Lower Fort Garry was built in 1830 by the Hudson's Bay Company on the western bank of the Red River, 20 miles (32 km) north of the original Fort Garry, which is now in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Treaty 1 was signed there.
A devastating flood destroyed Fort Garry in 1826, prompting the company's then governor, George Simpson, to search for a safer location down river. Governor Simpson chose the site of Lower Fort Garry because of its high ground and location below the St. Andrew's Rapids, eliminating a time-consuming portage of heavy fur packs and York boats. However, the fort never became the administrative centre it was intended, since most of the population of the area was centred near The Forks and objected to the extra travel required to do business at the new fort. As a result, Upper Fort Garry was rebuilt in stone at The Forks, very near the original Fort Garry site.
Read more about Lower Fort Garry: Store and Supply Depot, Treaty No. 1, Later Uses, Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site
Famous quotes containing the word fort:
“The newspapers are the ruling power. Any other government is reduced to a few marines at Fort Independence. If a man neglects to read the Daily Times, government will go down on its knees to him, for this is the only treason these days.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)