The Grand Portage

Photo by contributor Thomas William Kirkbride - March, 2006

Plaque Location

The USA
Minnesota
At the Grand Portage National Monument
in the village of Grand Portage, Minnesota, USA
N 47 59.735 W 89 44.108

Plaque Text

Circumventing 34 km of falls and rapids, this portage ran some 14 km from this vicinity to a point upstream on the Pigeon River. It was first mentioned in 1722 by a French trader named Jean Pachot. Following its use in 1732 by La Vérendrye, it replaced the Kaministiquia Route as the canoe route to the West. About 1767 the Grand Portage became a rendezvous for Canadian fur traders and, after 1778, the North West Company's inland headquarters. By the treaty of Paris, 1783, the Portage fell within American territory. In 1803 the Company moved its headquarters to Fort Kaministiquia (Fort William), and the Pigeon River route was then abandoned.

Related Ontario plaque page
Grand Portage

More
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More
Waterways

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