Fort Walsh
Encyclopedia
Fort Walsh is a National Historic Site of Canada that was a North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) fort and the site of the Cypress Hills Massacre
. Administered by Parks Canada
, it forms a constituent part of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park
.
The fort was built in June 1875, and was named for its builder, inspector James Morrow Walsh
. The fort was intended to curb the illegal whiskey trade, protect Canada's nearby border with the United States, and aid with native policy. These factors had been brought to public attention following the Cypress Hills Massacre of 1873, and resulted in Sir John A. Macdonald's establishment of the North-West Mounted Police. Fort Walsh served as the NWMP headquarters from 1878 to 1882. In 1883 the fort was closed and dismantled.
The fort was later reconstructed in the 1940s to breed horses for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
and the Musical Ride. Today tourists can tour the fort's buildings, the former townsite, cemeteries and the whiskey trading post.
On September 28, 2004, Fort Walsh became part of the Cypress Hills Dark-sky preserve.
Cypress Hills massacre
The Cypress Hills massacre occurred on June 1, 1873, in the Cypress Hills region of Battle Creek, North-West Territories , involving a group of American Bison hunters, American wolf hunters or 'wolfers', American and Canadian whiskey traders, Métis cargo haulers or 'freighters', and a camp of...
. Administered by Parks Canada
Parks Canada
Parks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
, it forms a constituent part of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park is an interprovincial park straddling the southern Alberta-Saskatchewan border, located southeast of Medicine Hat...
.
The fort was built in June 1875, and was named for its builder, inspector James Morrow Walsh
James Morrow Walsh
James Morrow Walsh, was a North West Mounted Police officer and the first Commissioner of the Yukon Territory....
. The fort was intended to curb the illegal whiskey trade, protect Canada's nearby border with the United States, and aid with native policy. These factors had been brought to public attention following the Cypress Hills Massacre of 1873, and resulted in Sir John A. Macdonald's establishment of the North-West Mounted Police. Fort Walsh served as the NWMP headquarters from 1878 to 1882. In 1883 the fort was closed and dismantled.
The fort was later reconstructed in the 1940s to breed horses for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
and the Musical Ride. Today tourists can tour the fort's buildings, the former townsite, cemeteries and the whiskey trading post.
On September 28, 2004, Fort Walsh became part of the Cypress Hills Dark-sky preserve.
See also
- List of National Historic Sites in Saskatchewan
- List of National Historic Sites
- National Historic Site
External links
- Summer in the Southwest - Feel the History of the Cypress Hills
- Parks Canada Fort Walsh National Historic Site of Canada - official site
- Canadian Encyclopedia Fort Walsh
- Fort Walsh National Historic Site
- The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan | Fort Walsh
- North-West Mounted Police Trail
- Photographs of Fort Walsh and Inspector Dickens
- Virtual Saskatchewan - Fort Walsh and the Mounties
- http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/fort_walsh.html Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan