In 1813, the Northwest Company built a depot for brigades crossing the Athabasca Pass to the Pacific. When Jasper Hawse took command of the post in 1817 it became known as Jasper House to avoid confusion with Rocky Mountain House on the Saskatchewan River. Artist Paul Kane was here in 1846 when this was a remote outpost commanded by Colin Fraser and George Simpson former pipers. A half a century later Jasper House was closed.