Adventures in the 716: A Trip to Old Fort Niagara

Yesterday I took a trip to Old Fort Niagara. Despite living here for six years now, this was my very first visit. It was a warm and sunny day in the 716, with a nice breeze and temperatures in the 80s, so it was a perfect day to get my history on! :-)

Located in Youngstown, NY, Old Fort Niagara has protected the entryway to the Niagara River since 1726. During the colonial wars, a fort at the at the mouth of the Niagara River was important because it controlled access to the Great Lakes and to the rest of the US continent. And who wouldn't want a piece of that action? Initially used by Native Americans for hunting and fishing, the fort has been occupied by the French, the British, and the Americans.

Of course, this all basically became a non-issue when the Erie Canal was finished in 1826, but during its heyday, the fort played a critical role in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, and the War of 1812. With a history spanning over 300 years, the US government ceased military operations at the fort in 1963. It is now maintained by the US Coast Guard and is open 9AM-5PM year-round.

Here's a shot of the fort's perimeter:

Several of the structures at the fort's entry still bear original plaques with the coat of arms of the country responsible for building that particular structure. The first plaque represents the arms of France, while the one below it shows Great Britain :

Thick slabs of wood held together by hammered iron were the fort's front doors:

I was fortunate enough to catch a live musket shooting by a volunteer dressed in costume. Apparently muskets were preferred to rifles by the US militia because it required less gear to carry and less skill to use. The accuracy of this firearm was terrible--you were only expected to hit 1 out of 10 of your targets!

 

The oldest structure at the fort is the castle. It is the oldest building in North America's Great Lakes Region. I'm embarrassed to admit I forgot to take an outside picture--I'm sorry! I did take some pictures inside, so here's a view of Lake Ontario from the 2nd story of the castle's windows, and a shot of me wandering the castle's halls:

A close-up of a lock on a chest in one of the castle's hallways:

Listening intently as you can see. That guy to the left had the best room in the castle!

 The attic of the castle was built with dormers to provide defense positions for musket and light cannons. This keyhole was where you looked out to shoot your enemy:

 

Also in the attic is a plaque displayed for Fanny Doyle, considered the "heroine of the War of 1812," for her courageous deeds during the war. The plaque depicts her loading cannon fire:

After the castle, I walked the path along the lake and rested at The Rush-Bagot Memorial. This memorial represents negotiations between the US and Canada for limited naval forces on the Great Lakes. The water really was a beautiful shade of blue. You can see how windy it was by my wild hair!

Many of the little structures surrounding the castle contained old cannons, now green from Western NY weather. Actually, there was a lot of cannons all over the place, but then this was a fort, after all!

Some of the structures had really large cannons in them too. Oh hey, look, there's the castle in the background!

Next to the castle, my favorite structure was the Powder Magazine, built by the French in 1757. It was a domed building with walls over 4 feet thick! Barrels of ammunition lined the walls:

There also is a museum on the premise which displays authentic items excavated at the fort. Most things were displayed in glass, so it was tough to take any pictures. The most impressive item displayed was this ginormous flag that used to fly over the fort. When you exited the museum, this larger than life-size painting of a Native American stares at you. Of course I had to get our picture! ;-)