The Postcard
A postcard that was published by the Valentine & Sons' Publishing Co. Ltd. of Montreal and Toronto. The card was printed in Great Britain.
Note the people sitting in the upper level of the gatehouse.
The card was posted in Calgary, Alberta using a 2 cent stamp on Wednesday the 9th. October 1912 to:
Mrs. R. Bailey,
11, Clifford Street,
South Wigston,
Nr. Leicester,
England.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Dear Mater,
Arrived safely at Calgary.
Will write more later.
Your affectionate Son,
W."
Fort Garry
Fort Garry was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in what is now downtown Winnipeg.
Fort Garry was established in 1822, although its first iteration was destroyed in 1826 by severe flooding. The trading post was rebuilt in 1836, and served as the administrative centre for the Red River Colony.
From 1869 to 1870, the fort was briefly occupied by Louis Riel and his Métis followers during the Red River Rebellion.
The fort was demolished in the 1880's to make way for Winnipeg's Main Street, although the fort's gate remains (shown in the photograph).
The site of the former fort was designated as a part of a larger National Historic Site in 1924. Development of a provincial heritage site on the historic site of Fort Garry began in the early 21st. century.
History of Fort Garry
Fort Garry was established by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1822 on or near the site of the North West Company's Fort Gibraltar established by John Wills in 1810 and destroyed by Governor Semple's men in 1816 during the Pemmican War.
Fort Garry was named after Nicholas Garry, deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. It served as the centre of the fur trade within the Red River Colony.
In 1826, a severe flood destroyed the fort.
The fort was rebuilt in 1836 by HBC to help facilitate the administrative and supply needs for the Red River Colony. The new fort was named Upper Fort Garry to differentiate it from "the Lower Fort," or Lower Fort Garry, 32 kilometres (20 mi) downriver, which was established in 1831.
Throughout the mid-to-late 19th. century, Upper Fort Garry played a minor role in the actual trading of furs, but was central to the administration of the HBC and the surrounding settlement.
The Council of Assiniboia, the administrative and judicial body of the Red River Colony mainly run by Hudson's Bay Company officials, met at Upper Fort Garry.
In 1869, the Hudson's Bay Company agreed to surrender its monopoly in the North-West, including Upper Fort Garry.
In late 1869 and early 1870, the fort was seized by Louis Riel and his Métis followers during the Red River Rebellion. After the Rebellion, the area around the fort continued to grow.
In 1873, the city of Winnipeg was established, and the name Fort Garry was no longer used. In 1881-1884 the majority of the fort was demolished in order to straighten Main Street (it was at Main Street and Assiniboine Avenue.
The Legacy of Fort Garry
Fort Garry, along with the sites of nearby Forts Rouge and Gibraltar, were collectively designated a National Historic Site in 1924.
Together, the three sites are illustrative of the evolution of the fur trade in Western Canada, from exploration and expansion westward (Fort Rouge, established in 1738 by the French), to the dominance of the North West Company (Fort Gibraltar, established in 1807) and finally the ascendancy of the Hudson's Bay Company (Fort Garry).
The gate at Fort Garry constitutes the only above-ground remains of this succession of forts.
Although only the fort's main gate remains today, the name "Fort Garry" lives on through various institutions and businesses:
-- An area of Winnipeg running along the Red River south of the original fort is called Fort Garry.
-- The hotel beside the fort is called the Fort Garry Hotel, which was originally constructed for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway company. To see the hotel, please search for the tag 23MWT98
-- Fort Street and Garry Street are on either side of the hotel.
-- Many companies, such as Fort Garry Industries and the Fort Garry Brewing Company, have adopted the name.
-- The Fort Garry Horse has been a component of the Winnipeg military garrison throughout the 20th. and into the 21st. centuries.
-- On the 15th. June 1938, Canada Post issued 'Fort Garry Gate, Winnipeg', a 20¢ stamp.
The Provincial Heritage Park
Work has begun on a project to establish a heritage park in the area surrounding what remains of Upper Fort Garry. In the spring of 2010, a bill passed the House in the Manitoba Legislature, entitled 'The Upper Fort Garry Heritage Provincial Park Act'.
The stone gate tower, the last standing structure from Fort Garry. It is now used as the Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park Gate Entrance.
In 2007, a development company, Crystal Developers, sought to build an apartment complex next to the fort's original "footprint". However, the Friends of Upper Fort Garry, a group dedicated to developing a historical interpretive park at the site, was convened to oppose them.
The plan called for an interpretive centre just outside the old fort's walls, and a large surface parking lot that would have been placed closer to the walls than the apartment itself.
After a City of Winnipeg-imposed deadline to raise funds to build a park on the site was nearing, Crystal Developers decided to grant the Friends an additional two years to finish raising the needed funds.
Crystal ultimately bowed out of its proposed development plans. Two years later the City of Winnipeg approved the construction by Crystal Developers of a 25-storey apartment tower just west of the original location, on Assiniboine Ave.
The Friends raised enough funds to purchase the buildings already on the site of their proposed heritage park, including a Petro-Canada gas station.
The only building that was allowed to stay untouched was the current home of the Manitoba Club, which started as an organization in 1874, only one year after the incorporation of Winnipeg. The existing Manitoba Club building was completed in 1905. The historic Fort Garry Hotel across the street was built shortly thereafter, in 1913.
The plans for the future heritage park at the site of Upper Fort Garry were officially unveiled in May 2010. The park opened to the public on the 6th. August 6, 2015, with development still to come.
King Nicholas of Montenegro
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, on the 9th. October 1912, King Nicholas of Montenegro called on his subjects to join in a "Holy War" against Turkey, as Detchitch fell to the Montenegrins.
Romania's Neutrality
Also on that day, Romania assured Bulgaria of its neutrality.
A World Series Draw
Also on the 9th. October 1912, the second game of the World Series ended with no winner, with the teams tying 6-6 after 11 innings before darkness forced an early end.
This meant that the second game would have to be replayed. The Boston Red Sox had won the first game, 4-3.
