Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon House No. 1 (Municipality of Glenboro-South Cypress)

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.

Masters

Period

Master

1793-?

Donald Mackay (c1753-1833)

?-1797

?

1797-1810

John McKay (?-1810)

1810-1811

?

Photos & Coordinates

Aerial view of the treeless clearing in the foreground that was once occupied by Brandon House No. 1

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 at the former Brandon House No. 1

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 clam shells, possibly discarded by the occupants of Brandon House No. 1, litter the river bank near the site

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 Goldsborough

Site 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 1930

The Fur Trade Posts of the Souris-Mouth Area by Alice E. Brown
MHS Transactions, Series 3, 1961-1962 Season

The Sacking of Peter Fidler’s Brandon House, 1816 by C. Stuart Houston and Mary I. Houston
Manitoba History, Number 16, Autumn 1988

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon House No. 4 Cairn (RM of Cornwallis)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba

Sources:

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

Historic Sites of Manitoba

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