Finding the right place in 1846 . . .

It's 1846, and my characters in Rivers of Stone are slogging through mosquito-infested river country, somewhere south of modern day Winnipeg, which is some 1,000 miles east of where I sit by my keyboard on this cold spring morning, with a cup of hot tea nearby.

I'd rather be writing the story, filling in missing scenes, but this morning, I'm looking over my maps and double checking the names and locations used for Fort Garry. 

Finally, thanks to the Official Blog of Heritage Winnipeg, I've sorted most of my questions out.

Back in the fur trading era, folks met at the Forks (currently Winnipeg, formerly the Red River Settlement), where the Assiniboine and Red Rivers met. They traded furs, partied, and exchanged stories. Voyageurs and former employees of Hudson's Bay retired here, married, and raised families. Here, Fort Gibraltar was built in 1809. 

1821: Fort Gibraltar was renamed Fort Garry after Nicholas Garry facilitated that famous merger of the Hudson's Bay Company with the North West Company. After serious flooding, by 1830, the fort was in deplorable condition.

1831: Governor George Simpson, dubbed the "little Emperor" because of his strong leadership style (and short height), decided to build a new 'Fort Garry,' about a day-long journey north of the Forks. No one was happy about this. But he lived here with his English wife, Frances, between 1830-1833, until she lost a child and returned to England. Simpson then moved to Lachine.

1835: Chief Factor Alexander Christie approved the building of a new Fort Garry -- right back at the Forks. Dubbed "Upper Fort Garry," the new fort featured a 15-foot stone wall and stone towers (or bastions) at the corners. A provincial park in the center of Winnipeg honors this location. 

The northern, older, and downriver location was now called "Lower Fort Garry."

As my characters have traveled to both Lower and Upper Fort Garry, I can now refer to them properly in my story. 

But which Fort Garry was nicknamed 'Fort Stone'? I'm guessing Upper Fort Garry, but I could be wrong. 

And I was! Stone Fort is the nickname of Lower Fort Garry. I discovered this as Treaty 1 between Queen Victoria and First Nation governments was signed at Lower Fort Garry in 1871. The treaty is named after Stone Fort. Yippee!  

But given the amount of stone used at Upper Fort Garry, the nickname could have been used here as well, yes?

Upper Fort Garry 1871 from Souvenir Postcard

Now to move on to my next two questions: Where were Richard Lane and Mary (Marie) McDermott (McDermot) married?  And, were HBC's annual council meetings held at York Factory or Moose Factory? Or did they use both locations? Aargh! Revision!  I'm going to write a scene or two instead.

Much more lovely information on the tangled history of Red River and the Hudson's Bay Company is available on Jean Hall's encyclopedic resource: Provisional Government of Assiniboia. Time to warm up my tea and write.