Journey to York Factory

My last stint of fieldwork this summer had me checking off a box on my bucket list, I finally made it to York Factory! Why did I want to go there so badly? Well, not only is it one of the most important Hudson’s Bay Company sites, it was also the entry-point for early immigration to our province and beyond, I knew I had to see if for myself.

In partnership with Parks Canada, York Factory’s current custodians as it is now a National Historic Site, Kevin Brownlee and I set out with a fantastic videography duo (Kevin and Chris Nikkel) from Five Door Films to try and capture the essence of the site and bring it back for our Museum visitors.

York Factory is located near the mouth of the Hayes River, it’s not the most convenient location for most Manitobans or tourists to visit. That said, the site and surrounding environment is INCREDIBLE so if you ever have the chance to travel up that way, jump on it!

Our journey to the site was just as amazing as the site itself, we opted to travel by boat so we arranged our trip with Clint from Nelson River Adventures. Clint was incredibly helpful with the planning and logistics, and he even arranged our transportation from the Gillam airport to his boat launch.

The Nelson River was very scenic, we went through some rapids, saw eagles flying overhead, and made a quick stop on Gillam Island to inspect a plaque in honour of Thomas Button (the first European to set foot in Manitoba in 1612, and the one to give the Nelson River its name).

As we came to the mouth of the Nelson a bank of fog rolled in, making old Port Nelson look extra creepy. In 1912 the Canadian Government had selected this site over Churchill for their port on Hudson Bay and planned to link it with the Hudson Bay Railway. There were many reasons why this attempt was unsuccessful (too many for this post!) resulting in the abandonment of the site in 1918. Now all that remains is a wrecked dredging ship, and the truss bridge out to a man-made island.

The fog persisted as we emerged into Hudson Bay, and the sea was angry! It was just as I imagined the Bay to be, I would have been disappointed if it was smooth and calm. The boat has to swing out wide into the bay to avoid the shallows of Marsh Point between the Nelson and Hayes rivers. Clint deftly handled the waves while we enjoyed the bumpy ride.

Eventually we made our way around the point and down into the Hayes. Claude and Kyle (Parks Canada site manager and summer student) were waiting for us at the dock and helped us unload all of our gear. We’d made it, and while the journey itself was exciting, we were in for a lot more during our week-long stay!

After climbing up the steep steps from the dock this is the view I was greeted with! The Depot is in the foreground and the Parks Canada staff house in the distance.

Boreal forest archaeology is very different from my experiences in the arctic, the biggest thing of course being the trees and massive roots that run through our excavation units. Root clippers quickly became my best friend, but when they fail there’s always the good old chainsaw to take care of a few stumps!

My crew worked hard to try and delineate the post, and half-way through our excavation we realized that the building was not oriented perfectly East-West, but rather on an angle of Northwest-Southeast to the shoreline. We were able to find some remnants of the exterior walls, and the floor boards were fairly well-preserved.

We didn’t find a ton of artifacts, but we also didn’t excavate the area immediately around the hearth (stone chimney) or the cellar. Perhaps next year we’ll find all the goodies! We did recover enough artifacts for me to get a sense of the date of occupation, it seems like late 18th century but I’ll have a better idea once the artifacts are cleaned up and processed in the lab.

Of course fieldwork is not all-work, I caught my first pickerel (delicious) and on one fishing trip witnessed how quickly a forest fire can spread (scary!). On my way back to Winnipeg I made sure to stop in Thompson to clean my filthy truck, and made a quick side trip to Pisew Falls (highly recommended, it’s gorgeous!).

My goals for this season were to determine the limits of the site, by identifying the walls of the post and any related features outside of visible structure, and to acquire enough artifacts to be able to figure out the date of the site. I want to know if it was occupied at the same time as the other nearby post, was it also HBC or their rivals the Northwest Company? There is much to learn from any new archaeological site, and this one will be no different!

Summer fieldwork has begun, which means many of us Curators are out and about conducting our research. My fieldwork has me working in Northern Manitoba, for the first time! I spent some time in the evenings writing up blog posts so I could post when I returned from the field, here’s the first installment.

My first trip north was mid-June with Kevin Brownlee (Curator of Archaeology) as we are working on a joint project that will have us partnering up with Parks Canada and heading out to York Factory National Historic Site this August. We wanted to connect with communities that used to reside at York Factory to talk about their connection to the coast, York Factory, and ask them how they’d like to see their part of Manitoba represented in our museum.

With the help of a very passionate local historian Flora Beardy*, we made an appointment with Chief and Council for York Factory First Nation in York Landing to start the discussion. They were receptive to the project and encouraged us to connect with folks working in the Implementation Office who were already compiling stories and information. They also informed us that many of their band members live in Churchill so it looks like I’ll finally get to go there too!

There are other communities we still need to meet with, but we’ve got the ball rolling and I’m excited to see how this all unfolds.

*Flora compiled and edited a number of oral histories with Robert Coutts and published ‘Voices from Hudson Bay: Cree Stories from York Factory’, a book I highly recommend.

Okay, so artifacts can’t really smile but they are regularly involved in photo shoots, and with the right photographer these pieces of history can really shine.

One way we preserve our collections is by properly documenting the artefacts through photography. We can then use these photos for research, exhibits, publications, and to provide a visual in our database.

Taking pictures of artifacts is not easy. You’d think it would be because the thing doesn’t move around like a human or animal subject, but trust me when I say it’s not. That’s why I hire a professional to assist when I want high-quality photographs of the HBC Museum Collection.

Rob Barrow is a Winnipeg photographer with extensive experience running photo shoots for artifacts. Recently I asked him to come in to snap some pictures of artifacts that are currently on display in the HBC Gallery since the cases were being opened for regular cleaning and maintenance.

Although I know artifacts aren’t the only thing Rob photographs, he has a real knack for this. He gets the lighting just right, knows where to zoom in for some detailed shots, and can even make the most mundane piece shine like a star. He might even put the artifacts at ease…although I have yet to hear him utter cliche phrases like “work it, work it” or “you’re a tiger” but maybe he waits until I’m gone to offer such motivation. As someone who speaks to the artifacts in her collection I am not judging one bit!

Check out these recent photos and see for yourself.