Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques

Lord Selkirk
1771-1820

This plaque is erected in memory of one of Kirkcudbright's greatest sons. Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, born in 1771 in St. Mary's Isle.

Lord Selkirk's attempts to settle landless Scots overseas led to the founding of colonies in the present Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Manitoba. In 1820 in the midst of legal disputes concerning his Red River Settlement, Lord Selkirk died. Today, the centre of the original Red River Settlement, founded in 1812, forms part of Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, Canada.