Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques

Fort Ellice Trail Junction

For most of the nineteenth century the Canadian grasslands were criss-crossed with thousands of miles of connecting trails. They were largely made by Red River cart brigades connecting the fur-trading posts with each other and with the buffalo hunting grounds. One of the major trails wound its way from the Red River settlement to Fort Edmonton some 900 miles to the north-west. The section leading from Fort Garry to this district was known as the Fort Ellice Trail. In its time it was used by Indians, traders, hunters, missionaries, Mounted Police, surveyors and settlers.