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Museum Fundraiser to Feature Leacock Humour
Stephen Leacock’s special brand of Canadian satire will be revisited when Daly House Museum presents An Evening with Stephen Leacock at 8:00 PM on Saturday, 11 February 2012 at the Lorne Watson Recital Hall at the School of Music, Brandon University. All proceeds from the show will go directly to the museum.
Leacock was considered the foremost humourist in Canada in the early part of the twentieth century and his stories were best-sellers throughout the English speaking world. Most of his short stories made fun, however gently, of the pretensions of small town Mariposa, a fictitious town not unlike Orillia, Ontario, where Leacock lived for part of his life. “The thing that strikes me about his stories is that human nature hasn’t changed much,” says Trish Buri, director of the show and a member of the Daly House Museum Board. “Since most of Brandon’s early residents came from Ontario, the characters in Leacock’s stories are not unlike our forerunners. To some extent the stories throw a light on our own history.”
Behind the Beyond, a 45-minute play, will constitute the first half of the program, followed by a reading of The Marine Excursions of the Knights of Pythias in the second half. Behind the Beyond satirizes “problem” plays of the time, while Knights of Pythias is a hilarious story of a community picnic. Complimentary refreshments will be served at intermission and audience members may stay after the show for a talkback with the actors.
Museum curator Eileen Trott is excited about the project. “Our job is to preserve Brandon’s past, and I think the play relates strongly to the time period (1882-1920) that the museum focuses on.” Experienced actors, mostly alumni of 7 Ages Productions, have volunteered to perform in the show, including George Buri, Christine Penner, Peter Buehler, and Julia Redfern.
Admission is $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. Tickets may be purchased at the door or you may buy in advance from the Daly House Museum (204-727-1722).
Posted: 29 January 2012
Public Lecture for 400th Anniversary of King James Bible
On 2 February 2012, University of Manitoba professor DeLloyd Guth will give a free public lecture in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.
What authoritative texts did the fifty-three known translators and eleven “revisers” use when compiling the King James version of the Bible? Were there English translations before 1611 and how were they used?
Fragmented answers begin with Old English, pre-Norman Conquest (1066) texts, mainly of the Book of Psalms. The comprehensive answers begin with John Wycliffe (c1330-1384) and include William Tyndale (1494-1536), Miles Coverdale (1488-1569), and the Bishops’ Bible of 1568.
This lecture will be held at the Archives & Special Collections, in the Elizabeth Dafoe Library at the University of Manitoba (Fort Garry Campus). It will begin at 12 noon and all are welcome to attend.
Posted: 26 January 2012
New Issue of Manitoba History Available Online
The latest issue of Manitoba History (Number 67, Winter 2012) is now available for download from the MHS Members Area.
Printed copies will be mailed to members and delivered to bookstores in early February.
Articles in this issue:
The Confrontations at Rivière aux Ilets-de-Bois
by Alan B. McCulloughThe Remarkable Career of David A. Golden
by Hugh GrantWinnipeg’s “Quiet” Man: The Early Public Life of Film Star Victor McLaglen
by C. Nathan HattonAll Within My Power: The Life of William Forbes Alloway
by Tim HigginsHistoric Sites of Manitoba: The Trembowla Cross of Freedom
by Cheryl GirardPlate #53: The Rescue of a Brother Firefighter
by Rick NorthwoodBook Reviews:
Dale Barbour, Winnipeg Beach: Leisure and Courtship in a Resort Town, 1900-1967
by Greg ThomasA. Irving Hallowell, Contributions to Ojibwe Studies: Essays 1934-1972 Edited and with Introductions by Jennifer S. H. Brown and Susan Elaine Gray
by Laura PeersAnn M. Carlos & Frank D. Lewis, Commerce by a Frozen Sea: Native Americans and the European Fur Trade
by Scott P. StephenBarry Ferguson and Robert Wardhaugh, Manitoba Premiers of the 19th and 20th Centuries
by Christopher DunnNinette Kelley and Michael Trebilcock, The Making of the Mosaic: A History of Canadian Immigration Policy (2nd edition)
by Hans WernerCool Things in the Collection: HBC Films Return to Canada
by Maureen DolyniukSingle copies of Manitoba History are available for purchase at select locations.
