The Grand Portage, or Great Carrying Place, was a key 18th century link between the Pigeon River and Lake Superior and a vital connection between Montreal and the rich fur-bearing lands far to the northwest. Traveled for centuries by Native peoples, the 8.5 mile portage bypassed the unnavigable rapids and waterfalls on the lower 21 miles of the Pigeon River. Beginning about 1731, thousands of tons of furs and traded goods were carried across the Grand Portage on the backs of voyageurs. Each summer a great Rendezvous was held on these grounds near Lake Superior. Most of the trade here was over by 1803, but use of the portage is still covered by an 1842 treaty.