Battleford - History

History

See also: History of Northwest Territories capital cities

The town was founded in 1875 as a fur trading post and North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) fort. Its post office opened 1877. Between 1876 and 1883, Battleford was the territorial capital of the North-West Territories (now Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nunavut, northern Quebec, northern Ontario and the Northwest Territories) and the NWMP fort (Fort Battleford) located there played an important role in the 1885 North-West Rebellion. The Fred Light Museum is a municipal heritage property (c. 1911) on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Government House, the seat of government of the NWT from 1876 to 1883, burned down on July 7, 2003.

Read more about this topic:  Battleford

Famous quotes containing the word history:

    Bias, point of view, fury—are they ... so dangerous and must they be ironed out of history, the hills flattened and the contours leveled? The professors talk ... about passion and point of view in history as a Calvinist talks about sin in the bedroom.
    Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897–1973)

    Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.
    William Faulkner (1897–1962)

    I cannot be much pleased without an appearance of truth; at least of possibility—I wish the history to be natural though the sentiments are refined; and the characters to be probable, though their behaviour is excelling.
    Frances Burney (1752–1840)