Editing Fort Edmonton (section)

{{Short description|Series of trading posts in Alberta, Canada}}
{{About|the Hudson's Bay Company fort|the historical park which bears its name|Fort Edmonton Park}}
{{Redirect|Edmonton House|the present day apartment building|Edmonton House (building)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
'''Fort Edmonton''' (also named Edmonton House) was the name of a series of [[Trading post|trading posts]] of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] (HBC) from 1795 to 1914, all of which were located on the north banks of the [[North Saskatchewan River]] in what is now central [[Alberta]], Canada. It was one of the last points on the [[Carlton Trail]], the main overland route for [[Métis people (Canada)|Metis]] freighters between the [[Red River Colony]] and the points west and was an important stop on the [[York Factory Express]] route between [[London]], via [[Hudson Bay]], and [[Fort Vancouver]] in the [[Columbia District]]. It also was a connection to the Great Northland, as it was situated relatively close to the Athabasca River whose waters flow into the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean. Located on the farthest north of the major rivers flowing to the Hudson Bay and the HBC's shipping posts there, Edmonton was for a time the southernmost of the HBC's forts.

From 1795 to 1830 it was located in four successive locations. Prior to 1821 each location was paired with a '''Fort Augustus''' of the [[North West Company]] (NWC). Sometimes other fur companies also built forts nearby as well.<ref name="Ream p. 17">Ream, The Fort on the Saskatchewan, p. 17</ref>

The fifth and final Fort Edmonton, 1830–1914, was the one that evolved into present-day [[Edmonton]].

Fort Edmonton was also called '''Fort-des-Prairies''', by [[French-Canadian]]s [[animal trapping|trapper]]s and [[coureurs des bois]], and {{lang|cr-Latn|amiskwaskahegan}} or "[[Beaver Hills (Alberta)|Beaver Hills]] House" in [[Cree language|Cree]], the most spoken [[Indigenous languages of Canada|Indigenous language]] in the region during the 19th century.<ref>[http://www.abheritage.ca/francoedmonton/modern/religious_e.html Fort-des-Prairies]</ref><ref>''Naming Edmonton: from Ada to Zoie'', (ed.) Merrily K. Aubrey, University of Alberta Press, Edmonton (Alta.), 2004, Edmonton Historical Board, Heritage Sites Committee. p. 18</ref>

In the late 18th century, the HBC, established in 1670, was in fierce competition with the NWC for the [[fur trade|trade of animal furs]] in [[Rupert's Land]].

As one company established a fur trading post, the other would counter by building its post in close proximity or even farther upstream. Expansion up the Saskatchewan River was heated in the 1790s.