A national historic site near Emerson now has an interpretive centre that will explain some of the rich history in our region.

The interpretive centre at Fort Dufferin was officially opened on Sunday as part of the annual Fort Dufferin Heritage Day celebrations. The centre is located in a shed, which is one of the original buildings that was constructed at the fort in the late 1800s.

Inside the centre there will be a number of display panels depicting early transportation in the area along with the various past uses of the fort. The panels will tell the story of the Boundary Commission which head-quartered there is 1872 and surveyed the 49th parallel from Lake of the Woods to the Rockies in B.C. The centre also tells the story of the North West Mounted Police which was marshaled there in 1873 before its epic march west and how the fort was used as an immigration centre which welcomed more than 18,600 immigrants to Canada between 1875 and 1879.

The interpretive centre project was spearheaded by the Post Road Heritage Group and was several years in the making, according to Marilyn Empson, the organization's president.

"We're very happy with the way it has turned out so far and really happy to see such a nice turnout. The project to restore this building started in 2009. We spent hundreds of hours collectively as volunteers and paid labour to get this place ready which is a national historic site located on provincial crown land in the municipality of Emerson/Franklin."

Empson added, the project has received some very generous donations over the years from local businesses, the historic resources branch and a lot of donations from individuals in town.

"So we have really good support from local areas and across the province plus the Mennonite Historical Society has been a great help to us also."