Fort Alexandria and the Birth of Agriculture in the North Cariboo

Agriculture in the North Cariboo, as we know it, began in 1814 with the establishment of a fur trading depot by the North West Company alongside the Fraser River.  Within a year, both oats and hay were being harvested.  In 1821 Fort Alexandria was established at the site by the North West Company.  The fort was located approximately 53 kilometres south of the confluence of the Quesnel River and Fraser River, and existed at times, on both the west and east side of the Fraser River.   The fort was established in the vicinity of what became District Lots 444, 445, and Indian Reserve #1 (Alexandria Band) of ?Esdilagh First Nation to facilitate the brigade of pack horses transporting baled furs, by overland route, south from Fort George to Fort Kamloops and beyond.  It was constructed near a Dakehl (Carrier) First Nation Village as First Nation peoples were foundational to the success of the fur trade.   The fort was named after Alexander MacKenzie (1763 - 1820) who was the first European to visit what became present-day Alexandria during his explorations in 1793 across Canada by land.   Fort Alexandria was the last post created before the North West Company merged with the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821 and became the northern terminus for the company’s Pacific brigade trail.  Goods were transported up the Columbia River to Fort Okanagan and then sent overland by pack train to Fort Alexandria where they were sorted and distributed by water and pack animal to more northerly outposts of New Caledonia, located on the Fraser River, Nechako River, Fraser Lake, and Stuart lake. This process continued until road transportation supplanted the brigade in the 1860’s with the Cariboo Wagon Road. The fort was relocated to the west side of the Fraser River (DL46) in 1836  to simplify trade with First Nations but alternative accounts suggest the reasons were unstable river banks, the fort burning to the ground, and / or the need to access more arable ground for farming.

Sustaining the Fort: Wheat, Livestock, and Gardens at Fort Alexandria

When one thinks of the forts during the time of the Hudson Bay Company,  one primarily thinks of the trading of fur and other provisions (e.g. cloth, blankets, firearms and ammunition, metal tools and brass kettles).  Farming and gardening was another necessary component of life at the forts as shipping food up the trail from places such as Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River was not a viable option.  In the spring, the work of the fur trade was replaced with farming.  Most forts had food gardens and undertook farming activities.  Some food gardens and farming initiatives were more successful than others and those at Fort Alexandria reaped a desirable harvest.  From the 1820’s onwards, the land surrounding Fort Alexandria was cultivated and produced many of the crops needed by the company and for trade.  This area of New Caledonia, in particular, proved to be an area where wheat could be grown.  The fort also operated a grist mill at Four Mile Creek, north of the Fort.  Between 1843 and 1848 alone 400 to 500 bushels of wheat were ground into flour, using horsepower to turn the eighteen-inch mill stones.  During its existence, the fort was also a site for cattle and sheep farming and the growing of root vegetables (swede turnips (rutabagas), cabbage, carrots, potatoes).  In the 1843 - 1844 year, it is said that the following was produced at the fort:  40 cartloads of barley, 12 cartloads of oats, 660 bushels of potatoes, and 300 kegs of turnips.  Dairy cattle arrived at the fort in 1930.  The fort was also a site used for overwintering brigade horses.  The fort was also one of four Roman Catholic missionary stations in New Caledonia; the others were Fort St. James, Fort George, and Fort Thompson.

From Gold Seekers to Grain Growers: The Evolution of L444 and L445 at Alexandria Flats

The land on the east side of the Fraser River  that became District Lots 444 and 445 were preempted by Baptiste Paquette, a former Hudson Bay Company employee.  Paquette sold the land in 1873 to Irish born Alexander Douglas McInnis.  The land was granted to McInnis as L444 and L445 under grant number 4386/99 on the 21st of February, 1902.  Alexander McInnis was one of the first group of miners to seek gold on Williams Creek in what became Barkerville.  In the early 1870’s Alexander and his wife Annie Huston McInnis moved to Fort Alexandria and took up farm land on Alexandria Flats that in earlier years had been farmed by the HBC.  The McInnes family operated a road house until the early 1940’s.  Today Highway 97 through the farm follows the same route of the original Cariboo Wagon Road.  The McInnes Road House was constructed on the same foot print as the original fur trading depot building from 1814. Both had rotted away by mid 1950’s.

Today L444 and L445 is part of Rocky Point Ranch.  It was previously owned by the Gunderson Family and is now owned by the Reimers of Armstrong and is being farmed by Rusty Toews of Kersley.  Rusty moved to the area from Alberta and brought knowledge of growing grain with him.  The fields are a little bit of Canadian prairie!  Today the land is being used for organic wheat production along with peas and other crops such as straw which is a bi-product of growing wheat.  Water for irrigation is pumped from the Fraser River.  As an organic farm, Rocky Point Ranch uses cover crops to manage the weeds and ensure soil fertility.  The current cover crop being used is a combination of 15 different plant species.