Fort Dufferin is a former Canadian government post near the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

at Emerson,

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. The fort was used during the 1870s as a base for the North American Boundary Commission and the

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...

(NWMP), and as an immigration station. It was designated a

national historic site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

in 1937.

History

Fort Dufferin was constructed in 1872 on a site along the west bank of the Red River three kilometres north of the present-day border station at Emerson. Named for Governor General

Lord Dufferin Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (21 June 182612 February 1902) was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society. In his youth he was a popular figure in the court of Queen Vict ...

, it was originally used as a base for the Canadian-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

contingent of the North American Boundary Commission, which was tasked with surveying the international border along the

49th parallel north The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49 ° north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The city of Paris is about south of the 49th parallel and is the large ...

, as agreed upon by the British and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

governments in the

Treaty of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 betw ...

. After the commission's surveyors moved west along the

Boundary Commission Trail The Boundary Commission Trail was a trail in western Canada used by the North American Boundary Commission to survey the Canada–United States border starting in 1872. The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) also used the trail in their March West in ...

, the fort was used by the NWMP as an assembly point prior to their

March West The March West was the initial journey of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) to the Canadian Prairies, Canadian prairies, made between July 8 and October 9, 1874. It was the result of the force being deployed to what is now southern Alberta in ...

in 1874. Members of the force arrived at Fort Dufferin, coming from the east through the United States, marking the only time the entire force was ever assembled at one place. On July 8, 1874, the NWMP moved out and began their journey west to bring law and order to the

North-West Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. The NWMP also used Fort Dufferin as its Manitoba headquarters, before moving it to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

in 1875. From 1875 to 1879, the Canadian government used Fort Dufferin as an immigration station for steamboats entering the country along the Red River, including thousands of

Russian Mennonites The Russian Mennonites (german: Russlandmennoniten it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire occasionally Ukrainian Mennonites) are a group of Mennonites who are descendants of Dutch people, Dutch Anabaptists wh ...

of the

West Reserve The West Reserve was a block settlement plot of land in Manitoba set aside by the Government of Canada exclusively for settlement by Russian Mennonite settlers in 1876. After signing Treaty 1 with the Anishinabe and Swampy Cree First Nations, the C ...

, and as a quarantine station for livestock. Following completion of the international rail line on the east side of the river in 1878, steamboat traffic on the river ceased and the immigration station at Fort Dufferin was no longer needed. In 1879, the fort was abandoned and the Canadian government sold the property.

Historical Site

Fort Dufferin was designated a National Historic Site in 1937 and is open to the public during the summer. A cairn and plaque mark the historic site and some of the buildings, though badly deteriorated, still stand. Ongoing preservation efforts are being carried out by several groups, including local residents, the Canadian government, and the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

Veteran's Association.

References

External links

Parks Canada profile

Fort Dufferin at Manitoba Historical Society
{{NHSC Emerson, Manitoba North-West Mounted Police forts National Historic Sites in Manitoba Canada–United States border

History

Historical Site

See also

References

External links