Fort Frances in Rainy River District, Ontario — Central Canada (North America)
Explore Fort Frances East
| | Discover Fort Frances | |
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 17, 2024
1. Explore Fort Frances East Marker
John Robert Nicholson Pither
Born in Montreal, J. R. N. Pither came to the country in a birch bark canoe joining the Hudson's Bay Company in 1846. While in charge of Fort Frances between 1853 and 1864, he lived on a point of land where the Rainy Lake flows into the Rainy River. On his retirement he served as Indian Agent at Fort Frances and assisted in negotiating Treaty Three in 1873.
Couchiching First Nation, on the east shores of Rainy Lake near the mouth of the Rainy River, was established as a reservation in the signing of Treaty Three with the Saulteaux tribes of Ojibways.
Other Sites to Visit
Jacques de Noyon (1668-1745) Ontario Heritage Plaque Rainy Lake Lookout Noden Causeway, Hwy 11
Pither Cairn Calder Drive, Pithers Point Park, East Fort Frances
Sieur de La Verendrye (1685-1749) Ontario Heritage Plaque Calder Drive, Pithers Point Park, East Fort Frances
Fort St. Pierre (1731-1759) Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada Plaque Calder Drive, Pither's Point Park, East Fort Frances
Fort Frances Museum 259 Scott Street, Fort Frances on the Great Canadian Main Street Downtown District, central Fort Frances
And travel the LaVerendrye Parkway along the Rainy River, Central Fort Frances.
Visit the Ontario Travel Information Centre at Central Avenue and Church Street, central Fort Frances.
this page online
[background image caption] Encampment, by George Heriot.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1846.
Location. 48° 36.781′ N, 93° 22.061′ W. Marker is in Fort Frances, Ontario, in Rainy River District. It is at the intersection of Agamiing Drive (Trans Canada Highway) (Provincial Highway 11) and Third Street East, on the right when traveling north on Agamiing Drive (Trans Canada Highway). The marker is near the southeast corner of a picnic shelter overlooking the Rainy River. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Fort Frances ON P9A 2S3, Canada. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Northern Ontario and specifically in Northwest Ontario. It is also in Central Canada. Globally, it is in North America, the Great North Woods, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony, the Viceroyalty of New France, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, and Ruperts
Fort Frances Museum Collection
2. Marker detail: 1st Lieutenant Pither
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Pelts, Paddles and Portages (here, next to this marker); Establishing the Fur Trade (about 240 meters away, measured in a direct line); a different marker also named Pelts, Paddles and Portages (about 240 meters away); Explore Fort Frances Central (about 240 meters away); The Fur Trade Competition (approx. 0.7 kilometers away); a different marker also named Pelts, Paddles and Portages (approx. 0.7 kilometers away); Explore Fort Frances West (approx. 0.7 kilometers away); Calder History (approx. 0.7 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Frances.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.
Also see . . .
1. Memorable Manitobans: Robert John Nicholson Pither (Manitoba Historical Society).
Excerpt: Born at Montreal on 29 October 1824, son of English immigrants Robert Pither and Margaret Nicholson, he was educated in Montreal and Quebec. In 1846, he entered the employ of the Hudsons Bay Company, remaining with them twenty-three years. In 1846, he travelled(Submitted on September 5, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)the entire distance from Lachine, Quebec to Norway House by canoe, via the Ottawa River, Lake Nipissing, French River, Georgian Bay, Lake Superior, Rainy River, Rat Portage, Winnipeg River and Lake Winnipeg, the trip taking several months. In 1870, he succeeded in keeping the Aboriginal peoples of the Rainy River district and vicinity from joining Louis Riel. Since then he was an Indian Agent at Fort Francis and Rat Portage [now Kenora].
3. Marker detail: Fort Frances East MapThe First Nations and early explorer settled on the shores of Rainy Lake, where it enters the Rainy River.
2. Treaty 3 (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: Treaty 3 is an agreement entered into on October 3, 1873, by Chief Mikiseesis (Little Eagle) on behalf of the Ojibwe First Nations and Queen Victoria. The treaty ceded a vast tract of Ojibwe territory, including large parts of what is now northwestern Ontario and a small part of eastern Manitoba, to the Government of Canada. Treaty 3 also provides for rights for the Waasaakode Anishinaabe ("light skinned Anishinaabe") and other Ojibwe, through a series of agreements signed over the next year.(Submitted on September 5, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)It is the third in a series of eleven numbered treaties between the Crown and
First Nation band governments. Treaty 3 has particular historical significance because of the litigation that ensued between the Crown in Right of Ontario and the Crown in Right of Canada over the significance of the treaty and the respective roles of Canada and the provinces in relation to aboriginal peoples.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 17, 20244. Explore Fort Frances East MarkerLooking southeast across the Rainy River. This interpretive panel is near the southeast corner of the picnic shelter.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 4, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 5 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 5, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
