In 1877, Athabasca Landing was established by the Hudson's Bay Company at the southernmost point of the loop of the Athabasca River where it swings north-east to Fort McMurray and Lake Athabasca. The westward expansion into "Indian Territory" by European immigrants between 1880 and 1914 transformed Athabasca Landing from a river stopping place of native peoples into a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post, and later, a northern boomtown and transportation hub for freight and pioneers entering Canada's north-west. Athabasca Landing became known as "the gateway to the north."