Historic Sites of Manitoba: Upper Fort Garry (Winnipeg)

All that remains of the former fur trade post is its stone front gate. A plaque mounted on the gate in 1909 by the Canadian Club of Winnipeg provides a synopsis of its history:

Year	Event
1806	The first fort, named Gibraltar, is built by the North West Company
1816	Fort Gibraltar is destroyed
1822	The second Fort Gibraltar is renamed Fort Garry after the amalgamation of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company
1835	Fort Garry is rebuilt with stone walls running 280 feet east and west, and 240 feet north and south
1850	Fort walls are extended northward and this gateway is erected
1882	The fort is sold and its walls, except for this gateway, is demolished
1897	The gateway and adjoining park is presented by the Hudson’s Bay Company to the City of Winnipeg

Near the gate is a plaque, placed by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, commemorating the Fort Garry - Fort Edmonton Trail. This road was formerly part of a cart trail, also known as the Carlton, Saskatchewan, or Fort Ellice Trail, which extended 1,400 kilometers between Fort Garry and Fort Edmonton. It was the principal overland trail route in the North West for much of the 19th century. By mid-century it was used extensively by Métis freighters driving Red River carts; it also served early explorers and surveyors. One troop of the North West Mounted Police followed it in 1874. By 1890 the trail was largely superseded by railways.

Postcard of Buffalo Bill at Upper Fort Garry Gate (c1910) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Postcard of Upper Fort Garry Gate and the Manitoba Club (c1910) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Upper Fort Garry Gate (2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Fort Garry - Fort Edmonton Trail Plaque (2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Location (lat/long): N49.88797, W97.13541 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Ambroise-Didyme Lépine Plaques (Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fort Ellice Trail Crossing (RM of Wallace)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Lower Fort Garry (RM of St. Andrews)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Club (194 Broadway, Winnipeg)

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

Sources:

Information for this page was collected and prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 11 March 2012

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