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 stone cairn at the entrance to this site, near Emerson in the Municipality of Emerson-Franklin, bears three plaques. One plaque, erected in 1937 by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, describes the significance of Fort Dufferin and its role in the westward march of the newly formed North West Mounted Police. A second plaque, added in 1997, describes the North American Boundary Commission (1872-1876) that marked a portion of the boundary between Canada and the United States. A third plaque commemorates two sub-constables in the force, W. C. Brown and A. McIntosh, who died in 1874 at Fort Dufferin and were buried in unmarked graves near the site.
Stables at the former site of Fort Dufferin (2006)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Building at the former site of Fort Dufferin (2006)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Restored storage building and museum (October 2020)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Interior of the restored storage building and museum (October 2020)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Depression from former subterranean stables (October 2020)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Fort Dufferin latrine from 1872 (October 2020)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Fort Dufferin commemorative monument (August 2010)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite 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
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: 29 May 2023
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