| The NWMP left Fort
Whoop-Up with a guide from Fort Benton. The men
traveled thirty miles west, arriving at a site on the
Old Man River. Hiring the I. G. Baker Company of
Fort Benton to quickly construct shelter before winter
set in. Fort Macleod was the first post the NWMP
build. It bears the name of Colonel James F.
Macleod, the man who led the first force on its journey
west. |
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| The I. G. Baker
Company, financial agent for the Canadian government and
paymaster for the Mounties, headquartered its commercial
activities in southern Alberta at the fort. Along
the western branch of the Old Fort Trail, Fort MacLeod
was the command post of the NWMP until 1878 when it
headquarters transferred to Fort Walsh. By 1883
the primitive original post had outlived it
usefulness. A larger, more modern fort, built on
higher ground three miles to the west, replace the
original post in 1884 as the town of Fort Macleod grew
nearby. The fort closed in 1922. |
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