Manitoba Historical Society
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Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fort Dufferin (Municipality of Emerson-Franklin)

From 1872 to 1874, Fort Dufferin was the headquarters and winter home to the British-Canadian contingent of the International Boundary Commission. In mid-1874, a contingent of the newly-formed North West Mounted Police (later the Royal Canadian Mounted Police), assembled here prior to its march into what is now Alberta.

One of the buildings that once sat at the site still exists. A monument at the entrance to this site, near Emerson in the Municipality of Emerson-Franklin, bears two plaques. One plaque, erected in 1997 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, describes the westward march of the North West Mounted Police. The other plaque commemorates two constables in the force, W. C. Brown and A. McIntosh, who died in 1874 at Fort Dufferin and are buried in unmarked graves near the site.

Stables at the former site of Fort Dufferin

Stables at the former site of Fort Dufferin (2006)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Building at the former site of Fort Dufferin

Building at the former site of Fort Dufferin (2006)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Restored storage building and museum

Restored storage building and museum (October 2020)
Source: Rose Kuzina

Interior of the restored storage building and museum

Interior of the restored storage building and museum (October 2020)
Source: Rose Kuzina

Depression from former subterranean stables

Depression from former subterranean stables (October 2020)
Source: Rose Kuzina

Fort Dufferin latrine from 1872

Fort Dufferin latrine from 1872 (October 2020)
Source: Rose Kuzina

Fort Dufferin commemorative monument

Fort Dufferin commemorative monument (August 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.03048, W97.20214
denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fort Dufferin Immigrants Monument (Municipality of Emerson-Franklin)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Boundary Commission North West Mounted Police Historic Trail (RM of Stanley)

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

Sources:

Fort Dufferin Burial Site, Waymarking.

We thank Peter McLure, Wayne Arseny, and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 17 March 2023

Historic Sites of Manitoba

This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.

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