Holding Down the Fort

A Walk Through History

As I write this, it appears that spring is finally making its way to Manitoba, and soon people from near and far will be coming to Red River North to spend time relaxing, exploring, engaging in summer sports activities, and generally enjoying themselves.

One of the major attractions in RRN is Lower Fort Garry, a bastion of history. It’s where the first of the Numbered treaties was signed. It served as a Hudson Bay Company stronghold during the heyday of the fur trade. In later times it was variously used as a penitentiary, a psychiatric hospital, training grounds for the Northwest Mounted Police, and was even the home of the Manitoba Motor Club during its colourful history.

The original Fort Garry once stood at The Forks (at least three Fort Garry’s are known to have been on that site) but in 1826 a terrible flood destroyed it, depriving the Hudson's Bay Company of a vital centre for trade. In 1830, construction began on the Lower Fort 32 km (20 miles) downriver, on higher ground and north of the gruelling St. Andrews rapids.

For three decades, Lower Fort Garry's thriving agricultural and industrial production provided many of the materials needed to fuel the fur trade in the HBC's Northern Department.

Lower Fort Garry became a national historic site in 1951 and its buildings were restored throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.

During the summer months, the Fort operates with costumed interpretive staff, offering visitors a glimpse of Manitoba history, amongst the finest collections of early stone buildings in Western Canada. In addition to special programs and guided tours, visitors can explore the site themselves with a self-guided tour.

In this offering, I will provide you with a glimpse of such a tour and highlight the 22 points of interest.

#1. The Métis Flag Installation. This is a tribute to the important role of the Métis in the creation of our province and Canada. Unveiled in 2020, this installation features the Métis and Canada flag side-by-side, symbolizing the traditional and ongoing relationship between the two nations.

This area was part of the homeland of The Métis people who are of mixed Indigenous and European heritage. In addition to their mixed ancestry, The Métis developed their own customs, language (Michif), way of life, and recognizable group identity. Their political leader from 1860’s to 1880’s, Louis Riel, was a Member of Parliament, and a founder of the province of Manitoba.

#2. The Treat No. 1 Legacy Flag Installation. Unveiled in 2017, this installation symbolizes the importance of the nation-to-nation agreement signed here in 1871 between the Crown and Treaty One Nation. This was the first in a series of 11 treaties that allowed for the expansion of the Canadian nation.

#3. The Men’s House. This served as living quarters for the labourers and tradesmen who worked here on contract for the Hudson Bay Company. Built in 1852 using a technique combining timber frames filled in with rubble masonry (rough, undressed stones), it served a variety of other purposes over the years: from a temporary psychiatric facility, to a stable, ice house, and storage facility.

#4. The Northwest Bastion. Shortly after being built. This served as a bakehouse with stone and brick ovens where bakers used locally ground flour to make hardtack, a hard, dry biscuit. In the 1890’s, it was used as a stable, and as an icehouse after 1911.

#5. The Doctor’s Office. Constructed in 1885, it briefly housed the province’s first psychiatric facility while a permanent facility was being built in Selkirk. The doctor’s office is the only remaining wooden structure within the fort.

#6. The Agricultural Complex. During the 1850’s the Hudson Bay Company had a large farming operation to help feed the occupants of northern Manitoba fur trade forts such as York Factory.

#7. The Warehouse. Constructed around 1838 from locally quarried limestone to provide extra storage for trade goods, this building also served as a barracks for soldiers from 1846-48 and again in 1870. It was also the first penitentiary in Western Canada from 1871-1877 while Stony Mountain was being built. Also, it later temporarily housed Manitoba’s new psychiatric facility from 1885-86, served as a maid’s quarters from 1913-62, while the Motor Country Club leased part of the fort.

8. The Northeast Bastion. This structure was built in the late 1840’s to house the gunpowder magazine. It was made of locally quarried limestone and constructed so that if the magazine were to explode, the blast would be directed upwards not outwards toward the rest of the fort.

9. The Fort Walls. The walls and corner bastions were built between 1842 and 1848 by noted stonemasons Duncan McRae and John Clouston and by soldiers from the Sixth Regent of the fort. In recent years the walls have been refurbished and improvements made to preserve them.

