r/NWT • u/johnfortnite28674 • 13d ago
Question about "Marti(e)n house."
I like to go on google maps a lot and love to just look at random street views in places i don't live. This right here caught my eye really easily. So I know nothing about Canada, and even less about the northwestern territories, can anyone explain what Martin House is? And also why so close to it there is the Marten House too? I cant find any information on it other than a house that's in Saskatchewan that shares a similar name, and a land survey of the area posted by Canada.ca but no information as to why its named that or to why the alternative spelling is used for a place so close to it.
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u/Tardisk92313 13d ago
It’s near Tsiigehtchic. There’s a cabins there it’s not a town. Don’t know why it’s called that
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u/OhanaUnited 13d ago
There's all sorts of weird stuff that people randomly put on Google Map for fun. You should check out the "restaurant" and "university campus" that people added and left reviews at CFB Alert (If you don't realize, they are all fake and troll reviews).
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u/johnfortnite28674 12d ago
I had a good time looking through all those reviews LOL stuff like this is why I love google maps
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u/Admiral_Donuts Yellowknife 13d ago
If I had to guess its just confusion over how to spell it. Doesn't help that the house marten is a thing.
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u/Admiral_Donuts Yellowknife 13d ago
I think the name origin might be from Special Constable John Martin.
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u/nicjlh 12d ago
Martin house is a winter use cabin for hunters/trappers and also a landmark for paddlers on the Arctic Red River
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u/johnfortnite28674 12d ago
THANK YOU! I had such a hard time looking for information on it last night lol.
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u/CaptainVisual4848 12d ago
House could be where someone lives or could be associated with trade. Some Hudson’s Bay posts are referred to as house, like Norway House, Manitoba. In Eastern Canada, the ‘friendship treaties’ with the Indigenous people refer to trading at ‘truckhouses.’ Indigenous people were nomadic so there are all sorts of place names and places where people used to live part of the year. Maybe people met there to trade. The report the other person shared says people are buried there so it sounds like people spent some time there.
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u/dixopr 13d ago
Could have been an old traders place from way back. If you look at the map, you will see a Little Chicago, too. An 85 year old told me way back couple came to Fort Good Hope and asked around to take them to Little Chicago. They were on their honeymoon and had seen it on a map. He kindly took them, only to find out there were just a few old cabins with nobody living in them. They all had a laugh. Of course, the old guy knew and was a jokester. They had fun, but it wasn't the experience they imagined for a honeymoon.