Historic Sites of Manitoba: Cape Merry (Churchill)

Cape Merry has a wealth of history and natural beauty. It was once called Knight’s Round Point, as befits the land bounded by the Hudson Bay and the Churchill River. James Knight sailed into the mouth of the Churchill River to begin construction of a fur trading post for the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1717. The cape was later renamed to honour Captain John Merry, who was the Deputy Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company from 1712-18.

A cannon battery was constructed to guard the river and the river mouth, and to prevent enemy occupation at Cape Merry, by providing crossfire. You can still see the site of the first battery and the remains of a powder magazine, which still has the original limestone mortar.

In 1933, the site was added to the Prince of Wales National Historic Site, designated in 1920 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Cape Merry (no date) Source: Christian Cassidy Site Location (lat/long): N58.78681, W94.20226 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Prince of Wales Fort (Churchill)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Plaques for Persons, Events and Sites of National Historic Significance

Prince of Wales Fort National Historic Site of Canada, Parks Canada

Sources:

Information for this page was collected by Tim Worth and Christian Cassidy, and prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 19 February 2012

A collection of historic sites in Manitoba, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. Please note that some sites in this collection are situated on private property, for which permission would have to be secured from the owner prior to visiting. Search the collection by word or place name, type of site, or other text: Custom Search Browse indexes relating to: Featured sites | Museums | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | Unknowns | Miscellaneous Send inquiries to the MHS Webmaster at webmaster@mhs.mb.ca Map of all sites  | Suggest a site  | Questions | Sites wanted  |  Acknowledgements Support the MHS and