The Fort Smith Mission was operated by the priests of the Oblate Catholic Mission, and the Grey Nuns, Sisters of Charity of Montreal.

Fort Smith Mission Historic Park is all that remains of the original 151 acre / 61 hectare Oblate Catholic Mission in what is now the centre of Fort Smith.

Fort Smith was for a brief period the capital of the Northwest Territories. It is located at a natural trans-shipping point for merchandise, from boats that were at that time paddled all the way from eastern and southern Canada, down the Slave River as far as the rapids near Fort Smith. The goods had to be transshipped into other vessels in order to proceed further north to serve communities on Great Slave Lake, the Mackenzie River and the Arctic Ocean.

The Bishop's Residence is the most prominent historical building still standing at the Mission site.

For a period of a century between 1876 and the early 1980's, the Roman Catholic Church operated its mission to the entire western arctic from here. In the absence of any government school system at the time, the church opened and operated schools across the north, which at that time included all territory north of Edmonton.

The Oblate Mission maintained a Bishop's Residence, St. Isodore's Church, assorted sheds, repair shops, a hospital with associated nun's residence, a residential school, large fields for the growing of crops, and even an airstrip. Nearby, the church operated docking facilities on the Slave River for their Mission boats, a farm, and sawmill.

Attractions & Points of Interest:

The Grotto served as a spiritual sanctuary for the nuns and priests working at the Mission.

The park provides an extensive self-guided tour of the historic mission sites, with sign boards describing various aspects of the history and activities of the mission. You can still see:

• The Bishop's residence, built in 1911
• The Cathedral
• The fields that were cultivated, some of which have been restored
• The storage shed
• The carpentry shop
• Vehicle repair shop
• Machine shop
• The hospital building that was built in 1952 to replace earlier structures
• The Grotto
• The sites of several other buildings that have been removed.

Eventually a railway and a highway were pushed north from Edmonton to Hay River, where large barges could be loaded directly on Great Slave Lake, and Fort Smith's days as a "port" were over. Its days as a capital ceased with the discovery of gold in Yellowknife soon afterwards.

Nearby attraction is the Wood Buffalo National Park.

The nearest visitor information centre is Wood Buffalo National Park Visitor Reception Centre. Located at the Federal Building, 126 McDougal Road. Open daily, June 20 - Sept.6. Closed on weekends the rest of the year. Features a 20 minute show, exhibits, park information, backcountry registration, videos, souvenir sales (park video and park poster), and more. Wheelchair-accessible.

Fort Smith is located on the Wood Buffalo Route, your route to Wood Buffalo National Park.

Place the cursor over each of the icons below, to see details of services available.

Click on any icon to view the Icon Legend.

Fort Smith

Parks & Tourism
#156
Miron Drive
Hay River, NT, X0E 0R2
Canada
Phone: (867) 875 5570
Fax : (867) 875 5551
E-mail: South Slave Parks

Return to Top