Fort Reliance, Northwest Territories
History
Fort Reliance was originally built in 1833 by George Back during the Arctic Land Expedition to the Arctic Ocean via the Back River. The expedition, partly scientific and partly searching for the missing John Ross, used Fort Reliance as a winter camp.
Back's fort was made up of a main house with several smaller ones that were constructed from logs. The houses had stone and clay chimneys for heating. The outline of the logs along with the chimneys and some storage pits still exist.
In 1855, the Hudson's Bay Company's Chief Factor James Anderson, for whom the Anderson River is named, rebuilt the fort. It was intended to be used as winter quarters while searching for the lost expedition of John Franklin, but it was again abandoned after one season.
It was not a fur trading outpost although the site was later used by trappers in the Thelon River area. In 1897, a log cabin, using one of the chimneys, was built by an American trapper, Buffalo Jones.
Fort Reliance was designated a National Historic Site in 1953. It is described by Parks Canada as the "oldest continuously operating Hudson's Bay Company post, 1833". Together with the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, Parks Canada is working to preserve and protect the site, which has resulted in the chimneys being rehabilitated. In 2010, the same property was designated “Old Fort Reliance Territorial Historic Site."
The site lies within Thaidene Nene National Park Reserve. If that proposed national park is ever realized, Fort Reliance National Historic Site would also join the national park system as a separate unit.
Climate
| Climate data for Fort Reliance | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 2.1 (35.8) |
6.1 (43.0) |
8.6 (47.5) |
16.1 (61.0) |
26.1 (79.0) |
29.4 (84.9) |
34.3 (93.7) |
30.0 (86.0) |
27.2 (81.0) |
17.9 (64.2) |
6.7 (44.1) |
4.1 (39.4) |
34.3 (93.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −23.5 (−10.3) |
−21.0 (−5.8) |
−14.9 (5.2) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
7.9 (46.2) |
15.6 (60.1) |
19.2 (66.6) |
16.8 (62.2) |
9.6 (49.3) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−10.9 (12.4) |
−20.4 (−4.7) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −28.1 (−18.6) |
−26.1 (−15.0) |
−21.0 (−5.8) |
−8.6 (16.5) |
2.5 (36.5) |
9.9 (49.8) |
14.3 (57.7) |
12.9 (55.2) |
6.5 (43.7) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−14.6 (5.7) |
−24.4 (−11.9) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −32.7 (−26.9) |
−31.1 (−24.0) |
−27.0 (−16.6) |
−14.6 (5.7) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
4.2 (39.6) |
9.3 (48.7) |
8.9 (48.0) |
3.4 (38.1) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
−18.2 (−0.8) |
−28.4 (−19.1) |
−11.2 (11.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −53.5 (−64.3) |
−51.2 (−60.2) |
−50.0 (−58.0) |
−41.1 (−42.0) |
−31.1 (−24.0) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−23.3 (−9.9) |
−43.3 (−45.9) |
−45.7 (−50.3) |
−53.5 (−64.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 11.0 (0.43) |
9.9 (0.39) |
9.6 (0.38) |
14.5 (0.57) |
19.2 (0.76) |
30.5 (1.20) |
33.2 (1.31) |
50.0 (1.97) |
32.2 (1.27) |
28.5 (1.12) |
19.7 (0.78) |
13.7 (0.54) |
271.9 (10.70) |
| Source: Environment Canada | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 9 | — |
| 1981 | 15 | +66.7% |
| 1986 | 11 | −26.7% |
| 1991 | 10 | −9.1% |
| 1996 | 2 | −80.0% |
| 2001 | 0 | −100.0% |
| 2006 | 10 | — |
| 2011 | 5 | −50.0% |
| 2016 | 0 | −100.0% |
| 2021 | 0 | 0.00% |
| Source: Statistics Canada | ||
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Reliance had a population of 0 living in 0 of its 1 total private dwellings, no change from its 2016 population of 0. With a land area of 21 km (8.1 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.0/km (0.0/sq mi) in 2021.
References
- ^ Old Fort Reliance Archived 18 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ James Anderson
- ^ Buffalo Jones
- ^ Fort Reliance. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "National Historic Sites of Canada System Plan". Archived from the original on 16 March 2005. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
- ^ Environment Canada—Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
- ^ "1981 Census of Canada: Census subdivisions in decreasing population order" (PDF). Statistics Canada. May 1992. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
- ^ "1986 Census: Population – Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions" (PDF). Statistics Canada. September 1987. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "91 Census: Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions – Population and Dwelling Counts" (PDF). Statistics Canada. April 1992. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "96 Census: A National Overview – Population and Dwelling Counts" (PDF). Statistics Canada. April 1997. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Subdivisions (Municipalities), 2001 and 1996 Censuses – 100% Data (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses – 100% data (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Northwest Territories)". Statistics Canada. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), Northwest Territories". Statistics Canada. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
External links
- Narrative of the Arctic land expedition to the mouth of the Great Fish River, and along the shores of the Arctic Ocean in the years 1833, 1834, and 1835, complete text of the book by George Back at the Internet Archive.
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