From the founding of Port Nelson in 1682, the series of posts at the mouths of the Hayes and Nelson rivers played a major role in the operations of the Hudson’s Bay Company for 275 years. First a major fur trading post, then a base for expansion into the interior, York Factory eventually became the Company’s principal entrepot in the early 19th century.
The original York Factory, referred to by historians as “York Factory I,” was first established in 1684 on the north bank of the Hayes River, next to a small creek, about five miles inland from the river mouth. Damaged by shifting spring ice, in 1715 it was moved farther inland to “York Factory II,” remaining there until a severe flood in May 1788 convinced the Factor to move to higher ground half a mile upstream, the present-day site of “York Factory III.”
After almost 100 years of decline due to changes in the fur trade and its transport, York Factory was closed in 1957. Acknowledging its historical importance, the Company transferred the remains to the Government of Canada in 1968. A commemorative plaque was erected at the site in 1936 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
There were once as many as 50 buildings at York Factory but, today, the largest survivor, the Depot, was constructed between 1831 and 1838 to replace an earlier structure. It is the oldest wooden building in western Canada. Measuring 100 feet by 105 feet, and enclosing about 18,000 square feet of space, the building is mostly two storey except for one part that has three levels, with a lookout on top where workers could see approaching vessels from Hudson Bay and Indigenous people coming down the Hayes River to trade.
Depot Building, in centre, at York Factory (1870s)
Source: Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, 1987/363-Y-100/1-104.
Aerial view of the Depot Building and other outbuildings at York Factory (1930s)
Source: Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, 1987/363-Y-100/1-104.
Map of York Factory showing positions of buildings (early 20th century)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, School District Formation Files [York Factory School District No. 1642], GR1688, E0027.
Depot building at York Factory (July 2017)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N57.00271, W92.30443
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: York Factory Powder House (Hayes River, Northern Manitoba)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: York Factory Cemetery (Hayes River, Northern Manitoba)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: York Factory School (Hayes River, Northern Manitoba)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hayes River - Canadian Heritage River
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Plaques for Persons, Events and Sites of National Historic Significance
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba
York Factory on the Bay - Historic Post Closes by Malvina Bolus
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 3, Number 1, September 1957Must York Factory Become a Ruin? by Betty Woods
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 7, Number 2, January 1962York Factory National Historic Site by Lillian Stewart
Manitoba History, Number 15, Spring 1988York Factory National Historic Site of Canada: Planning the Future for a Place with a Momentous Past by Kevin Lunn
Manitoba History, Number 48, Autumn/Winter 2004-2005
School District Formation Files [York Factory School District No. 1642], GR1688, E0027, Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Susan Hertam, Bronwen Quarry, and Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 July 2026
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