personally taken in August 2006
The cache is NOT at the posted location.
Lower Fort Garry was built by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1830, on the western bank of the Red River. The original Fort Garry in Winnipeg was destroyed by a flood in 1826, prompting the move. It never became the intended administrative center due to the distance, so Upper Fort Garry was rebuilt near the original.
The first buildings built in 1830 were the company store, small warehouse and trader’s office, and governor’s residence. In the 1840s, the fort’s signature walls were completed to make the fort appear more important and impressive, not actually protect the fort. By that time, the grounds included an ice house, warehouse, powder magazine, and more lodging. The Fort acted as a supply depot for the Red River settlement and the surrounding native populations.
Over the course of the 19th century, Lower Fort Garry evolved into a multifunctional facility. It served not only as a trading post but also as a transportation hub, agricultural center, and administrative headquarters for the HBC. The fort was involved in various aspects of daily life, including farming, blacksmithing, and other activities necessary for the sustenance and operations of the community within its walls.
It was a site for treaty negotiations between the Canadian government and Indigenous peoples. It also played a role in the Red River Resistance, a series of events that culminated in the establishment of the province of Manitoba. The resistance was driven by concerns over land rights and political representation, and Lower Fort Garry was briefly seized by Louis Riel and Métis supporters during this period.
The Hudson’s Bay Company owned the fort until 1951, during which it was a prison, a mental hospital, a residence, and a country club. It became a national historic site in 1958 and uses costumed interpreters between May and September.
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One of the oldest roads in the state, Fort Road was originally built by the federal government after Fort Ridgely was completed in 1853-54. Supplies were shipped from Fort Snelling to Traverse des Sioux, then transported by wagon to Fort Ridgely.
Nicollet County Road 5 runs more than 42 miles from its eastern terminus at its intersection with US Highway 169 in St Peter to the Renville County line. Old Fort Road presumably extended from Traverse des Sioux, although the portion running through the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College has been blocked off. Fort Road as an address runs from the western edge of St Peter to the end of CR-5.
In an ideal world, a paved trail would have been installed when the road was refurbished in the early 2010s. This planned geocache trail will have to suffice, but won’t alleviate my anxiety when biking here.