Hudson Bay Company

Following the discovery of a navigable water route to abundant fur, King Charles II of England granted a charter creating the Hudson Bay Company in May of 1670. The charter granted all lands drained by all rivers and streams flowing into Hudson Bay. The specific boundaries were unknown at the time of the charter, but would become over 1.5 million square miles of what is now Canada and north-central United States. King Charles II believed the land, though occupied by Indigenous tribes, was his land to give because no other Christian monarch had claimed the land.

The Red River drains north into Hudson Bay, carrying with it more than half of all water flowing out of Becker County.

In 1870, much of Hudson Bay Company’s chartered land was transferred back to England in order to create the dominion of Canada. Lands surrounding Hudson Bay Company trading posts remained property of the Company. The Company sold much of their land to create cities like Winnipeg, Ontario which sits entirely upon old Hudson Bay Company Trading Post land.