We visited the
Northwest Company Fur Post in Pine City on a surprisingly chilly summer day, and it started to rain when we arrived. The place was pretty dead. I'm not sure if we would have had a better time had the situation been different or whether it just wasn't the place for a 4-year-old and a 14-month-old...
I heard the time to visit is on Family Fun Day in September. Then there are over 200 re-enactors spread out over the grounds.
On a normal weekend, there are just a few that rotate giving 40-minute tours. There was very little that was hands-on. If you have a kid that enjoys listening to stories, they'll like the site. Otherwise, wait a few years.
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| We started the 40-minute tour inside the museum, talking about beavers. The high value places on beaver hats in Europe drove the fur trade here in America and Canada. |
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| One of the first "building" to view is an Ojibwe tepee. |
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| The fort sits on the Snake River. |
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| I thought it was interesting that unlike the Hudson Bay Company, the Northwest Company encouraged its employees to have families. They saw value in marrying with the folks they traded with, recognizing that it created stronger bonds. |
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| The highest point in the post. These posts were built only to last a few years. |
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| After the tour, we finally did something hands-on. They had materials for kids to sew together small birchbark canoes. |
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| Inside the small museum, folks could "try-on" hats from the time period. |
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