Are you aware of the treasures and tales coming from Hudson’s Bay? One artifact they call “lock and key” is a special archive found in the Manitoba Museum.
History says that this lock and key were once used to safeguard York Factory’s powder magazine in 1840, which is presently known as northern Manitoba. The building, powder magazine, was created to store gunpowder safely. For that reason, the lock with dull bronze and copper was crafted from alloy to prevent any possible explosions. Some parts of this lock were cast before it was assembled, while its other parts were forged by hand.
The York Factory was established in 1684 and was located at Hudson’s Bay’s Hayes River. It was the Company’s primary depot area. At its climax, the factory was proud of its several stores including the trading store, cooper’s shop, lumber house, fur shops, provision shop, smithy, a guest house, and houses for officers and clerks. Also, you can see their main building still standing presently.
Several HBC workers along with their families moved through the York Factory to get to interior forts and posts. Others made the York Factory their temporary home. Goods such fur were continually exported and imported until the building became a historic site and was closed in 1957. The depot had been designed to be a National Historic Site in 1936.