New Book Features Local History

A recently published book has references to local area events and locations...

...the rough and ready type common to the frontier gathered at local drinking establishments with names worthy of dime novels - "Dutch George's" and "O'Lone's Red Saloon" in Winnipeg, and "The Robber's Roost", "Dead Layout", and "The Ragged Edge" in Pembina.¹

From: Frontier Farewell: The 1870s and the End of the Old West By Garrett Wilson

¹ - In 1862, McKenney sold the Royal to “Dutch George” Emmerling, a recent arrival by way of the United States. McKenney then built the store which would become the hub of today’s famous corner of Portage and Main. From: First 50 Years Of Hotels In Winnipeg

...Colourful George Emmerling from Bavaria, a.k.a. “Dutch George” operated a small goods store for the settlers in the area and built the first hotel in 1885 (McIntyre Building). From: Manitoba Historical Society

Click to see large map showing some of the places mentioned above
[Keys to locations, listed below...]

Caption for above map reads - The above chart shows the location of the buildings public and private, in the village of Winnipeg proper (the centre of which was then as it is now, the corner of Main and Portage roads) in 1873. Two noted buildings adjoining the village, to the north – but not in the village – do not appear in the chart and should be mentioned here. These were Manitoba collage and the first Winnipeg public school, which stood not far from the present site of the C.P.R. buildings. The buildings shown have been carefully checked and their positions verified by old-time residents of Winnipeg. They are:

1. Fort Garry; 2. Dominion Lands Office; 3. Wm. Drever’s building; 4. ["Dutch George"]  Red Saloon; 5. Holy Trinity Church; 6. Brian Devlin’s restaurant; Red River Hall or as it was sometimes called McDermot’s Row; 8. O. Manchamp’s Hotel; 9. Garrett House; 10. Indian Department; 11. Customs House; 12. Roman Catholic Convent; 13. Andrew McDermot’s Windmill; 14. Andrew McDermot’s residence; 15. Fire Hall; 16. Postoffice Building; 17. Parliament Buildings (in A.G.B. Bannatyne’s residence); 18 & 19. Bannatyne’s store and salt warehouse; 20. McKenny block, the first building erected in the village of Winnipeg; 21. White Saloon, kept by McIver and McIntyre (afterwards building of McIntyre block); 22. Davis Hotel, formerly kept by George Emmerling; 23. John Higgins’ Store; 24. F. Gingras’ building; 25. W.H. Lyon’s; 26. Henry Coutu’s Butcher Store; 27. Jail; 28. Archibald Wright’s; 29. J.H. Ashdown’s; 30. Dr. (afterwards Sir John) Schults’ drug store; 31. Free Press Office; 32 The Good Templars’ Hall, in which were the offices of the News Letter, Dr. Schults’ newspaper and the Manitoba Liberal; 33. Knox Church; 34. Steamboat Landing and small warehouse; 35. flat-boat stores on river, near levee; 36. Office of the goverenment newspaper, the Manitoban; 37. Thos. Lusted’s blacksmith shop; 38. Grace church; 39. Wm. Harvey’s livery stable; 40. A.M. Brown & Co.’s building; 41. Dr. Curtis J. Bird’s building; 42. A. Strang’s residence (Mr. Strang was then a clerk in Bannatyne’s store); 43. John Hackett’s Bakery; 44. brick block owned by Dr. Schultz; 45. Robert Stalker’s harness shop; 46. Royal Canadian (later Brouse’s) Hotel; 47. old Ross house residence of William Coldwell editor of the Manitoban; 48. Lyster Hayward’s (auctionear); 49. W. Palmer Clarke’s general store; 50. Alfred Boyd’s store; 51. Bernard R. Ross’ block; 52. shop shared by Wm. Chambers, gunsmith and Geo. D. Northgraces, jeweller and watchmaker; 53. Pride of the West billard saloon; 54. W. J. Macaulay’s lumber mill, men’s boarding house and office; 55. old tumble down corduroy bridge across Brown’s Creek, which crossed Main street at this point; 56. Brown’s Creek; 57. Merchants’ Hotel; 58. Immigration Sheds; 59. Alex McMicken’s bank; 60. Alex Begg’s soda water factory; 61. Dick and Banning’s sawmill; 62.residence of Duncan Sinclair, surveyor; 63. group of residences including reading from the river those of John Johnston, H. Hodges, Thos. Collins, Geo. E. Fulthorpe, James Irwin (city waterman), Matthew Davis, blacksmith, Thos. Jeffers, ferryman, Sam Spencer, drover, John Kennedy, registrar, Wm. McGaw, Alex Dunlop, then employee of Free Press and Stewart Mulvey; 64. Hudson’s Bay Company steamboat warehouse; 65. ferry from St. Boniface; 66. ferry across Assiniboine; 67. Thistle store; 68. John Higgins’ residence; 69. General Hospital (moved from centre of village down to this point about end of 1872); 70. St. Boniface Cathedral and college.

Source: Ingersoll, Will E. Location and Identity of Buildings in Village of Winnipeg 1872 [facsimile]. [1:4,500]. In: Alan F.J. Artibise and Edward H. Dahl. Winnipeg in Maps. Ottawa: National Map Collection Public Archives of Canada, 1975, p. 12. As reproduced by, National Map Collection Public Archives of Canada.

Compiled by Will E. Ingersoll from maps, records and archives for the Manitoba Free Press [Fiftieth Anniversary edition, Winnipeg November 9, 1922, p. 22]