Sieur de La Vérendrye 1685-1749
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, Sieur de La Vérendrye, was born at Trois Rivières and saw military service in North America and Europe before entering the fur trade. While stationed at Lake Nipigon in 1727, he heard stories of the "Western Sea" which, Indians said, lay somewhere beyond Lake of the Woods. During the next twenty years, in attempting to reach this sea, he personally explored much of what is now northwestern Ontario, southern Manitoba and North Dakota, and directed the exploration of an even larger area. Throughout this territory he established numerous important fur-trading posts, including St. Pierre on Rainy Lake, St. Charles on Lake of the Woods and La Reine on the Assiniboine River.
Plaque via Alan L. Brown's site Ontario Plaques. Full page here.