Colony in Winnipeg, Manitoba — Canada’s Prairie Region (North America)
Thomas Douglas
5th Earl of Selkirk / 5e comte de Selkirk
— 1771-1820 —
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 14, 2022
1. Thomas Douglas Marker
this page online
Erected 1955 by Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada/Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Charity & Public Work • Immigration • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Canada, Historic Sites and Monuments Board series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1811.
Location. 49° 53.414′ N, 97° 9.041′ W. Marker is in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is in Colony. Marker is on Memorial Boulevard (Provincial Highway 62) just south of Portage Avenue (Provincial Highway 85), on the right when traveling south. Marker is located in the small triangular plaza between Memorial Boulevard and Colony Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 460 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg MB R3C 0E8, Canada. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. George Bryce (about 180 meters away, measured in a direct line); Isbister School (approx. 0.2 kilometers away); The Royal Winnipeg Ballet / Le Royal Winnipeg Ballet (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Ella Cora Hind (approx. half a kilometer away); Marc-Amable Girard
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 14, 2022
2. Thomas Douglas Marker
Also see . . .
1. Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk.
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk was noteworthy as a Scottish philanthropist who sponsored immigrant settlements in Canada at the Red River Colony. When Thomas unexpectedly inherited the Selkirk title and estates in 1799, he used his money and political connections to purchase land and settle poor Scottish farmers in Belfast, Prince Edward Island, in 1803 and Baldoon, Upper Canada in 1804.(Submitted on April 16, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk.
Selkirk resumed his interest in settlement and in 1811 — he and his family having bought into the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) — received from the company a large land grant of Assiniboia, in what is now Manitoba. An advance party, sent under Miles Macdonell in 1811, established Red River Colony in 1812.(Submitted on April 16, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. Thomas Douglas, 5th earl of Selkirk.
The progress of the Red River colony was impeded by Selkirk’s commercial rival, the Northwest Fur Company, which in January 1818 won heavy damages in a legal action against him. In poor health and having lost a fortune, he returned to Great Britain in late 1818, and died two years later.(Submitted on April 16, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
4. Thomas “5th Earl of Selkirk” Douglas (Find A Grave).
(Protestant Cemetery, Oloron-Sainte-Marie, Departement des Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Aquitaine, France)(Submitted on April 16, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
The efforts of Thomas Douglas led to the colonization of the Red River Settlement in what was then the Northwest Territories of Canada in the early 1800s.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 14, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 100 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 16, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