Posted: 25 January 2012
Portrait of Elzéar Lagimodière by Constantin Tauffenbach Unveiled
On 25 January 2012, the Société historique de Saint-Boniface unveiled a portrait of Elzéar Lagimodière, by painter and sculptor Constantin Tauffenbach, in the Salon Empire of the Centre du patrimoine at 340 Provencher Boulevard, Saint-Boniface (Manitoba).
In 1886, some Lorette parishioners ordered a portrait of Elzéar Lagimodière in appreciation for his services. On 26 January 1887, approximately one hundred parishioners presented him with the portrait which stayed in the family ever since. Elzéar Lagimodière, active participant in the 1870 events, one of the founders of the Union nationale métisse de Saint-Joseph and first mayor of Tache Municipality, made an important contribution to the history of Manitoba.
Painter and sculptor, Constantin-Nicolas Tauffenbach was born in 1829 in Metz, France. Having studied in Düsseldorf, Germany, he became a travelling painter in France, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. In 1872, he arrived in Montréal and in 1884 he moved to Manitoba. Known for his paintings of the ceiling of the votive chapel Bon Secours in Saint-Norbert, he also painted the portraits of Mgr. Ritchot and Pierre Falcon including Elzéar Lagimodière.
Michel Lagacé, president of the Société historique de Saint-Boniface declared: “Thanks to this Norman Lagimodière donation, this painting is now available to the public. For the Société historique de Saint-Boniface, this is a prized acquisition documenting an important historical figure for the Métis and Manitobans generally. This Tauffenbach painting will remain well preserved for generations to come and be available to all at the Centre du patrimoine.”
For further information, call Gilles Lesage at 204-233-4888 or email to glesage@shsb.mb.ca.
Posted: 25 January 2012
Former Speaker of Manitoba Legislature Dies at 101
Thelma Forbes, the first woman to serve as Speaker of the Manitoba Legislature, died at Coquitlam, British Columbia on 5 January 2012. She was 101 years old.
Born in 1910, on a farm near Manitou, Manitoba, she entered provincial politics in November 1959 when she was elected at a by-election. Re-elected at the 1959 and 1962 general elections, she was chosen Speaker in February 1963. She later later held the ministerial portfolios of Urban Development, Municipal Affairs, and Public Works. She left politics in 1969.
Posted: 15 January 2012
New Book of First World War Battlefield Poetry
In 2008, a collection of poetry by First World War soldier Alexander Sinclair was discovered when the author’s son, George Sinclair, passed away without heirs. His nephew, Douglas Sinclair of Winnipeg, inherited the Sinclair family memorabilia from the estate and discovered the poems that Alex wrote during his service. With the assistance of his good friend Garth Palanuk, Douglas prepared the collection for publication, for the sake of poetry lovers, for those interested in military history, and for his own family.
Alexander Sinclair was born at Lybster, Caithness, Scotland. He emigrated to Winnipeg in 1907 and joined the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in 1915 at age 33. After serving overseas, Alex returned to Winnipeg where he worked for the Winnipeg School District for 27 years. He was a Past Grand Master of the Empire Masonic Lodge and Past President of the Winnipeg Burns Club.
The poetry contained in this volume introduces the reader to a passionate, unique and first-hand account of the First World War viewed through the eyes of a soldier. They focus on battles in the fields of France, including Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, and the memories of fallen comrades. The book includes over 40 poems and historical footnotes.
Entitled Life & War: Poems by Alexander Sinclair, and edited by Douglas Sinclair and Garth Palanuk, this new book of poetry will be launched on Saturday, 21 January 2012 at 2:00 PM, at the McNally Robinson Booksellers (1120 Grant Avenue, Winnipeg). All are welcome to attend.
Posted: 15 January 2012
Rare 1920 Fur Trade Film to be Screened
On 15 February at 7:00 PM, a free showing of the 1920s film The Romance of the Far Fur Country will be held at Cinematheque at 100 Arthur Street in Winnipeg. This is a special event to celebrate the return to Canada of rarely-seen films—on fragile nitrate-based stock that have recently been tranferred to digital media by the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives. The film ocuments activities of the Hudson’s Bay Company in Northern Canada and the First Nations communities of the early 20th century.
The film presentation will be 30 minutes, followed by questions and answers, and a reception. There is no admission charge but those interested in attending should reserve a seat by Wednesday, 8 February by sending email to kristy@winnipegfilmgroup.com or calling 204-925-3456 ext. 106. Walk-in visitors should arrive 20 minutes ahead of the start time to confirm seat availability.
