Hudsons Bay Company at Bear Island
By Ancient Forest Exploration and Research
The natives of Temagami were trading furs with both the English and the French as early as the 1600's. For many years the fur trade was an economic weapon in Anglo-French imperial rivalry, and the fur rich country of n'Daki Menan was the source of competition among early European traders. Eventually, in September of 1834, the Hudson's Bay Company established a post on the south end of I Temagami Island, just beyond Wabikon, in order to secure trade of the furs trapped by the natives. This post was moved to Bear Island in 1876 for strategic reasons, and remained active until 1972. By the early 1900's, the fur trade had declined considerably, and the Temagami area was opening up to settlement. From this time forward, the post functioned more as a supply post, meeting the needs of tourists, sportsmen and residents, than as an active fur trading post.
