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Fort William and Grand Portage were the two starting points for the canoe route westward from the Great Lakes.
The French had a series of forts in the Thunder Bay area prior to 1759 but they were closed with British control. The North West Company (NW Co.) re-established the fur trade in the area with a fort at Grand Portage (Minnesota). The fort would act as a midway transshipment (break-in-bulk) point between the company's inland posts and Montreal. The 1794 Jay Treaty acknowledged American control of the Grand Portage area. In 1803, the NW Co. moved to a new post on the Kaministiquia River. It was named Fort William after William McGillivray. With the 1821 union of the NW Co. with the Hudson's Bay Company, most of Fort William's trade shifted to York Factory on Hudson Bay.
The North West Company's employees were mostly French-Canadians and Métis.

Launching canoe, Fort William.

Series Lake Superior