Lower Fort Garry

Lower Fort Garry is a preserved Hudson's Bay Company fort and National Historic Site on the west bank of the Red River in the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews, Manitoba, approximately 32 kilometres north of the site of the former Upper Fort Garry in present-day Winnipeg. Established in 1830, it was built after the 1826 Red River flood damaged the earlier Fort Garry and the Hudson's Bay Company sought a safer, higher location below St. Andrew's Rapids. The position reduced the need to portage heavy fur loads and York boats around the rapids and gave the company a strategically useful base for transport, administration, agriculture and supply. Unlike many western fur-trade posts, Lower Fort Garry was constructed principally from locally quarried limestone. Construction continued for almost two decades. The Fur Loft served as a company store, trading office and warehouse, while the Big House accommodated the governor and senior officials. Other surviving or reconstructed components include the Men's House, warehouses, bakehouse, blacksmith shop, powder magazine, icehouse and Farm Manager's House. The enclosing walls, completed in 1848 with assistance from soldiers of the British Army's 6th Regiment of Foot, gave the site a fortified appearance but were primarily intended to protect company property rather than withstand a major assault. The fort's main economic role was as a supply and distribution centre for the Hudson's Bay Company's Northern Department. Furs gathered at posts across the region passed through Lower Fort Garry on their way toward York Factory and overseas markets. In the opposite direction, manufactured goods were exchanged with local communities, while the fort's farms, workshops and industrial facilities supplied food, livestock, boats, tools and labour for northern operations. By the 1860s, the complex had become an important centre of transportation and industry in the Red River Settlement, with facilities including a flour mill, sawmill, forge and brewery. Lower Fort Garry later acquired significance well beyond the fur trade. It accommodated British troops during the Oregon boundary tensions in the 1840s and housed soldiers connected with the 1870 Wolseley Expedition after the Red River Resistance. On 3 August 1871, it hosted the signing of Treaty No. 1, the first of Canada's Numbered Treaties. The agreement involved Crown representatives and seven Anishinaabe and Swampy Cree First Nations; its interpretation and the treatment of oral commitments remain subjects of historical and Indigenous discussion. In 1873–1874, the first contingent of the North-West Mounted Police trained at the fort before the force's westward movement. The property subsequently served as a provincial and federal penitentiary, and briefly as a psychiatric hospital. The Hudson's Bay Company ended its operations at the fort in 1911. From 1913 to 1963, the Winnipeg Automobile Club operated the Motor Country Club there, using the Big House as a social centre and developing a private nine-hole golf course. The company donated the property to the federal government in 1951. Parks Canada began restoration and public interpretation in 1963, transforming the site into a living museum. Today, Lower Fort Garry presents the fort and its collections through historic buildings, exhibitions, demonstrations and costumed interpretation focused mainly on life in the early 1850s. Visitors can encounter representations of fur-trade commerce, domestic work, crafts, food production and company administration. Parks Canada identifies approximately 46,000 artifacts associated with the fort, the fur trade and the Red River Colony. The site is valued for its architectural survival, its role in transportation and commerce, its military and policing history, its connection to Treaty No. 1, and its importance in interpreting the complex relationships among the Hudson's Bay Company, Indigenous peoples, Métis communities and colonial governments.

Lower Fort Garry emerged from the Hudson's Bay Company's effort to replace Fort Garry after the catastrophic Red River flood of 1826. Governor George Simpson selected higher ground below St. Andrew's Rapids, where boats and cargo could move more efficiently than at a location requiring a lengthy portage. Construction commenced in 1830, but the company's hope that the new post would become the principal administrative centre of the Red River region was only partly realized. Population and commercial activity remained concentrated around the Forks, where Upper Fort Garry was rebuilt. The new post nevertheless became an important northern supply depot. Its limestone buildings, erected over nearly twenty years, included commercial, residential, storage and industrial facilities. The fort received furs from the Hudson's Bay Company's Northern Department and forwarded them toward York Factory, while distributing manufactured goods and producing food, livestock, boats and other supplies for company employees and distant posts. Its agricultural and industrial base helped make it an important economic and transport centre in the Red River Settlement. Military use added another layer to the site's history. British troops occupied the fort during the Oregon boundary dispute in 1846–1848, and soldiers helped complete the defensive walls in 1848. During the Red River Resistance and its aftermath, Lower Fort Garry housed part of the Wolseley Expedition in 1870. The fort's most consequential political event occurred on 3 August 1871, when Crown representatives and seven Anishinaabe and Swampy Cree First Nations signed Treaty No. 1. The treaty established a framework for Crown acquisition and administration of a large area of southern Manitoba, while subsequent disputes over its meaning, promises and implementation have remained historically significant. The fort was also connected to the creation of Canada's western police force. The first contingent of the North-West Mounted Police arrived in October 1873 and trained there through the winter of 1873–1874 in preparation for the force's westward deployment. Afterward, the property was used for penal and institutional purposes. It served as Manitoba's provincial prison from 1871, became a federal penitentiary in 1874, and closed as a penitentiary in 1877 after the opening of the Manitoba Penitentiary at Stony Mountain. In 1885–1886, it temporarily housed Manitoba's first provincial psychiatric facility while a permanent asylum was being completed in Selkirk. The Hudson's Bay Company ceased operating at Lower Fort Garry in 1911. The Winnipeg Automobile Club leased the property from 1913 and operated the Motor Country Club for fifty years. The club used the Big House for dining and social events and created a nine-hole golf course around the historic complex. The Hudson's Bay Company donated the fort to the federal government in 1951, and Parks Canada assumed restoration and interpretation work in 1963. As a modern National Historic Site, Lower Fort Garry is presented as a living museum. Its historic structures, artifacts and demonstrations interpret the fort's commercial, domestic, industrial and administrative functions, particularly during the early 1850s. The site also communicates its military, policing, penal, psychiatric and treaty histories. Its survival as one of the most substantial early stone fur-trade complexes in western Canada makes it an important architectural and archaeological resource as well as a visitor attraction.

