[English] In February 1876 Battleford, on the projected rail and telegraph lines, was chosen as the site of the new capital of the North-West Territories, and that summer construction was begun on quarters for the . . . — — Map (db m211899) HM
In 1876 Government House, the seat of government for the North-West Territories, was constructed. The North-West Council held its annual sessions here in 1878, 1879 and 1881. In 1883, the seat of government was transferred to Regina. From 1883 to . . . — — Map (db m211929) HM
Between 1877 and 1883, the North-West Territories, an area then comprising over two-thirds of Canada, were administered from this location. As the centre of government for this region, Government House contained the offices and chambers of the . . . — — Map (db m211919) HM
"It must be the largest and finest house in all the land." Lt.-Gov. David Laird Battleford was the capital of the Northwest Territories from 1876 to 1883. From here at Government House, the territorial government managed a vast expanse of . . . — — Map (db m211931) HM
Government House became an industrial school for First Nations youth when the capital of the Northwest Territories shifted to Regina in 1883. Operated by the Church of England, Battleford Industrial School was one of more than a dozen such schools . . . — — Map (db m211933) HM
When the Seventh-day Adventist Church agreed to rent the Government House property for $5 per year in 1915, it may have sounded like a wonderful deal. However, the 10-year arrangement left the church responsible for costly maintenance and any . . . — — Map (db m211939) HM
Government House spent most of its remaining years in the care of Oblate priests, who purchased the site in 1931 and turned it into a seminary called the Oblate House of Studies. St. Thomas College, a boarding high school for students in grades 9 . . . — — Map (db m211941) HM
The landmark that came to be known as "Old Government House" burned to the ground on June 7, 2003, a victim of vandalism. It was a sad end to a historic structure created as a seat of government but used far longer as a place of learning. Over a . . . — — Map (db m211942) HM
