Last Mountain House was constructed in 1869 by the Hudson’s Bay Company as a winter outpost of its Fort Qu’Appelle operation. The post only operated for a short time, but it marked the end of the fur trade in southern Saskatchewan and the advent of settlement in the west.
Located on a high plateau above Last Mountain Lake, the area provided the outpost with all the raw materials needed to sustain it. Wood from the ravines were used to construct buildings and provided firewood. The whitefish and water fowl supplied fresh food, and natural springs in the ravines contributed drinking water.
The small outpost housed a Clerk, a Postmaster, numerous servants and their families. Men used the post as a base from which to hunt and trade for dried meat, grease and pemmican. Last Mountain House’s primary role was to supply provisions for the Hudson’s Bay Company’s northern posts.
The retreat of the buffalo, the sale of HBC lands to the Canadian government and the Red River Rebellion influenced the Company’s decision to abandon the post. It burned down sometime during the 1870s.