Fort Dauphin and Peter Fidler

It is worthwhile visiting the Fort Dauphin Museum in Dauphin, Manitoba. I was there on Tuesday, and stopped to look at the early material on fur trader Peter Fidler.

Fidler arrived in Canada in 1788, and worked for the Hudson's Bay Company, learning how to survey and draw maps from Philip Turnor. His maps and journals represent an important contribution to our knowledge of the fur trade between 1788 and his death in 1822.

Peter Fidler took seeds with him wherever he went and planted gardens at the Hudson's Bay Company Forts. He has been called "Manitoba's Johnny Appleseed", and in recent times was inducted into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame for his contribution to growing vegetables in Manitoba, and his astute observations on the growth of crops in Manitoba in the early 1800s.

Fidler died at Fort Dauphin, located at the entry of the Valley River into Lake Dauphin. Today, the Fort Dauphin Museum is located in Dauphin, rather than at the original site. But the museum is a memorial to the original fort and a testament to the legacy of Peter Fidler and others who lived and worked there.

When he died he left a curious will, with certain provisions that did not come into effect until many, many years after his death. Visit the Fort Dauphin Museum to learn more about what was in the will.