Trading posts were established along the frontier to better take advantage of the fur trade. At first these were simply trading posts but then they grew into settlements overtime.
First the owners of the post needed employees and some had more than others so they built houses. These people needed necessities so general stores were built. Women sometimes joined the men, got pregnant and a family was started.
These activities and more as well as the fall in fur trade and the rise in agriculture led to these trading posts becoming permanent settlements that grew into towns and cities.