See also:
Cool Things in the Collection: HBC Films Return to Canada by Maureen Dolyniuk
Manitoba History, Number 67, Winter 2012Posted: 15 January 2012
University of Manitoba Press Seeks Lost Foote Photos
Next fall, University of Manitoba Press will publish a new book of photos by Winnipeg’s most famous photographer, L. B. Foote (1873-1957), prepared and introduced by award-winning historian Esyllt Jones.
From the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike to Winnipeg Beach in its heyday, from nurses in the North End to construction workers on top of the Fort Garry Hotel, the Newfoundland-born Foote shot it all.
“Many of us have seen Foote photographs, whether or not we are aware of their origins. For at least thirty years, since the creation of the Foote archive at the Manitoba Archives in the early 1970s, these photographs have been used to tell the story of Winnipeg’s past,” says Jones, author of Influenza 1918: Disease, Death, and Struggle in Winnipeg. “They have been used to illustrate everything from academic histories to posters for rock concerts.”
There are approximately 3,000 images at the Manitoba Archives but that’s just a fraction of the photographs Foote took in the more than five decades that he documented Winnipeg and parts of Manitoba outside the perimeter. University of Manitoba Press is looking for some of the lost Foote photos and is hoping that Winnipeggers are willing to rummage through their attics and photo albums.
“Even though Foote’s most famous work is of princes and processions, his bread and butter was shots of weddings, funerals and Winnipeg’s small businesses,” says David Carr, Director of University of Manitoba Press. “And that’s what we’d like to see and possibly share with a wider audience.”
People with photos to share can contact UMP Promotions/Editorial Assistant Ariel Gordon at 204-474-8408 or gordoajd@cc.umanitoba.ca.
See also:
Foote prints: Photographer made an impact with iconic images, now U of M Press plans to publish his photos in a book by Alison Mayes, Winnipeg Free Press
Photographer L. B. Foote documented Winnipeg's early life, Winnipeg Free Press
Lost Foote Photos - This blog by the U of M Press collects favourite photos of several Winnipeg photographers, and historians, along with some comments about what they like about the photos. The collection includes one on a murder scene from 1922 by MHS Webmaster Gordon Goldsborough.
Winnipeg Through the Lens of L. B. Foote, Photographer
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 24, Number 3, Spring 1979Posted: 12 January 2012
Municipal Bylaws Now Online
As of November 2011, the Town of Carman has digitized all its bylaws going back to incorporation in 1899 and has made them freely available on its website. The collection is a treasure trove of information about the town and its activities through the years. At present, the collection is not text-searchable but they are arranged chronologically.
See also:
Posted: 8 January 2012
Breland House Repaired
Repairs have been completed to the roof of the historic Breland House in the Medicine Rock Heritage Park at St. Francois Xavier. Formerly owned by Metis leader Pascal Breland, the roof of the house was severely damaged during a hailstone in June 2011. The St. Francois Xavier Historical Society, with assistance from the Rural Municipality of St. Francois Xavier, undertook repairs at a cost of $4,000.
See also:
Breland house repaired after hail damage The Headliner, 6 January 2002
Posted: 8 January 2012
Historic School May Be Moved
The Headingley Headliner reports that the Rural Municipality of Rosser is considering a proposal to move building formerly used as East Rosser School to the station site of the Prairie Dog Central Railway.
Rosser reeve Frances Smee said that municipal officials hoped the school building could be designated as a municipal heritage site, moved, and restored as a community project. The present building owner would donate the building if the RM would agree to move it.
