Fort Gibraltar

 (1810-1826) - A North West Company fur trading fort established in 1810 at present day Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Captured and destroyed in 1816 by Red River colonists. Rebuilt in 1817. Merged into the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821 and continued operation under the Hudson's Bay Company name. Renamed Fort Garry in 1822. Destroyed by a flood in 1826. Also known as Fort Garry.

History of Fort Gibraltar
In 1810 the North West Company (NWC) built Fort Gibraltar as a fur trading post. Just north of Fort Gibraltar the competing Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) built Fort Douglas which was completed in 1815. There constant conflict between the Scottish HBC employees the French NWC employees.

On 17 Mar 1816, Fort Gibraltar was captured and destroyed by Robert Semple, Governor of the Red River Colony. The NWC was given permission to rebuild the fort in 1817.

On 26 Mar 1821, The North West Company merged with the Hudson's Bay Company under the Hudson's Bay Company name and Fort Gibraltar became an HBC Post. The fort was renamed Fort Garry in 1822 and was made unusable by a flood in 1826. A replacement for the fort was constructed further back from the forks and named Upper Fort Garry. The flood damaged Fort Garry structure was visible for years and was known as "Old Fort Garry."

Abandoned in 1826.

Current Status
No remains of the original forts at their original locations but there are interpretive panels that explain the original sites located in what is now The Forks National Historic Site of Canada. The forks is now a popular park and recreation area with a walking bridge across the Assiniboine River to South Point at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers.

A reconstructed Fort Gibraltar is located in Whittier Park on the other side of the Red River in St. Boniface. The replica was built in the late 1970s for the Festival du Voyageur. The replica is open in the summer with costumed interpreters of life as it was in 1815.

See Also:
 * North West Company
 * North West Company Forts
 * Hudson's Bay Company
 * Hudson's Bay Company Forts

Sources:
 * Manitoba Historical Society - The Old Forts of Winnipeg, 1738-1927

Links:
 * North American Forts - Fort Gibraltar
 * Wikipedia - Fort Gibraltar