Originally the river crossing was used by buffalo, deer, elk and other wildlife, later by First Nations that would follow the migrating buffalo, later still the fur traders, and settlers. The
Calgary and Edmonton Railway (C&E) line was originally planned in the early 1890s to go through next to the original fort site. However
Leonard Gaetz offered half his land to the C&E to run through what is now downtown Red Deer. Red Deer grew up around the C&E station. the population of Red Deer is approximately 105,000 people. The crossing was used by
North-West Mounted Police until
1893, when it was abandoned. At some point after its abandonment, the fort was taken down. Fort Normandeau was moved to its current site in 1974. The City of Red Deer in acquired the fort and the adjacent land in 1983. After performing repairs and building an on-site interpretive centre, the park was officially opened in 1986. == References ==