Fort Whoop-Up

Fort Whoop-Up
Fort Whoop-Up Interpretive Centre, August 2008
Etymology	Nickname adopted as official name
Location	Alberta, Canada
Nearest city	Lethbridge County
Coordinates	49°41′31″N 112°51′24″W / 49.69194°N 112.85667°W / 49.69194; -112.85667Coordinates: 49°41′31″N 112°51′24″W / 49.69194°N 112.85667°W / 49.69194; -112.85667
Area	1.6 km (0.99 mi)
Established	1869
Founder	J.J. Healy, A.B. Hamilton
Built	1869 (1869)
Architect	William S. Gladstone
Important events	Battle of the Belly River, NWMP March West 1874
Website	www.galtmuseum.com/fort-whoop_up
Location of Fort Whoop-Up in Alberta

Fort Whoop-Up was the nickname (eventually adopted as the official name) given to a whisky trading post, originally Fort Hamilton, near what is now Lethbridge, Alberta. During the late 19th century, the post served as a centre for various illegal activities. The sale of whisky was outlawed but, due to the lack of a police force in the region at the time, many whisky traders had settled in the area and taken to charging unusually high prices for their goods.

Fort Whoop-Up is also the name of a replica site and interpretive centre built in Indian Battle Park.

Fort Hamilton was first built in 1869 by J.J. Healy and A.B. Hamilton—two traders from the Fort Benton area of Montana—to serve as a trading post. Its first structure was destroyed by fire within a year of its construction; whether this was an accident or deliberate arson is unknown. A second, more sturdy structure later replaced the first Fort Hamilton, and was later nicknamed Fort Whoop-Up. It took two years to build at a cost of $25,000. It was located at the junction of the Belly (Oldman) River and the St. Mary's River, 6 km (3.7 mi) south of where the Fort Whoop-Up interpretive centre is located.

One type of alcohol sold by the Whoop-Up bandits was known as Whoop-Up Bug Juice, a highly prized alcohol spiked with ginger, molasses, and red pepper. It was then coloured with black chewing tobacco, watered down, and boiled to make "firewater".

It is commonly thought that the only purpose for Fort Whoop-Up was to trade whisky. Although it was one of the most infamous of the whisky trading posts, there was much more legal trading that occurred here (e.g. trading of furs for blankets, food, firearms) than there was trading of whisky.

The outlaws of Fort Whoop-Up and surrounding areas—combined with the supposed flying of an American flag over Canadian territory—contributed to the formation of the North-West Mounted Police. Fort Whoop-Up was a destination on their march west in 1874.