In a series of images that focuses so heavily on the early history of the Hudson’s Bay Company, it is interesting that the calendar paintings include at least one that depicts a historical ending, seen here. Lower Fort Garry on the Red River, also known as the Stone Fort, was built in 1831 some 32 kilometres downriver from Upper Fort Garry after flooding destroyed the original fort to the south in 1826. The upper fort was reconstructed by 1836, and the Stone Fort was never fully utilized as the administrative centre it was intended to be, serving off and on as an outpost for the fur trade until the HBC ceased operations there in 1911.

Dogsleds were the primary way of transporting goods to and from outposts in the winter, but by the early twentieth century were becoming used less frequently with the advent of rail. Charles Comfort depicts the final train of dogs leaving the fort for Norway House at the further end of a frozen Lake Winnipeg—capturing the verve, speed and colour of this historically vital form of transport.

For more information on the Hudson's Bay Company Calendar Paintings in PDF format, please click here.