We are joining our Fall Frolic with our Rendezvous, Please join us on September 23, 24th and 25th, 2022
FALL FROLIC
We are having a Fall Frolic, stop out and join us at the site of the Hudson Bay Fur Trade Post. There will be demonstrations and Hands-on Opportunities for Muzzle-loader shooting, Archery, Cooking, and Frontier Skills. Bring your Family and Friends. Directions to the Georgetown site are 1/4 mile North and 1 mile west of Georgetown, MN. If you are coming from Minnesota you will be driving on Highway 36 heading west, if you reached the bridge, crossing the Red River, you have gone slightly to far, we are on the South side of Highway 36. If you are coming from North Dakota you will be on Highway 34 heading east and you will cross the Red River and turn South, just after you cross the river.
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GEORGETOWN, MN HISTORY
A little history of the site outside of Georgetown Minnesota
Georgetown was the first white settlement in Clay County and was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Fur Trading Company. James McKay, a representative of the Hudson Bay Company in St. Paul, established the post on August 12, 1859. the Trading Post had the first post office and school in Clay County. mail from Georgetown was delivered south to Moorhead and north to Pembina. A warehouse, 28ft x 50ft two-story building, was built in 1859 and operated until it closed and the trading stock moved to Grand Forks in 1875. The Minnesota Stage Company added some barracks to house freight handlers, steamboat crews, plus others and their families. The first white settlers in Georgetown came as early as 1857, but didn't take homesteads until 1859. The first three were Randolph M. Probstfield, Adam Stein, and Edwin Hutchinson.
The fur trade by Hudson's Bay Company was very prosperous. At the height of the trading season over a million dollars of fur was stored in the Georgetown warehouse. The village consisted of a couple of sheds for defense, a warehouse to store furs, a hotel, a dwelling house, a trader's store and a guardhouse. The sheds were build with slits on the sides to stick guns through. They had a slanted roof and no windows. From the trading post office, mail was received and delivered by footman, oxcart, dog teams, stagecoach, steamboat and train. The means used depended on the weather and road conditions
Georgetown was originally called "Selkirk" in honor of Lord Selkirk, and subsequently was renamed for Sir George Simpson was was overseas governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. It was first located where the Red River and Buffalo River flow together. In 1883 present day Georgetown was moved to its current site when the Great Northern Railroad right of way was established between Moorhead and Crookston.
The first United States Post Office in Clay County was located at Old Georgetown. It was established on May 20, 1864 with Randolph M Probstfield as the first Postmaster with his pay being $25.00 per month. From May 20, 1864 to October 6, 1871, the mail for the residents of Moorhead was distributed from Georgetown.
The Red River was used for shipping and the second steamer that came into use was the "International", built at Georgetown. The building of this freighter at Georgetown is one of the many historical interests of the Hudson's Bay Company site.
The year 1870 has been a dry year, but 1871 was worse and the river was unusually low. By the end of may the boats could not proceed south from Frog Point (first place north of Caledonia). The Red River was also impossible to navigate during the cold months. So came the ox carts. The freight was hauled from St. Paul to Georgetown on ox cars using oxen teams, and then proceeded to Fort Garry on the Red River carts. The carts and teams made 25 miles a day with 900 to 1000 pounds on each cart. Sometimes there were 200 carts in a train. The carts crossed the Red River by a Georgetown ferry, since the remainder of the route north was made on the Dakota side of the river. The ox cars were made entirely of wood, without any iron whatsoever, the axles and rims of the wheels being no exception. These carts were each drawn by two oxen, and went in wagon train style, but also in brigades of 10 carts each. Eventually Georgetown also became a stage coach station.
The Old Oak Tree
This was a famous tree that marked the site of Old Georgetown. It was a huge oak with low hanging branches. The tree was a permanent road map for the Hudson's Bay settlers in those early years. The road into the village went on either side of this tree. It established the boundary line for nine Indian tribes to avoid encroachment upon on another's hunting grounds. The 1825 carving on the rock stands for the Prairie du Chen treaty which made the geographic location of Georgetown a landmark, and as such is the village's rightful and greatest claim for recognition in our nation's history. This oak tree died in 1911 and there isn't a trace of it anymore. The large stone is still on the edge of the Hudson's Bay Post site.
Reference: http://www.ci.georgetown.mn.us/history.htm
This article was written by Mark Piehl and the above website is no longer valid.