The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Rupert House
village, W Que., Canada, on the Rupert River east of its mouth on James Bay. It was founded in 1668 as Charles Fort by the trader des Groseilliers, whose success there led to the incorporation of the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670. Later called Fort Rupert, Rupert’s House, Rupert House, or Rupert’s River, the post was captured by the French in 1686 and alternately held by the French and British until the Peace of Utrecht (1713) restored it permanently to the Hudson’s Bay Company. The Rupert House store was the Hudson’s Bay Company’s oldest trading post. The store was sold in 1987, along with the rest of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Northern Stores division. The village is now known by its Cree name, Waskaganish.
