Fort Victoria (British Columbia)

Fort Victoria
in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Inside of Fort Victoria looking towards the east gate, c. 1850s
Type	Fur trading post
Site information
Controlled by	Hudson's Bay Company
Website	bcheritage.ca/fortvictoria
Site history
Built	1843
In use	1843–1864
Demolished	November 1864[1]
Garrison information
Past commanders	James Douglas Roderick Finlayson
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	Fort Victoria National Historic Site of Canada
Designated	4 June 1924

Fort Victoria began as a fur trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company and was the headquarters of HBC operations in the Columbia District, a large fur trading area now part of the province of British Columbia, Canada and the U.S. state of Washington. Construction of Fort Victoria in 1843 highlighted the beginning of a permanent British settlement now known as Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia. The fort itself was demolished in November 1864 as the town continued to grow as a commercial centre serving the local area as well as trading with California, Washington Territory, the United Kingdom, and others.

The location of Fort Victoria was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924.^[2]