Fort Rupert
Fort Rupert | ||
---|---|---|
Region Vancouver Island | | |
Regional District | Mount Waddington | |
Area codes | 250, 778, 236, & 672 |
Fort Rupert is the site of a former
Coal & fortifications
In 1835, the HBC became aware of coal deposits in the area, but no market existed until a steamboat presence emerged a decade later.[3]
Realizing the closing of
In 1851, final construction was complete.[6] That year, Robert Dunsmuir was appointed foreman over a crew of immigrant coalminers. Many of the Scottish miners refused to undertake non-mining work, and also were unhappy that the company provided limited protection against armed attacks outside the fort. Workers who refused to perform their duties were put in irons and placed on rations. Deserters risked death at the hands of the Nahwitti.[7] Mining ceased in 1852. Dunsmuir was reassigned to the HBC coal operations at Nanaimo.[8]
The two cannons were not in working order,[9] since any attempt to defend the fort against an attack by overwhelming numbers would be pointless. Individual Nahwitti would climb the outside walls and leer down at the occupants.[7]
Early First Nations presence
No First Nations settlements existed in the immediate area. To take advantage of the new trading post, a
During the 1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic thousands of indigenous people were evicted from large semi-permanent camps near Victoria and forced to return to their homelands, spreading smallpox throughout the Pacific Northwest coast. Groups of Kwakwakaʼwakw thus brought smallpox from Victoria to the Fort Rupert area. HBC employee Hamilton Moffat inoculated over 100 tribal members near Fort Rupert with smallpox vaccine.[11] Nonetheless, smallpox spread throughout northern Vancouver Island. Over the summer of 1862, smallpox reduced the Kwakwakaʼwakw population by over 50%.[12]
Cannibalism, as part of slave or child sacrifices, was practised among the tribes into the 1870s.[13] Two decades later, corpses had been substituted in the ritual.[14]
Hunt general store replaced the fort
The fort continued as a trading post, but business declined in the 1860s. An 1863 fire destroyed four houses and took one life. In 1868, factor Robert Hunt was transferred to Fort Simpson, but returned in 1872. By 1882, the HBC had abandoned the fort. In 1885, Hunt purchased the entire site for $1,500. In 1889, a fire consumed the former officers' quarters.
Following further deterioration, the nearby
The Hunt family ran a general store, which passed to descendants, the Cadwallader family. An 1890 ledger entry mentions a $96.50 theft, Cadwallader tracking down the two suspects, and the restitution extracted.[13][15]
Present-day First Nations
The present-day village of Fort Rupert is a historic
Petroglyphs, though difficult to find, exist on the sandstone formations in the higher tidal zones below the former fort site.
Archaeological site
Apparently, a cannon from Ku-Kultz was taken to Vancouver in 1976. The Maritime Museum of British Columbia has a cast iron 9-pounder carronade believed to be from the fort. Subsequently, scuba divers stumbled across six cannons on a sandy beach of an isolated bay in the region.[16][17]
At the Fort Rupert site, all that remains are various footings, drains, the huge stone chimney of the factor's residence, the Hunt family cemetery, and the collapsed Cadwallader store.[18]
See also
- Royal eponyms in Canada
- List of Kwakwaka'wakw villages
Footnotes
- ^ "Fort Rupert (community)". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ "Beaver Harbour (bay)". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ Paterson & Basque 1999, p. 62.
- ^ a b Paterson & Basque 1999, p. 64.
- ^ Simonsen & Judd 2011, pp. 16, 18, 20. 22.
- ^ Simonsen & Judd 2011, p. 18.
- ^ a b Paterson & Basque 1999, p. 66.
- ^ Paterson & Basque 1999, p. 38.
- ^ Gunboat Frontier , p. 35, at Google Books
- ^ a b Paterson & Basque 1999, p. 65.
- PMID 17214129.
- ISBN 978-0-295-97837-6. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ a b Paterson & Basque 1999, p. 67.
- ^ "Coronada Mercury, 28 Dec 1889". www.cdnc.ucr.edu.
- ^ Simonsen & Judd 2011, p. 20.
- ^ Barlee, N.L. (1976). Historic Treasures and Lost Mines of British Columbia. Canada West.
- ^ "Artillery preserved in British Columbia, Victoria, Maritime Museum of BC". www.silverhawkauthor.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ Simonsen & Judd 2011, pp. 16, 22, 23.
References
- Paterson, T.W.; Basque, G. (1999). Ghost Towns & Mining Camps of Vancouver Island. Sunfire Publications. ISBN 1-895811-80-5.
- Simonsen, Bjorn; Judd, Carol (2011). "The Midden, Spring". www.uvic.ca. Archaeological Society of British Columbia.