Kootanae House, also spelled Kootenae House, was a North West Company

North West Company

The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...

 fur trading post built by Jaco Finlay

Jaco Finlay

Jacques Raphaël Finlay , commonly known as Jaco or Jacco , was an early Canadian fur trader, scout, and explorer associated with the North West Company...

 under the direction of David Thompson

David Thompson (explorer)

David Thompson was an English-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and map-maker, known to some native peoples as "Koo-Koo-Sint" or "the Stargazer"...

 near present-day Invermere, British Columbia

Invermere, British Columbia

Invermere is a community in eastern British Columbia, Canada, near the border of Alberta. With its growing permanent population of almost 4,000 , swelling to near 40,000 on summer weekends, it is the hub of the Columbia Valley between Golden, and Cranbrook...

 in 1807. It was abandoned in 1812. In 1808 Thompson reckoned its location as 50°32′12"N 115°56′15"W. The actual location is Kootenae House National Historic Site, located at 50.526624°N 116.045440°W (the discrepancy is due to inaccuracies in Thompson's measurements).

In July 2005, Parks Canada

Parks Canada

Parks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...

, in cooperation with several members of the Ktunaxa Nation

Kootenai (tribe)

The Ktunaxa , also known as Kootenai, Kutenai or Kootenay , are an indigenous people of North America. They are one of three tribes of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation in Montana, and they form the Ktunaxa Nation in British Columbia...

 conducted archaeological investigations at the site of Thompson's Kootanae House at Kootenae House National Historic Site, near Invermere BC. Kootanae House was David Thompson's first post constructed in the Columbia Basin and his "jumping off point" for further explorations throughout the region. The Archaeology confirms that this site is the location of a North West Company trading posts and lays to rest some inconsistencies between the site and Thompson's description of the trading post.

See also

• List of National Historic Sites in British Columbia
• List of National Historic Sites of Canada
• Kullyspell House
  Kullyspell House
  Kullyspell House was a fur trading post established in 1809 on Lake Pend Oreille in what is now North Idaho...
  
  
• Saleesh House
  Saleesh House
  Saleesh House, also known as Flathead Post, was a North West Company fur trading post built near present-day Thompson Falls, Montana in 1809 by David Thompson and James McMillan of the North West Company. It became a Hudson's Bay Company post after that company absorbed the North West Company....
  
  
• Fort Kootenay
• Kootenay, British Columbia (Fisherville)