The Post Road was an important lifeline for Mennonites of the West Reserve. During night travel or blizzards, travellers easily became disoriented, and risked getting lost because the open prairie had no landmarks to guide them. In May of 1878 the first settlement leader, Isaak Mueller, sent a letter to all village mayors. It called for the marking of a road with posts from Emerson and across the reserve to Mountain City, located several miles southwest of Morden. The recently constructed Memorial Trail has twelve memorial sites to mark the general course of the Post Road. Each location is marked with replica posts and an informational lectern highlighting unique features of the locality
Stop #1 - Fort Dufferin
Our tour begins at Fort Dufferin, just north of Emerson, which was then the trading centre of the region. To get to Fort Dufferin, travel south on Highway #75, from Winnipeg toward Emerson. One mile before Emerson, at a magor intersection, you will see a tum-off going east. You will also notice KOA campground signs, which will take you almost all the way to Fort Dufferin. Tum east and follow the road until you come to a "T" in the road. Turn north and go past the KOA campground about one mile. Fort Dufferin, marked by several historic cairns, will be on the east side of the road. The Fort was named after the third Governor General of Canada, the Earl of Dufferin. It was established by the Boundary Trail Commission in 1872. In 1874 the Northwest Mounted Police began their ride west from Fort Dufferin to bring law and order to western Canada. Both of these trails or routes were somewhat different from what became the Mennonite Post Road. This road favoured the villages along the way. Bringing the first Mennonite families to the West Reserve were riverboats that docked at Fort Dufferin from July 1875 on. It was here where the Mennonites organized themselves, confirming their church leader, the Aeltester (Bishop) Johann Wiebe, and appointing a settlement director ( Obervorsteher ), Isaak Mueller. During their six week stay at the Fort, a number of people died and were buried somewhere nearby in unmarked graves. They also began to prepare village land allotments at this time. In late summer the families set out to establish their new homes. They built sod houses dug into the ground using minimal amounts of wood, and also broke some land before winter. The winter was harsh, but they survived.