See also:
Sight set on establishing heritage site. East Rosser School to be moved? The Headliner, 6 January 2002
Posted: 8 January 2012
RM of Macdonald to Mark Historic School Sites
The Rural Municipality of Macdonald is undertaking a project to install signs at each of the former sites of schoolhouses in its area. Initial research indicates there are 23 school sites in the RM, only three of which (Brunkild, Oak Bluff, and Prairie View) are already commemorated. Those to be marked during this project include the following:
Map showing approximate locations of historic schools in the RM of Macdonald
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughThose with information on any of these schools are encouraged to contact the researcher assisting the RM with this project:
RM of Macdonald Historic Schools Project
c/o Gordon Goldsborough
Email: lgg@shaw.ca
Initially, sites will be marked with a metal sign. Community groups may wish to install a more substantial marker at specific school sites. One such group has already come forward, and is actively raising the additional funds needed for a stone monument at the site of Ferndale School. They are calling on all former students, teachers, trustees, and friends of the school for help in covering the cost of this monument. Those wishing to make a donation should contact:
Ferndale School Monument Project
c/o Gordon Goldsborough
Email: lgg@shaw.caPosted: 27 December 2011, updated 1 June 2012
Writer Launches “12 Days of Christmas” List of Historic Manitoba Churches
Manitoba writer Reid Dickie continues his tradition of commemorating historic features around the holiday season with this year’s installment on historic Manitoba churches. On Day 1, he profiles the St. Helen’s Roman Catholic Church at Shoal Lake. Dickie will describe one church each day over the next 12 days, culminating on Christmas Day (25 December). Visitors to his site are welcome to leave comments and share memories of each church profiled in the series.
To view the series of historic Manitoba churches, starting with Day 1, visit the website ReadReidRead:
See also:
Homes for the Holidays, 2007 by Reid Dickie and Linda Tooley
Posted: 14 December 2011
Manitoba Historic Site of the Day
Today, as part of an ongoing project to raise awareness of historic sites around the province, the Manitoba Historical Society (MHS) announces a new feature on its website: the Manitoba Historic Site of the Day. Each day, a different historic site will be shown, accessible via a link in the upper, left corner of every one of the 20,000+ pages of the MHS website. Or you go directly to the feature using the following address:
Drawn at random from a collection of some 2,000 historic sites, the sites are displayed on an interactive map using Google Maps technology. The Manitoba Historic Site of the Day includes museums and archives, buildings (both existing and long-gone), monuments, cemeteries, and places of noteworthy events. Each site is described and accompanied by one or more photographs and a location map, along with links to related information and lists of similar sites. A search box at the bottom of each page provides access to the full collection.
The collection of historic sites is the result of a two-year project of the Manitoba Historical Society where the precise location (latitude and longitude) of each site have been measured using the Global Positioning System (GPS). The project is ongoing, with plans to expand the collection as new information is acquired. Historic sites in western Manitoba will be added in 2012, with additional work in eastern and northern Manitoba planned for 2013 and 2014. Those wishing to propose the addition of an historic site to the collection can do so using a nomination form on the MHS website.
The MHS acknowledges the generous support of the Heritage Grants Program in the preparation of the Manitoba Historic Site of the Day feature.
Posted: 3 December 2011, updated 4 December 2011
New Historical Fiction About Early 20th Century Winnipeg
On 29 November, author Sandi Krawchenko Altner and Winnipeg publisher Heartland Associates will launch Ravenscraig, a novel set in early 20th century Winnipeg.
Where: McNally Robinson Booksellers (Grant Park)
When: Tuesday, 29 November 2011, 8:00 PMRavenscraig is about two families: the Willows—wealthy, powerful and anti-Semitic, and the Zigmans—newly arrived Jews, struggling to put down roots in Winnipeg’s North End.
For more information:
Ravenscraig Trailer:
Posted: 28 November 2011
Volunteers Wanted for Educational Programs at Dalnavert Museum
The Manitoba Historical Society Dalnavert Museum is seeking to recruit enthusiastic, dependable volunteers to facilitate our brand new school programs, launching January 2012. If you enjoy working with kids and love to talk about all things historical, this opportunity is for you! Practicum and internship opportunities are also available.
All interested parties may download an application form here: Application Form
You may also request an application form via email from Jennifer Bisch, Chief Program Officer and Curator, at dalnavert@mhs.mb.ca. For further information about Dalnavert, please check out our website at www.mhs.mb.ca/info/museums/dalnavert.
Posted: 24 November 2011
Trio of Artists to Present A Christmas Carol at Dalnavert
Dalnavert Museum (61 Carlton Street, Winnipeg) has announced its slate of three talented performers who will present the popular holiday-time treat, Charles Dickens’ timeless classic A Christmas Carol, in the Victorian splendour of the Dalnavert Museum.
