In 1999 the R.C.M.P. will be celebrating their 125th anniversary of the
N.W.M.P. Trail, March West 99. It will take Constable Tom Lowden, the coordinator of this historic event, and his troop approximately 15 days to travel through our Heritage Region in Southern Manitoba.
Departure Date in Emerson May 8, 1999, time is running out.
Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail
Be a part of it all by planning ahead. A registration package is available if you would like to participate as a member of the March West. The Troop that Cst. Tom Lowden will be leading west will consist of 125 individuals dressed in the original Scarlet Uniform. You don't have to live in Canada to qualify but there are some conditions. If you are interested in receiving a registration package phone Cst. Tom Lowden at
1 - 204 - 984 - 0431
or
Email by Clicking Here.
The Map below will link you to the Sub-Regions.
The Boundary Commission Trail, following near the NWMP Trail, was a 1,600 kilometer prairie trail originally a migratory path of the buffalo and eventually became one of the favorite routes of southern Manitoba's natives as they traveled east and west between the Souris and the Red River. In historic times, the Manitoba section was followed by early explorers, fur traders, buffalo hunters and missionaries. Then, in 1873, it was selected by the International Boundary Commission for their principal supply route as they surveyed and marked the 49th parallel from the Red River to the Rockies as the border between Canada and the United States.
The southern Manitoba portion of the trail then became a natural choice for the first North West Mounted Police troops in 1874 in their trek west to establish law & order. Appointed by the Canadian Government, the NWMP, First Commissioner George Arthur French and his troop crossed the grassland, bush, coulees, and rivers. Shortly after, the Boundary Commission Trail became the main artery for the movement of settlers west.
It had long been noted as " the great highway of the southern portion of the British Dominion in the far West, " and the Boundary Commission NWMP Trail Association has organized commemorative trail rides for hundreds of people to recreate the momentous NWMP ride. Whether a planned event or a self-guided venture, be sure to visit the sites situated along the trail. Each town in the corresponding maps of eastern, central and western regions have a tale to tell and they all have accommodations to make your venture one of the most memorable. Be sure to take your time in planning your visit so that you can take in the activities each town has to offer.
On January 27, 1994 the first national Heritage Region in the Prairie Provinces and the fifth in Canada, came into existence. The Boundary Trail Heritage Region purpose is to enhance and enrich the quality of life within the twelve municipalities of southern Manitoba adjacent to the US boundary and between the Red River and the Saskatchewan border. The goal is to help residents and visitors appreciate their history, heritage and culture and to increase opportunities through marketing and promotion for local tourism and economic development.
For more information contact Frank Ptosnick at (204) 822-4576
A STORY FOR EVERY MILE
The Boundary Commission NWMP Trail Association, a southern Manitoba historical society, was contacted by a lady in southern England in 1988. At the turn of the century, she wrote, her grandparents had moved to southern Manitoba and she thought the Trail Association would be interested in having some of the old newspaper clippings and photographs her mother had kept from the time that she had lived near Manitou. Among these was an article from a 1913 Winnipeg paper, which spoke of the Commission Trail, the principal pioneer route through the Boundary Trail Heritage Region, as having "a story for every mile."
The story of the Boundary Trail Heritage Region extends back through the centuries to the origins of man and his settlements best known to archaeologists. Going back million of years, one comes to the prehistoric period, an era whose history is written in the rocks and streams of the Heritage Region, in the soils and landscape of the first row of municipalities bordering the International Boundary between the Red River and the Saskatchewan. Manitoba border.
From east to west, the dominant features of this landscape are the flat, level plains of the Red River Valley, the uplands of the Pembina Escarpment cut by the wandering channel of the Pembina River, and the Great Central Plain accentuated by the Turtle Mountains. It was the last that the adventurous explorer La Verendrye, wrote of as "the blue jewel of the prairies.
