Clerk's Quarters
Located
in the Southeast corner of the Fort Complex, Clerk's Quarters is, at a glance,
an unassuming building. In the 1800s, however, many people called it home.
The Clerk's Quarters primarily housed all of the single men living at the fort. Prior to 1832 at the Edmonton Fort, however, Chief Factor John Rowand and his family called it home. This "could possibly explain why this structure had glass windows instead of the more usual parchment" (1).
The position of clerk within the fort economy was very demanding. The clerk was essentially responsible for the flow of all goods in and out of the fort. They ordered, inventoried and packed the goods, graded the incoming furs, conducted the trading with the Aboriginals, and kept the fort's accounts. Due to the demands of this job, there was often more than one clerk in a fort.
The original Fort Edmonton Clerk's Quarters was "a two story structure. The main floor contained a kitchen, a large dining area and two smaller rooms at each end. These two rooms were used as offices and sleeping areas for the fort's clerks....The dining hall was where the 20 to 30 bachelors, including clerks, interpreters, servants, old men, and transient hunters, ate their meals" (2).
Today, nobody resides permanently in Clerk's Quarters. It is occasionally invaded by hoards of small overnight guests (a Park school program), or medium-sized crowds of partygoers (evening rental functions). Nonetheless, it is still a place for people to gather and eat.
