An Outing to the Niagara Frontier ..., Page
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Crossing into the USA with a bus load of tour guides proved to be a task
that took over half an hour as we are not all Canadian citizens and some did
not bring the proper documentation. Fortunately, we were only a little late
for our lunch in the historic Clarkson House Restaurant in Lewiston, N.Y.
where a couple of actors in period costumes greeted us. They played the
roles of Josiah and Sally Tryon, members of one of Lewiston’s founding
families and explained life in Lewiston in the 19th century while we waited
for lunch to be served. The food was delicious and as usual the
conversations around the various tables were animated, noisy and in good
spirits. What else would you expect of a bunch of tour guides?
On we went to a rendezvous with Sergeant Eric Winderiss at Fort Niagara, who
waited for us at the entrance tower with his rifle over his shoulder
guarding the entry. The Fort is strategically located at the very tip of
Youngstown, N.Y. where the Niagara River spills into Lake Ontario.
The history of the Fort spans over 300 years. It
was needed to defend against the powerful Iroquois Confederacy at the time,
starting in 1678 as Fort Conti by Rene Robert Cavalier de La Salle, then in
1687 it was replaced by Fort Denonville as a temporary defense until 1688.
Finally the French built a permanent fortification in 1726 but were defeated
by the British in 1759 as in the rest of the continent. The British took
over but changed little and held on to it during the war of American
Independence but lost it to the Americans in 1783 at the end of the war when
the Niagara River was deemed to be the border. The British regained it in
1813 and then handed it over to Americans again in 1815. Nevertheless it is
the only Fort close to Canada that is still standing in its original state
and is still being used - if only as part of the U.S.A. Coast Guard and for
historical purposes.
Its 9 ft walls with very small slits gave the
soldiers inside a chance to shoot but would not let the shots of the enemy
in. The Royal Arms in the French style adorn the main entrance - a surprise
that the Americans would have kept it there. The fort was strategically
placed. One could see the enemy ships that were still a day’s sail away but
they could not yet see the fort.
It was restored between 1926 and1934 to the state
we find it in today with great care to follow the original plans. Entering
one could see the well inside providing the defenders with water during
sieges. The ground floor housed the soldiers, weapons and store rooms. The
upper floor has the officers’ quarters, officers’ dining room and a
beautiful chapel. We were able to walk through all the rooms.
On the grounds we could see from afar the North
Redoubt, a tower which is in the typical British round style - a fort within
a fort. Close by stands a Millet Cross, erected in 1926 to commemorate the
terrible winter of 1687-88 when disease and starvation reduced the
population from 100 men to only 12 survivors.
Across from the main fortress stand the storeroom
built in 1762 and the powder magazine (1757) with its thick earth/grass roof
and massive arched ceiling that withstood the siege of 1759. The log cabin
erected in 1932 was intended to represent the log cabin built by the French
in 1757.
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