Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 4

The Big House, Lower Fort Garry

by George Ingram

Abstract

At all major trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company, a large house was built to accommodate officers of the Company. The Big House at Lower Fort Garry, an imposing stone structure, served in this and other capacities. Many important visitors shared the warm hospitality within its walls during the fort's ownership by the Company. In 1913, when the fort was leased by the Motor Country Club of Winnipeg, the Big House became a centre of social activity, a role which it played until the early 1960s when Lower Fort Garry was given to Canada by the Hudson's Bay Company.