Fort Langley is located in present-day Langley,
British Columbia. The original fort was constructed by the HBC in 1827 as part of a growing trade
network dependent on the
Fraser River. The fort traded mainly in fur and salmon with local indigenous groups. It was also
an arrival point and depot for European goods destined for the interior.
Politically, it stabilized the British foothold on lands north of the 49th parallel.
The old fort was abandoned and a new one constructed 4 km upstream, but it burned
down 10 months later, after which it was rebuilt. Roughly 20 years of flush trade followed, in grain, salted pork and beef, and thousands
of barrels a year in salted salmon, which was especially popular in the
Hawaiʻian Islands.