History
The eastern point of the neighbourhood was a traditional gathering place for Aboriginal tribes for ceremonial rites (while The Forks nearby was traditionally used for trading purposes). This is believed to have occurred prior to European contact, and continued until urbanization in the 1870s.
In 1812, this first group of Selkirk Settlers arrived in Point Douglas and began raising wheat crops on the point and along the Red River, becoming the first agrarian colony west of the Great Lakes.
As the Red River Colony (as the Winnipeg region was known) grew, a small cluster of commercial establishments developed on the Fort Garry road at Point Douglas by 1862, notably those of William Fonseca and Edmond Barber. After the incorporation of the City of Winnipeg in 1873, Point Douglas developed a neighborhood. Several notable citizens resided there, including merchant James Ashdown and Manitoba premier John Norquay. Among the houses of these men, there developed more modest cottages, industry such as Brown and Rutherford, a lumber company established in Point Douglas in 1872.
In 1881, Point Douglas was selected as the location that the Canadian Pacific Railway would cross the Red River. This move solidified Point Douglas as a choice location for industrial firms, who could take advantage of proximity to the railway. With the railroad completed by 1885, Winnipeg experienced an intense period of growth, and by 1914, Point Douglas had become a densely-populated working-class neighbourhood, with many immigrants from Eastern Europe.
Read more about this topic: North Point Douglas
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