• 1963

  Parks Canada restoration begins

  [2]Lower Fort Garry National Historic Sitepc.gc.ca

  Parks Canada began restoring the fort and developing it as a public historic site after the Motor Country Club lease ended.

• 1951

  Property donated to the federal government

  [1]Lower Fort Garryen.wikipedia.org

  The Hudson's Bay Company donated the historic property to the federal government.

• 1950

  National Historic Site designation

  [1]Lower Fort Garryen.wikipedia.org

  Lower Fort Garry was designated a National Historic Site of Canada on 31 May.

• 1913

  Motor Country Club lease begins

  [1]Lower Fort Garryen.wikipedia.org

  The Winnipeg Automobile Club established the Motor Country Club and operated a private golf and social facility at the site.

• 1911

  Hudson's Bay Company operations end

  [1]Lower Fort Garryen.wikipedia.org

  The Hudson's Bay Company ceased operating the fort as a commercial post.

• 1873

  North-West Mounted Police training begins

  [1]Lower Fort Garryen.wikipedia.org

  The first contingent arrived on 22 October and began formal training at the fort in preparation for the March West.

• 1871

  Treaty No. 1 signed

  [1]Lower Fort Garryen.wikipedia.org

  Representatives of the Crown and seven Anishinaabe and Swampy Cree First Nations signed Treaty No. 1 at Lower Fort Garry on 3 August.

• 1848

  Stone walls completed

  [1]Lower Fort Garryen.wikipedia.org

  The fort's enclosing limestone walls and corner bastions were completed with assistance from the British Army's 6th Regiment of Foot.

• 1830

  Construction begins

  [1]Lower Fort Garryen.wikipedia.org

  The Hudson's Bay Company began building Lower Fort Garry on the west bank of the Red River.

• 1826

  Red River flood damages Fort Garry

  [1]Lower Fort Garryen.wikipedia.org

  A major flood destroyed or seriously damaged the earlier Fort Garry and prompted the Hudson's Bay Company to seek a safer site.

A nationally significant Canadian heritage destination combining a remarkably intact nineteenth-century stone fur-trade fort with living-history interpretation, Indigenous and treaty history, military and policing heritage, and museum collections.

• National historic site · 1963

  Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site

  The principal public offering is the preserved fort complex administered by Parks Canada. It includes limestone walls, bastions, historic residences, warehouses, workshops and other structures associated with the Hudson's Bay Company's nineteenth-century operations. The site combines architectural conservation, archaeological interpretation and visitor access to a major Red River heritage landscape.

• Museum and educational program · 1963

  Living-history interpretation

  Costumed interpreters portray people connected with the fort during the early 1850s. Programming demonstrates period work, domestic routines, crafts, commerce and food production, helping visitors understand the site as an operating Hudson's Bay Company post rather than only as a collection of preserved buildings.

• Heritage collection · 1963

  Museum collections and exhibitions

  The site presents artifacts and exhibitions relating to Lower Fort Garry, the fur trade and the Red River Colony. The collection is reported to contain approximately 46,000 artifacts, displayed through historic interiors, museum spaces and the Visitor Reception Centre.

• 1963

  Conversion to a public historic siteStrategy

  Background

  After the end of the Motor Country Club's lease, the federal government had an opportunity to preserve and interpret the fort rather than continue private recreational use.

  Action taken

  Parks Canada began restoration and developed Lower Fort Garry as a National Historic Site and living museum.

  Aftermath

  The site became an active heritage destination presenting historic buildings, collections, demonstrations and multiple layers of Indigenous, commercial, military and institutional history.

  Source

• 1830

  Establishment of a new Red River fortStrategy

  Background

  The 1826 flood and the navigational advantages below St. Andrew's Rapids led the Hudson's Bay Company to seek a new location for Fort Garry operations.

  Action taken

  The company selected the present Lower Fort Garry site and began constructing a durable limestone supply and administrative post.

  Aftermath

  The new fort became a major Northern Department supply and distribution centre, although Upper Fort Garry remained more closely connected to the region's main population centre.

  Source

1. 1Lower Fort Garryen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Lower Fort Garry National Historic Sitepc.gc.ca