Fort Macleod National Historic Site of Canada

In 1874, the Assistant-Commissioner of the North West Mounted Police, James F. Macleod, arrived on Macleod Island with a detachment of 150 men and constructed the first Fort Macleod. Though the fort was relocated to higher ground in 1883, the original Fort Macleod was the first North West Mounted Police (N.W.M.P.) post in Southern Alberta, and served as N.W.M.P. headquarters between 1874 and 1878. The fort enabled the N.W.M.P. to institute and maintain the law, and to suppress the whiskey trade. This helped gain the trust of the Blackfoot Confederacy, contributing to the peaceful settlement of southern Alberta.