Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site

Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site, near Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, commemorates a series of fur-trade posts built between 1799 and 1864 by the North West Co and the Hudson's Bay Co (HBC) near the junction of the North Saskatchewan and Clearwater rivers. The posts were established to form a link between the eastern supply routes and the Pacific Slope fur trade, and it was intended that they would promote trading relations with the Kootenay of eastern BC. The posts were in the territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy, which opposed trade with the Kootenay, so they failed in their intended purpose. Instead, Rocky Mountain House became the centre for sporadic trade with the Blackfoot. Despite HBC attempts to close the post, Blackfoot pressure kept it in operation until 1875. Little remains except 2 restored chimneys from the last establishment. The site includes a visitor centre and interpretive hiking trails.