This site along the north bank of the Assiniboine River in what is now the Municipality of Glenboro-South Cypress was occupied by Brandon House, the first fur-trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company on the southern prairies. Established in October 1793 by Donald Mackay, the post was abandoned by 1811 in favour of other nearby sites, including the Brandon House No. 4 site several miles to the northwest. A treeless clearing with several depressions where buildings once stood were visible during a 2017 site visit.
Period
Master
1793-?
Donald Mackay (c1753-1833)
?-1797
?
1797-1810
John McKay (?-1810)
1810-1811
?
Aerial view of the treeless clearing in the foreground that was once occupied by Brandon House No. 1, near the Assiniboine River (October 2017)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Depression indicating a building site, or possibly an archaeological excavation site from the early 1980s, at the former Brandon House No. 1 (October 2017)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Numerous empty clam shells, possibly discarded by the occupants of Brandon House No. 1, litter the river bank near the site (October 2017)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.67531, W99.62733
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Early Assiniboine Trading Posts of the Souris Mouth Group, 1785-1832: Amplification of a Paper Read Before the Society, November 1928 by David A. Stewart
MHS Transactions, Series 2, No. 5, Published 1930The Fur Trade Posts of the Souris-Mouth Area by Alice E. Brown
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1961-1962 SeasonThe Sacking of Peter Fidler’s Brandon House, 1816 by C. Stuart Houston and Mary I. Houston
Manitoba History, Number 16, Autumn 1988Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon House No. 4 Cairn (RM of Cornwallis)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba
Wawanesa East topographic map, 62G/12 East, Edition 2, Series A743 [UFS Reference Collection].
This page was prepared by Tom Mitchell and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 25 June 2024
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