Colonial Despatches

Fort Saint James is located on the southeastern corner of Stuart Lake, in central British Columbia. It was founded by Simon Fraser in 1806 as the Stuart Lake post.1 Simpson described it, in 1828, as the capital of Western Caledonia, and it served as the HBC's administrative hub in New Caledonia.2 Today, the city of Fort Saint James is home to the Fort Saint James National Historic Site, established in 1948.3

• 1. G. P. V. Akrigg and H. B. Akrigg, British Columbia Place Names (Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997), 84-85.
• 2. Ibid.
• 3. Fort St. James National Historic Site of Canada, BC Geographical Names Information System.