Winnipeg, MB - One of the City's most historic locations will now be recognized with a park named in its honour. Fort Douglas Park, formerly known as Waterfront Drive Park, is located on Waterfront Drive north of Alexander Avenue.
"The Fort Douglas Park site is one of Winnipeg's most significant historical locations," said Mayor Sam Katz. "I think that it's important for all Winnipeggers to be aware of the role that this area played in the establishment of our city."
“Honouring The Fort Douglas Park contributes to a deeper understanding of the rich cultural history of our city,” said Councillor Mike Pagtakhan, Point Douglas Ward.
The site of Fort Douglas, which was the Red River Settlement fort and the first fort near the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers associated with the Hudson’s Bay Company, is the most important historic site in The Exchange District. The fort was named after Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, whose humanitarian efforts on behalf of displaced Scottish Highlanders led to the establishment of the first permanent European agricultural settlement on the northern great plains.
At the heart of the settlement, the fort was the first significant structure in the area that became today’s Exchange District. Upon completion in 1815, Fort Douglas became the residence of the Governor of Assiniboia. Assiniboia was the name given by Lord Selkirk to the 116,000 sq. mi. land grant he received in 1811 from the Hudson’s Bay Company. The Earl resided at Fort Douglas in the summer of 1817 and at the time Lord Selkirk foresaw a great city along the Red River, imagining today’s Winnipeg.
“On behalf of all Winnipeggers of Scottish ancestry, the Society is delighted the City has now formalized this historic name for this most important historic site in the Exchange District,” said John Perrin, President of the St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg. “Our sincere thanks are extended to Mayor Katz, Councillor Pagtakhan, the Lord Selkirk-West Kildonan Community Committee and Council’s Standing Policy Committee on Protection and Community Services for their support and participation in this decision.”
As construction of Fort Douglas began in 1813, the park renaming commemorates the 200th anniversary of this earliest beginning in The Exchange District.