Fort Calgary
Fort Calgary was a North-West Mounted Police outpost at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers in present-day Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally named Fort Brisebois, after the outpost's first commander, the outpost was renamed Fort Calgary in June 1876.
| Fort Calgary | |
|---|---|
| Native name Mohkinstsis; Wîchîspa; Guts'ists'i | |
North-West Mounted Police with Kainai Nation members at Fort Calgary, 1878 | |
| Etymology | Calgary House, a castle at Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull, Scotland |
| Location | 750 9th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Coordinates | 51°02′43″N 114°02′44″W |
| Area | 12 hectares (30 acres) |
| Built | 1875 |
| Original use | North-West Mounted Police outpost |
| Demolished | 1914 |
| Current use | Museum, park, social centre |
| Governing body | Fort Calgary Preservation Society |
| Owner | City of Calgary |
| Website | www |
National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Official name | Fort Calgary National Historic Site of Canada |
| Designated | 15 May 1925 |
The outpost was built in 1875 as a part of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) larger effort to curtail American rum and whisky runners in the region, and to establish relationships with the Indigenous peoples of the territory. The fort was expanded in 1882 after it was designated as a "district post". The NWMP continued to use the fort until 1914 when the site was sold to Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. The fort was demolished to make way for a rail terminal.
The site was later purchased by the municipal government of Calgary in 1973, with work on an interpretive centre taking place in 1977. The site was reopened as a historic site and museum in 1978, with the museum initially documenting the NWMP and its role in the area. The scope of the museum was later reoriented in 1995 to focus on the local history of Calgary. During the 1990s, reconstructions of several buildings that once stood at Fort Calgary took place at the historic site.