Pigeon River at Fort Charlotte

Pigeon River near Fort Charlotte

NPS photo / B. Clayton

Quick Facts

Location:

Pigeon River

Significance:

Fur Trade History

Amenities

7 listed

Canoe/Kayak/Small Boat Launch, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Picnic Table, Primitive Campsites, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Tent Campsites, Trailhead

Fort Charlotte, once a North West Depot for North canoes laden with furs collected over the winter, is now a backcountry campsite. The fort no longer exists. In its place are two tent platforms. Many paddlers recreate the historic journey from what are now Voyageurs National Park or the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, stopping overnight at Fort Charlotte, then portaging to Lake Superior.

During the fur trade Fort Charlotte received furs, unloaded and carried on the backs of the voyageurs over the Grand Portage to be processed for shipping east in the larger 36' Montreal canoes waiting on Lake Superior. Similarly, the 24' North canoes at Fort Charlotte returned with trade goods to villages in the northwest where the Native trappers lived. The canots de maître (Monteal canoes) carried trade goods, collected in Montreal from around the world, to the North West Company depot on the lake. This two canoe system, one size for the Great Lakes and the other for rivers meeting in the middle, enabled the company to move goods across most of the continent in a single summer season each year.