Fort Rupert, British Columbia
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Coordinates: Fort Rupert is the site of a former Hudson's Bay Company fort which was built and first commanded by William Henry McNeill in 1849. It is located near present-day Port Hardy, British Columbia on Vancouver Island.
The community was named after Prince Rupert, the first governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. The company attempted to exploit a local coal seam in 1851 but gave up the attempt the following year and moved its operation to Nanaimo. Robert Dunsmuir, later a coal baron, began his life in British Columbia as a labourer in Fort Rupert with the Hudson's Bay Company.
The present day village of Fort Rupert is an historic Kwakwaka'wakw village of the Kwagu'ł (Kwagyewlth or Kwakiutl) subgroup where the opportunity exists to see native carvers working on totem poles or other artwork and traditional crafts.
Petroglyphs, though difficult to find, do exist on the sandstone formations in the higher tidal zones below the old Hudson's Bay Fort site.
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