Collection search - Main Street, Winnipeg, 1870

Winnipeg was incorporated as a city on November 8, 1873. Previous to that date, it was called Fort Garry.
Fort Garry was established in 1822 as a Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) trading post at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in what is now Winnipeg. Fort Garry served as the centre of fur trade within the Red River Colony. It was renamed Upper Fort Garry in 1835 to differentiate it from "the Lower Fort," or Lower Fort Garry, established in 1831. Upper Fort Garry 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 met at Upper Fort Garry. The fort was seized by Louis Riel and his Métis followers during the Red River Rebellion (Red River Resistance). The majority of the fort was demolished in 1881-1884.