The performances are as follows:
7-9 December, 7:00 PM - Ron Robinson
Taller on radio, the former host of CBC Radio’s Weekend Morning Show can now be heard on CKUW FM, sharing his love of books on Pages - Radio for Readers, and sharing the microphone with his wife, Carol McKibbon on the Saturday Morning Show. Having performed all of the staves at one time or another for CBC, Ron is delighted to share his affection for Dickens’ timeless tale of redemption in the Victorian surroundings of Dalnavert. His 60-minute production offers the classic beloved scenes of ghosts and ghastly apparitions, linked by references to the Victorian period.
Duration: approximately 60 minutes, appropriate for ages 8 and up
14-16 December, 7:00 PM - Ian Mozdzen
Ian Mozdzen is a devised theatre artist. In addition to training in dance, physical theatre, clown, and butoh, he studied English Literature and Theatre at Simon Fraser University and the University of Winnipeg. As Co-Artistic Director of out of line theatre (www.outoflinetheatre.com) and as a solo/collaborative artist, Ian has created and performed in a number of full-length, short, and exploratory works that tackle everything from peepshows to Egyptian mythology to serial killers to Igor Stravinsky to Hollywood celebrities. His work has toured across the country and into the United States. Recent devised performances include Infinity Land (solo), The Rite (alongside Tom Stroud and Natasha Torres-Garner), and out of line theatre’s Time 2B Fame Us. At Dalnavert this holiday season, Ian plans to channel humour, darkness, and physicality into a lively and fanciful performance of this Dickens’ holiday classic.
Duration: approximately 90 minutes, appropriate for ages 10 and up
21-23 December, 7:00 PM - Celeste Sansregret
Celeste is a writer, producer and performer working in theatre, film and television. She made her first stage appearance at age three and has appeared in over 25 stage productions and several films including Faces in the Crowd and Mother Knows Best that shot in Winnipeg this past summer. Onstage she has worked with Native Earth Performing Arts, Rainbow Stage and the Manitoba Theatre Centre including the national tour of John Hirsch's famous production of The Dybbuk. She is delighted to share A Christmas Carol at Dalnavert this season as Ellen Terry OBE. Miss Terry was born in 1848, the third of eleven children in a family of actors. She began appearing onstage at age eight and was famous for her beautiful elocution and the emotional depth of her work. She would like to thank well-known Dickens performer John D. Huston for inspiration and dedicate these performances to the loving memory of her nephew Max who lives in her heart forever, but especially at Christmas.
Duration: approximately 100 minutes, appropriate for ages 15 and up
Call to reserve your tickets soon, as tickets always sell out quickly for this popular holiday presentation. Reserve by calling Dalnavert Museum at 204-943-2835. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for youths.
Posted: 20 November 2011
New Memoir by Winnipeg Abortion Doctor
The bitter debate about abortion in the 1990s led to an attempted murder that shattered Dr. Jack Fainman’s shoulder and life. At the time, Fainman was the Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Winnipeg’s Victoria Hospital. He had performed therapeutic abortions but he had also delivered more than 5,000 babies.
They Shoot Doctors, Don’t They?, a memoir of Fainman’s life as a doctor, has just been published by Great Plains Publications. It begins in Winnipeg’s North End and takes us to Chicago where he trained in his specialty and to the bedsides of thousands of women who gave birth with his guidance. Former Manitoba attorney general Roland Penner wrote the book with Dr. Fainman and adds the legal context governing the abortion issue both then and now.
The book will be launched at McNally Robinson Booksellers on Wednesday, 16 November 2011 at 7:00 PM.
They Shoot Doctors, Don’t They?
by Jack Fainman and Roland Penner
Great Plains Publications
ISBN 978-1-926531-17-5Posted: 6 November 2011
New Book on Noted Gimli Teacher
Winnipeg author and historian Audrhea Lande has published a new book on noted Gimli school teacher Sigurbjorg Stefansson. Entitled “With Love to You All, Bogga S.”: Stories and Letters from the Remarkable Life of Sigurbjorg Stefansson, the book is published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing of Regina, Saskatchewan.
Here is the inspiring story of a woman ahead of her time. Living in an era when women were schooled to home and family, Sigurbjorg Stefansson became a citizen of the world, an intrepid traveller, a beloved teacher, and a political activist. Rising from a childhood of utter poverty in the wilderness of 1905 Saskatchewan, she came to be a noted community philanthropist. Audrhea Lande has written an unusual biography, a thoughtful examination of the way political and cultural forces can shape a life. Told through photos, interviews, newspaper clippings, archival materials and Sigurbjorg’s own letters—always signed “With Love to You All, Bogga S”—here is a window into the life of a woman grounded in her community, with soaring ideals and a spirit that strove to realize them.
