Port Nelson, Manitoba

Port Nelson is on on Hudson Bay, in Manitoba, Canada. It is at the mouth of the Nelson River which along with the Hayes River, were the main inland routes of the Swampy Cree and the Assiniboine to the great inland lake, Lake Winnipeg. Its peak population was about 1000 people but today it is a ghost town. Immediately to the south is the mouth of the Hayes River. Although the Nelson is much larger, the Hayes is a better route into the interior. Therefore, most of the Hudson's Bay Company's trade was done from York Factory on the Hayes. Note that some books use 'Port Nelson' to mean the region around the mouths of the two rivers.

Port Nelson was named by Thomas Button who wintered here in 1612. "August 15, 1612 Captain Thomas Button seeking for a harbour on the west coast of Hudson's Bay in which he might repair damages incurred during a severe storm, discovered the mouth of a large river which he designated Port Nelson, from the name of the master of his ship whom he buried there (Macoun et al. 1882. 595)."

An early version of York Factory was built nearby in 1684. In 1694-95 Father Marets recorded "The Assiniboine are thirty-five or forty days journey from the fort (Marets cited in Tyrell 1931:124)."

It was during the period from 1660-1870 when many Assinboine and Swampy Cree trappers and hunters became middlemen in the Hudson’s Bay Company fur trade economy in Western Canada that the Cree began to be referred to as "three distinct groups: the Woodland Cree, the Plains Cree, and the Swampy Cree (Ray 1998)."

"For more than two hundred years, (Macoun 1882 page 596) from two to five sailing vessels, on an average, frequently with war ships conveying them, have sailed annually from Europe and America to Port Nelson, or other ports in Hudson's Bay and returned with cargoes the same season via the only available route, Hudson's Straits (Macoun 1882 page 596)."

In the early 1900s, the Government of Canada felt that a major harbour on Hudson Bay was needed for shipping grain from central Canada. In 1912 Port Nelson was selected as the site over Churchill (at the mouth of the Churchill River) to become the terminus of the Hudson Bay Railway, the construction of which had already begun from The Pas in 1910.

In the winter of 1912-13 the site was surveyed and construction of a wharf began in the spring, followed by buildings and other infrastructure built during the summer. But the whole project was fraught with problems from the start. Material shortages, labour disputes, storms, fires, and boating accidents led to major delays. Another setback was the necessity to completely redesign the harbour because the fast flowing Nelson River was building up silt on both sides of the wharf. Therefore the harbour was changed to a small man-made island farther out in the river, connected with a seventeen-span truss bridge (built by Dominion Bridge Company from Montreal).

When Canada entered the First World War, it resulted in further material and labour shortages, and more significantly, the loss of political and financial support. The project was able to continue a few more years until 1918 when all work stopped and the site was abandoned. The whole project was greatly criticized by several politicians, the media (calling it a "gigantic blunder"), and even the project's chief engineer.

The Hudson Bay Railway never reached Port Nelson and its tracks lay abandoned until 1927 when Churchill was chosen to become the northern shipping hub. Construction was restarted and completed by 1929. A wrecked ship currently lies on the island at 57°02′19″N 92°35′37″W / 57.03861°N 92.59361°W / 57.03861; -92.59361.

In the 1970s the Churchill River Diversion and Lake Winnipeg Regulation projects with the Northern Flood Agreement. |title=Flooded and forgotten: Hydro development makes a battleground of northern Manitoba

"Travelling up the Nelson River, it’s easy to see the impacts of hydro development. The once-pristine water is now silty and not to be trusted for drinking. Trees fall into the river everywhere along the shore, thanks to erosion caused by constantly fluctuating water levels. Ancient graves are being exposed, and sacred sites are now under water. What was once a highway for hunters is now dangerous to travel in winter, as the location of ice pockets created by flooding and retreating water cannot be predicted. A river that was once the basis for life has become deadly (Kulchyski 2012)."

In 1989 Parks Canada began the York Factory Oral History Project which included compiling stories by Swampy Cree Elders. Flora Beardy, a York Factory Cree woman conducted interviews with fourteen elders, some of whom lived in Port Nelson.