Location: 750 - 9th Avenue S.E.
Phone #: (403) 290-1875
Website: www.fortcalgary.com
Rates: Click here for admission info

Watch history unfold before your eyes. Tour through the exhibits, experience the environment, the lifestyle and events that make Calgary's history a truly worthwhile story.

Calgary's past is full of colourful characters, exciting events and fascinating facts. There were booms and busts, heroes, moments of glory and times of tragedy. But one common thread tied them all together: the men and women who settled Calgary lived their lives with a spirit of tremendous optimism. And that spirit continues to thrive in our city today.

The History of Fort Calgary

In 1875, amid a sea of scarlet jackets and thundering hooves, "F" Troop of the North West Mounted Police crossed the Bow River to build Fort Calgary.

Under the command of Inspector Ephrem Brisebois, they were instructed to suppress whiskey traffic along the Bow River. They chose a location at the forks of the Bow and Elbow Rivers to build their fort. Sub-Inspector Denny of the Mounted Police recalled: "in trenches three feet deep we set upright 12 foot pine logs side by side .... the pole roofs were covered with earth and the log walls mudded with clay."

The construction of Fort Calgary was hastily completed in about six weeks. Living conditions were hard in the new buildings. Visiting NWMP surgeon R.B. Nevitt reported "...we found ... the water just pouring into the rooms and all the mudding falling out of the chinks... in fact the condition of things was quite deplorable."

In 1882, the fort palisade was torn down and the new substantial buildings of Calgary Barracks were constructed. A fire destroyed one of the men's barracks a few years later and it was replaced by an impressive two-storey building that could house 100 men. 

The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway bought the land in 1914 and demolished all the fort buildings except Superintendent Deane's house. (see Deane House for more information about the life of this house)