Copies of the book are available at McNally Robinson Booksellers (Winnipeg).
“With Love to You All, Bogga S.”: Stories and Letters from the Remarkable Life of Sigurbjorg Stefansson
by Audrhea Lande
Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing (Regina, Saskatchewan)
ISBN 978-1-894431-62-0
$28.95See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Sigurbjorg Stefansson (1897-1985)
Posted: 6 November 2011
Historic Milner House Receives Another Reprieve
The Great-West Life Assurance Company, founded in Winnipeg and now one of the largest insurance companies in North America, has been seeking to have the Milner House, situated at 51 Balmoral Street in Winnipeg, demolished. When the house was first constructed in 1909 for businessman William E. Milner, the street was quiet and residential. Gradually, through time, Great-West has purchased all the properties on the east side of the street, removing the buildings and eventually intending to use the space to expand its employee parking lot.
Milner House is the last house remaining on the block and, after the last surviving member of the Milner family moved out in 1991, its fate seemed sealed. Repeated plans through the 2000s to move the house to another site have failed, in view of the high associated cost.
In late October, the latest request by Great-West to remove Milner House from the City’s Building Conservation List was turned down by the Standing Policy Committee on Downtown Development, Heritage and Riverbank Management. Advocates for preservation of the house, including Heritage Winnipeg and the West Broadway Development Corporation, hope to work with Great-West to find a viable alternate solution that will ensure the preservation of Milner House.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Milner House (51 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg)
Posted: 6 November 2011
Carman Group Raising Funds to Move Boyne School
A group at Carman, Manitoba is trying to raise $75,000 to move the Boyne School from its present site along Highway 3 east of Carman, to the museum grounds of King’s Park in Carman. The funds would cover the cost of moving the building, putting it on a new foundation, and restoring it as a museum attraction.
The group, led by local resident Trish Aubin, is applying for grants and seeking support from school alumni for the project. They have already received a cheque for $2,500 toward their goal.
Boyne School, built in 1930, has been designated as a Municipal Heritage Site by the Rural Municipality of Dufferin. It has been vacant since 1966.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Boyne School No. 21 (1872-1966)
Pembina Valley Online: 2012 Remains the Goal for the Boyne School Project
Posted: 5 November 2011
Heritage Advocates to Rescue Old Barn
The Fox Barn near Emerson
Click to enlargeHeritage advocates at Emerson, Manitoba are working to save the distinctive Fox Barn, which is slowly falling down. This fall, they have enlisted the help of a local contractor to remove the tower from the crumbling barn. Next spring, its roof and walls will be carefully taken apart as a prelude to reassembling the pieces to produce a stronger structure that will hopefully stand for many more years.
Those interested in helping with the restoration project, with volunteer labour or funds, should contact Wayne Arseny at warseny@mymts.net.
Posted: 5 November 2011
Funding Announced for Fort Dufferin Conservation
On Friday, 4 November 2011, in a ceremony at the Emerson Town Hall, the Honourable Vic Toews, MP for Provencher, announced funding for improving the infrastructure at the Fort Dufferin National Historic Site.
Fort Dufferin, located near Emerson, played an important role in asserting Canada’s sovereignty over Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. Established in 1872, Fort Dufferin was initially the base camp for the North American Boundary Commission which surveyed the 49th parallel. On 8 July 1874, the camp became the assembly point for the North-West Mounted Police’s “March West.” It later served as a police post in the winter of 1875 and became the immigration station and gateway into Manitoba for some 18,600 settlers arriving via steamboat on the Red River between 1875 and 1879. Although designated a national historic site in 1937, only a few of the property’s original buildings remain today.
The site will be managed by the Post Road Heritage Group in partnership with the Town of Emerson. Through Parks Canada’s National Historic Sites Cost-Sharing Program, the federal government will contribute half of the costs, up to $21,000, to prepare a conservation plan that will look at options for stabilizing buildings at Fort Dufferin, including cost estimates. Already, one of two original barns at the site, shown above in an MHS photo from 2006, has fallen down.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fort Dufferin (Emerson)
Parks Canada News Release: Fort Dufferin National Historic Site
Parks Canada Backgrounder: Fort Dufferin National Historic Site
Posted: 5 November 2011
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