Fort Prince of Wales National Historic Site

The large and partly restored Fort Prince of Wales near Churchill is a National Historic Park accessible by boat only and open in July and August. It was built by the Hudson's Bay Company in the 18th c. in order to defend the interests of the English fur trade in the New World. A start was made on its construction in 1732, with workers, horses and oxen shipped over from England.

Forty years later this outstanding building with its extremely beautiful masonry was finally finished. In 1782 Fort Prince of Wales, its garrison led by Samuel Hearne, fell without a struggle into the hands of the French, who then destroyed it.

At each corner stands a lozenge-shaped bulwark; one was a storehouse, the second a carpenter's workshop, the third a stable and the fourth a powder magazine. Inside the walls is a gallery for cannon. On the ground floor can be seen the remains of the commandant's quarters, the provisions store and barracks.