonald, Mike McMullen

Mike McMullen and Ian Macdonald are changing the conventional wisdom of 100 plus years in the history of Chapleau with their revelations about the location of the Hudson's Bay Company Outpost commonly believed to have been at the Old Fort site at Mulligan's Bay. 

Chief Anita Stephens with Nick

Mike, my cousin, and Ian, my longtime friend and professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba, have spent countless hours researching, which included a recent trip to Chapleau, before revealing their conclusions here. Their findings are bound to spark a lively discussion and that's fine. 

It has been a great privilege to have been a small part of their research project, and I thank Mike and Ian for sharing with me. I also extend my most personal thanks to Chief Anita Stephens of the Chapleau Ojibwe First Nation for her assistance in making  their visit to the Memegos site possible.... MJM My email is mj.morris@live.ca

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

By MIKE McMULLEN and IAN MACDONALD

In the early 1880s, as the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was constructing its mainline through Northern Ontario, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) at Michipicoten on Lake Superior, decided to build three outposts that would be strategically located near three towns that would be built along the CPR line. The objective was to intercept the Natives and carry out trading activities with them before they got to these new towns and the storekeepers that would be located there. One of these posts was the HBC Chapleau Outpost, which was built in the fall of 1884 and reported to the Michipicoten Post. The other two outposts were located at Dog River and Magpie.

We know from the HBC Archives that the post consisted of three buildings. Two photographs from the CPR Corporate Archives confirm this and show that they were located on flat land near a shoreline.   

          HBC Chapleau Outpost under Construction (1884) CP Archives and Ian Macdonald

These two photographs, taken by the photographer accompanying the CPR survey crew in 1884, show the outpost under construction. They were published in Van Horne’s Road by Omar Lavallee in 1974. For many years, it was commonly believed that these photographs were taken at the Old Fort site at Mulligan’s Bay. 

Ojibwe Families at HBC Chapleau Outpost Site (1884) CP Archives and Ian Macdonald

We believe that the Ojibwe families in these photographs were enticed to move to the Chapleau area from the Gros Cap Reserve at Michipicoten because of opportunities associated with construction of the HBC Outpost, the CPR and logging operations.

For the past two years we have been working collaboratively on early Chapleau social and economic history, including the HBC presence in the Chapleau area. One of our interests has been to verify where the Chapleau Outpost was located. Material from the HBC Archives in Winnipeg, Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa and other Chapleau-related material, such as Pioneering in Northern Ontario, by Vincent Crichton, led us to conclude that the site was about one mile south of the Chapleau CPR station on the east bank of the Nebskwashi River. 

This places it at the location where members of the Memegos family lived for many years – commonly referred to now as the Memegos site.

Less than two years after constructing this Post, HBC decided that with the growing population in Chapleau, the company would establish a general store in the downtown area. It was built on two lots at the southwest corner of Young and Birch streets in late 1886. When Chapleau was made headquarters of the Michipicoten district, responsibility for the Chapleau Outpost was transferred to Chapleau. Less than three years later, suffering from competition from other Chapleau general merchants and a general decline in the fur trade, HBC closed the Chapleau Outpost in 1889.

In 1903, the Ojibwe families, who had been living near Chapleau for nearly 20 years, petitioned for land of their own. The Indian Agent, William L. Nichols, supported their request and recommended to J. D. McLean, Secretary of Indian Affairs, suitable land close to Chapleau for this purpose. This land was on the east side of the Nebskwashi River where he wrote that there was an HBC post that was now in a state of decay. Indian Affairs approved the request and negotiated with the Province of Ontario for the purchase of this land, which would be paid for by these Ojibwe families. The land was surveyed in 1904 and became I. R. 61. 

Over time the Ojibwe would receive more land near Chapleau with three more reserves being added: I.R.61A, I.R. 74 and I.R. 74A.

Memegos Site on I.R. 61 on East Bank of Nebskwashi River  (1924) Vince Crichton collection

A photograph in the on-line Vincent Crichton Collection (Volume 4, Picture 30) taken in 1924, shows buildings on I.R. 61 (Memegos site) from across the river near the CPR tracks south of town. There appear to be seven buildings and two of them are quite similar to two of the original HBC buildings that are in one of the CPR 1884 photographs. 

We believe there is good probability that they are the same buildings and that they were repaired and upgraded by the Ojibwe families following their purchase of the 220 acres (I. R. 61) that included the HBC site.

