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Project will rebuild Mounted Police barracks in Fort Macleod By CAROLINE BOSCHMAN Wat tn paraf inding boxes full of old papers needing to be sorted could haunt many a man. But Doran Degenstein and his fellow Riders of the Plain relish the thought of going through a box of papers recently found in Fort Macleod’s Presbyterian Church hall, papers that once belonged to the North West Mounted Police. The papers will eventually become part of the soon-to-be reconstructed NWMP barracks. Saturday, they donned their period costumes to take part in a groundbreaking at the site. Livingstone-Macleod MLA Dave Coutts and Senator Joyce Fairbairn did the honours the old-fashioned way — with horses and plough. “The reconstruction of this site is a tremendously significant event,” said RCMP Sgt. Don Ross. The mystique surrounding Canada’s Mounties is known far and wide, due in large part to the seeds planted by the 300 men who set out from Winnipeg in the summer of 1874, Ross said. They likely didn’t realize the legacy they were creating but the pride and honour of being an officer live on in the 50,000-member force of today. “I don't think we have any realization of what they overcame,” Ross said. The first fort established by the NWMP in 1874 was on an island in the Oldman River. The site was prone to flooding and they moved to higher ground in 1884, now adjacent to Highway 3. The Riders of the Plain, leaseholder of the site, will start with seven of the 32 buildings that once housed the NWMP, the Royal North West Mounted Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from 1884 until 1922. Two of the original buildings will also be moved back to the site. Saturday was the chance to celebrate the culmination of two year’s work by community partners. The project is going ahead thanks to a $2.3-million provincial Centennial Legacy grant. Phase One of the reconstruction will see the completion of the surgeon's residence originally built in 1899. It will house a visitors centre, gift shop and administration headquarters. Then comes the building of the largest barn and a tack room. Big enough to house 49 horses, it will be used for troop horses and horses for other events. A wagon shed large enough to accommodate 40 wagons comes next. Phase Two and Three, in 2003 and 2004, could include a theatre, a bowling alley, a blacksmith, wheelwright and carpenter shop, interpretive centre and restoration centre. It is destined to be completed in 2005 and will provide visitors a look at NWMP life in the community before 1900. The Legacy grant will also go toward other community projects, including some refurbishing at the Empress Theatre and the Fort Museum. Partners in the project include the Fort Museum, Fort Macleod and District Agricultural Society, the Main Street program, the Empress Theatre Society and the Riders of the Plain. “It’s important for us to develop (Fort Macleod’s) history and leave it as a legacy,” said Mayor Bill Hart. “I think it'll be good for all of the stakeholders, the town, the area, the province and the country as a whole and, of course, the RCMP,” said Ross. . »£ BALD PHOTO BY CAROLINE BOSCHMAN MLA Dave Coutts performs the ceremonial groundbreaking the old-fashioned way Saturday, with a plow.
Newspaper Details
Lethbridge Herald
Lethbridge, Alberta, CA
Sun, Oct 06, 2002
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
CA 30 Jul 2026
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