The forts were also part of a quest for a river that led to the western sea, which Verendrye now thought was the Saskatchewan.

First Paskoya: In 1740 Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye mapped the west side of Cedar Lake.

During the winter of 1741-42, the elder La Vérendrye decided to build a fort on a small island where the river discharges into Cedar Lake.

Morton[1] believes it was built in 1750 and first occupied by Joseph-Claude Boucher, Chevalier de Niverville.

In 1775, Alexander Henry the elder was blocked near here by a chief called The Pelican who demanded tribute to continue up the river.