#10. The Big House. Originally constructed in 1830-32 as a residence for HBC Governor George Simpson, the Big House was continuously altered to suit its occupants: from HBC governors, families, and household staffs to company officers, to North-west Mounted Police, to members of the Motor Country Club. This structure has been restored to its 1851 state; it features a large kitchen and living quarters in the basement for servants.

#11. The Southeast Bastion. Although it provides modern washrooms today, this was originally soldiers quarters, and an icehouse. Later, when the North-west Mounted Police were quartered here, it served as a provisions store.

#12. The York Boat. This was the workhorse of the fur trade in the 19th century, used to transport furs, trade goods, and people to and from York Factory on the Hudson Bay, hence its name. This replica shows the impressive size, capacity, and craftsmanship of these boats.

#13. The Fur Loft/Sales Shop. Built 1830-31, this is a three-storey structure. The top floor was where pelts were dried, sorted, and bundled for shipment to European markets. The second floor was where extra inventory was stored. The main floor was where the sales shop served local people who brought in farm produce and manufactured items and exchanged them for imported goods such as cloth, blankets, glassware, guns, tea, and tobacco. HBC used the farm produce to supply its distant trading posts and northern brigades.

#14. The Museum. Built in 1965-66, this is the only reconstructed building within the fort walls. It’s built to copy the original retail store which once stood in this location. It now houses the “First Nations and Métis People of the Lower Red River” interpretive installation.

#15. The Southwest Bastion. Designed by stonemasons Duncan McRae and John Clouston, and built by soldiers, the bastion has been used as a washhouse and cookhouse by British troops stationed here, and later for storage. Today it is used as a display center and for interpretive presentations.

#16. The Blacksmith Shop. This is a reproduction building placed here in 1971 to resemble the original one built in the 1830’s and destroyed by a fiery explosion in 1877. The blacksmith played an important role in keeping the fort and farm running, repairing tools and farm equipment, and producing trade goods.

#17. The Gabeshiwin Camp. This is where indigenous groups camped when they visited the fort to trade, sell goods, work, or visit relatives.

#18. The Farm Manager’s Cottage. The original farm manager’s cottage was dismantled prior to 1884. The house here today was built around 1835 in what is now Winnipeg, and was later moved here. The cottage is where the HBC employee assigned to manage the 100-acre experimental farm lived. It is an example of Red River Frame construction.

#19. The Guest Cottage. Built in 1847 and restored in the early 1850’s when Chief Factor Donald Ross and his family lived here. Over time it housed many others.

#20. The Industrial Complex. Looking toward the creek, you can see remnants of the foundations of many of the buildings from the Industrial Complex. During the 1860’s there were lime kilns, a brewery, a malt barn, a storehouse, and a miller’s house.

#21. The Picnic Shelter. You can enjoy a picnic here, whatever the weather, before or after your tour.

#22. The Visitor Centre. This facility was built in 1979 and designed by renowned architect Etienne Gaboury, who also designed well-known Manitoba structures such as The Manitoba Mint, and Esplanade Riel near The Forks in Winnipeg.

The Visitor’s Centre, in addition to providing a place where staff greet visitors entering The Fort to provide necessary information and accreditation, has three other areas of interest:

• The Multi-Purpose Room, a rentable space suitable for meetings, banquets, socials, weddings, anniversaries, and other gatherings, is used for various events hosted by The Fort, such as the Craft Market each fall.

• The Gift Shop, a non-profit shop operated by Friends of Lower Fort Garry, is where local and Manitoba-made handcrafted items and souvenirs can be purchased. T-shirts, hats, prints, pins, postcards, Métis blankets, flags, and sweaters from a Manitoba fair trade company in Winnipeg.

NOTE: Friends of Lower Fort Garry is a non-profit organization, operated by volunteers, committed to increasing awareness and appreciation of the heritage of the Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site. This group hosts a variety of functions throughout the year, ranging from craft markets to Yoga on the Red, the Ghost Walk, Adventurers Day Camp, picnics, and performances.

• The Restaurant, operated by Life A Little Sweeter of Selkirk, offers family dining and a full catering service.

And there you have it. A quick look at an attraction that is visited by thousands each year, so why not be one of them this summer? Lower Fort Garry is more proof that…