North Point Douglas is a small neighborhood in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. North Point Douglas comprises the northern portion of a peninsula of the Red River. Its boundaries are Main Street (west), Redwood Avenue (north), the Red River (east), and the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline (south), which bisects the peninsula. The southern portion of the arm is the neighborhood of South Point Douglas (also considered part of Downtown Winnipeg.) Together, these two neighborhoods are known as “Point Douglas.” In 2001, North Point Douglas had a population of 2,260. North Point Douglas is one of Winnipeg’s oldest neighborhoods. Today, North Point Douglas boasts two of Winnipeg’s oldest houses – Barber House and Ross House Museum. It is also considered part of Winnipeg’s North End.
History
The eastern point of the neighborhood was a traditional gathering place for Aboriginal tribes for ceremonial rites (while The Forks nearby were traditionally used for trading). This is believed to have occurred before European contact and continued until urbanization in the 1870s. In 1812, this first group of Selkirk Settlers arrived in Point Douglas and began raising wheat crops on the point and along the Red River, becoming the first agrarian colony west of the Great Lakes. Bed Bug Exterminator Winnipeg
As the Red River Colony (as the Winnipeg region was known) grew, a small cluster of commercial establishments developed on the Fort Garry Road at Point Douglas by 1862, notably those of William Fonseca and Edmond Barber. After the incorporation of the City of Winnipeg in 1873, Point Douglas developed as a neighborhood. Several notable citizens resided there, including merchant James Ashdown and Manitoba premier John Norquay. Among these men’s houses, there developed more modest cottages and industries such as Brown and Rutherford, a lumber company established in Point Douglas in 1872.
In 1881, Point Douglas was selected as the location where the Canadian Pacific Railway would cross the Red River. This moves solidified Point Douglas as a choice location for industrial firms, which could take advantage of proximity to the railway. With the railroad completed by 1885, Winnipeg, MB experienced an intense period of growth, and by 1914, Point Douglas had become a densely populated working-class neighborhood with many immigrants from Eastern Europe.
Ross House
Ross House began in 1852 when construction commenced on William Ross’s log home. The museum was moved to its current location at 140 Meade Street (Joe Zuken Heritage Park, Point Douglas) in 1984. The construction of Ross House is a prime example of a Red River frame building.
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