Before finalizing our conclusions, we felt it necessary to visit the Memegos site in person and to do it in the spring before the growing season and before the black flies are out. Michael Morris contacted Chief Anita Stephens of the Chapleau Ojibwe First Nation and she gave us permission to visit the site. Josh Memegos and Fabian Picody took us in and out on Tuesday, May 14, 2013, two days after the more than 30 cm snowfall in Chapleau.

Fabian Picody, Ian, Josh Memegos

We found the remains of three buildings, but no log buildings. Apparently, many buildings were vandalized beginning in the late 1960s. The site is relatively level and uncomplicated, sufficiently high to avoid seasonal flooding and ideally suited to an HBC outpost that had to be built quickly. The shoreline condition, while not a sandy beach, does allow for easy beaching of canoes.

This site condition tends to be an anomaly as most land along this stretch of the river appears challenging and difficult to clear and build on. The view from the site across the river to the other side is quite similar to the CPR 1884 photograph that has the river in the background. The day before our visit to this site, we walked down the tracks in the snow to about a mile south of town to duplicate the 1924 Crichton Collection photograph view of the Memegos site on the other side of the river. The topography is very similar.

 Memegos Site where HBC Chapleau Outpost was located (May 2013) Mike McMullen

Before leaving Chapleau we had the pleasure of talking with Elder Eva Memegos and we showed her pictures of the Memegos site. She and her husband Adam moved to this location in 1946 when they were married. She identified buildings from the 1924 Crichton Collection photograph as still being on the site in the late 1940s when there were about 10 buildings there. She showed us the building that she lived in (one of the buildings that we believe was one of the original HBC buildings from 1884) and pointed out the two churches on the site: one Anglican and one Roman Catholic.

We are confident that our research has verified where the HBC Chapleau Outpost was located. We continue to look for information to determine what was at the Old Fort location at Mulligan’s Bay. This property, owned by Bruce Poynter, has a natural sandy beach and is located close to the Loon Lake portage. This location, at the southern end of the Nemegosenda and Kebsquasheshing Rivers, makes it an identifiable and inherently important place regardless of what may have been built on it.

(c) 2013 Mike McMullen and Ian Macdonald

The 'mystery' of the Old Fort at Mulligan's Bay near Chapleau

By Bill McLeod

I am writing to request the assistance of you and your readers for two Chapleau history research projects that I am working on for my next Chapleau book.

The projects are a collaborative effort between myself, Ian Macdonald, Mike McMullen and Mike Morris. Ian has recently retired as Head of the School of Architecture at the University of Manitoba. Mike McMullen and Mike Morris both have deep roots in the Chapleau area and Mulligan’s Bay was likely named after one or more of their ancestors. We all spent some or all of our growing up years in Chapleau and have maintained a keen interest in the community and its history.

Ian is an expert on early railroad architecture and has graciously consented to write a chapter on the architecture of Chapleau with an emphasis on the C.P.R. buildings - including (but not limited to) the station, the roundhouse, the Y.M.C.A. and the older C.P.R. residential duplexes on Monk and Pine Streets.

Ian, the two Mikes and I are collaborating on a piece about the history of the Hudson’s Bay Post(s) in the Chapleau area. We think that there was some sort of a post and small settlement including an Anglican church at what has come to be known as “The Old Fort” at Mulligan’s Bay.

We don’t know for sure when the post was opened or when the Hudson’s Bay Company first traded in the Chapleau area. We also know that the operation that may have been at Mulligan’s Bay was shut down and moved into the town of Chapleau some time around 1885 when the C.P.R. went through. That Chapleau location appears to have been closed about 1899.

The matter of the church is of peripheral interest only in that information about it might help to determine when the post was opened and exactly where it was located.

Unfortunately, the Hudson’s Bay records are sometimes tantalizingly and frustratingly incomplete. One document refers to some sort of a sub post located one mile from Chapleau. Its purpose was to try to prevent the Aboriginals from going into town and doing business with the Hudson’s Bay competitors. The site of this location is not identified in any Hudson’s Bay documents that we have examined. However we are initially hypothesizing that it might have been on the north side of the Back River about a mile east of the Cedar Street Bridge. Another possibility is that a post or sub post may have been located on the north side of the Front River near the present site of the golf course.

It is very important to all of us that this piece be as accurate and as well documented as possible.
We would appreciate any sharing of information, documents, photos or opinions about the topics about which we are researching and writing.
Bill McLeod
15 Eden Point Dr.
SUDBURY, ON
P3E 4V6

Bill's email is wemcleod@sympatico.ca and mine is mj.morris@live.ca

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