The area growth and functional development of Winnipeg from 1870 to 1913

Abstract

With its central position on the North American continent, and in particular its location at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, Winnipeg played throughout its history a leading role in the transportation and commercial development of the Canadian Prairies. The rivers themselves and the Indian trails along their banks, provided access to the West, south, and north thus making "The Forks" - as the confluence of two rivers was commonly known - a prominent meeting and camping place for Indians, trappers and fur-traders. In the 19th century fur companies erected their trading posts here, and the nucleus of a settlement sprang up under the protective shadow of these posts.