In May 1934 the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada declared the site of Kootenae House to be of national importance. A plaque was erected in 1938. An administrative adjustment in 2004 led to the addition of Kootenae House National Historic Site of Canada, and the French form "Lieu historique national du Canada Kootenae House" to the list of sites administered by Parks Canada. (information supplied to Geographical Names Board of Canada by Parks Canada on behalf of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada)

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

"In 1806 the Northwest Company clerk, Jaco Finlay, blazed a trail over Howse Pass from the Saskatchewan to the Columbia River. The next year David Thompson followed this route to the Columbia then turned upriver and built Kootenae House below Windermere Lake. Using this fort as a base, he explored the upper Columbia and Kootenay rivers and established a chain of posts on the Columbia watershed...." (plaque installed by Parks Canada's Historic Sites and Monuments Board)

Source: included with note

"Around 1806 David Thompson, with his bride Charlotte Small, followed Metis guides along a First Nations route from Rocky Mountain House. This route eventually took them over Howse Pass and down the Blaeberry River drainage to reach the Columbia River and valley near Golden. Once in the valley they paddled upstream to Invermere and established Kootenae House on the west side of the valley near the location of the settlement of the "Katamukinik" ( "the earlier people" ) near the mouth of Toby Creek and Columbia River. Relations with the First Nations were good, and Kootenae House soon became an important trading post for furs and horses and it was also used by Thompson as a base to further explore the Columbia Valley and surrounding watersheds. The Katamukinik were the first Ktunaxa ("Too nah hah") peoples to make a permanent settlement in the Northern Pucells, and were the first to discover the Purcell Mountains and use the Columbia River and Valley." (Kevin Altheim's description to accompany his September 2002 photograph(s) posted on Bivouac.com)

Source: included with note