Fort Walsh

Fort Walsh
Type Fort
Location Town of Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada
Nearest city Maple Creek No. 111
Established 1873 trading post; 1878 Headquarters NWMP
Founder North-West Mounted Police
Built 1875 (original); c. 1940 (reconstructed)
Governing body Parks Canada
Important events Cypress Hills Massacre
Website Canadian Encyclopedia Fort Walsh
Fort Walsh
Cypress Hills (Canada)
Type Fort
Site information
Controlled by North-West Mounted Police
Site history
Built 1875 (1875)
In use until 1883 (1883)
Fate Demolished, later reconstructed as national historic site
Battles/wars Cypress Hills Massacre
Garrison information
Past
commanders		 James Morrow Walsh

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.[1] The fort was intended to curb the illegal whiskey trade, protect Canada's nearby border with the United States, and aid with native policy.[1] 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.[1]

The site of the fort was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924.[2] The fort was later reconstructed in the 1940s to breed horses for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Musical Ride.

Tourists can tour the fort's buildings, the former townsite, cemeteries and the whiskey trading post.[3][4] On September 28, 2004, Fort Walsh became part of the Cypress Hills Dark-sky preserve.

On 28 June 1985 Canada Post issued "Fort Walsh, Sask., circa 1880", one of the 20 stamps in the "Forts Across Canada" series (1983–1985). The stamps are perforated  12 1⁄2 × 13 and were printed by Ashton-Potter Limited based on the designs by Rolf P. Harder.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Fort Walsh National Historic Site". Parks Canada. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
  2. ↑ Fort Walsh. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  3. ↑ Russell, E. T. Pete (Edmund Thomas Pete) (c. 1997), What's in a Name, Calgary : Fifth House Publishers, ISBN 1895618983
  4. ↑ "Fort Walsh National Historic Site of Canada". Parks Canada. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  5. ↑ Canada Post issued 'Fort Walsh, Sask., circa 1880'

Coordinates: 49°34′22″N 109°52′53″W / 49.572747°N 109.881456°W / 49.572747; -109.881456

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