Fort Ontario is an historic fort situated by the
City of OswegoOswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 18,096 at the 2000 census. The 2005 population estimate for the city of Oswego is 17,705. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York and promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York"...
, in
Oswego CountyOswego County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of 2005, the estimated population was 118,560. The City of Oswego serves as the county seat...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the
United States of AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is owned by the state of New York and operated as a museum known as
Fort Ontario State Historic Site.
Fort Ontario is located on the east side of the
Oswego RiverOswego River may refer to the following:*Oswego River , a tributary of the Wading River in New Jersey*Oswego River , a tributary of Lake Ontario in New York...
on high ground overlooking
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
.
Fort Ontario was one of several forts erected by the British to protect the area around the east end of
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
.
Fort Ontario is an historic fort situated by the
City of OswegoOswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 18,096 at the 2000 census. The 2005 population estimate for the city of Oswego is 17,705. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York and promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York"...
, in
Oswego CountyOswego County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of 2005, the estimated population was 118,560. The City of Oswego serves as the county seat...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in the
United States of AmericaThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is owned by the state of New York and operated as a museum known as
Fort Ontario State Historic Site.
Geography
Fort Ontario is located on the east side of the
Oswego RiverOswego River may refer to the following:*Oswego River , a tributary of the Wading River in New Jersey*Oswego River , a tributary of Lake Ontario in New York...
on high ground overlooking
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
.
Early history
Fort Ontario was one of several forts erected by the British to protect the area around the east end of
Lake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. The lake is bounded on the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south by Ontario's Niagara Peninsula and by the U.S. state of New York...
. The original Fort Ontario was erected in 1755, during the
French and Indian WarThe French and Indian War, also known as the War of the Conquest or referred as part of the larger conflict known as the Seven Years' War, was a war fought in North America between 1754 and 1763...
in order to bolster defenses already in place at
Fort OswegoFort Oswego was an important frontier post for British traders in the 18th century. A trading post was established in 1722 with a log palisade, and New York governor William Burnet ordered a fort built at the site in 1727. The log palisade fort established a British presence on the Great Lakes....
on the opposite side of the river. At that time its name was the "Fort of the Six Nations," but the fort was destroyed by
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
forces and was rebuilt in 1759.
During the
American RevolutionThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
, a detachment from the
3rd New York RegimentThe 3rd New York Regiment was authorized May 25 1775 and organized from June 28 to August 4 from the counties of Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, and Suffolk under the command of Colonel James Clinton for five months service in Canada. The enlistments of the first establishment ended on December 31...
destroyed the fort in July, 1778, after the British abandoned it. The British returned and rebuilt the fort in 1782. There was an aborted attack on the fort by Colonel Marinus Willet in 1783. The British held the fort after the war was over until 1796 after the signing of Jay's Treaty.
19th Century
The fort was attacked and destroyed by British forces during the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
in the year 1814. After a period of disuse, new construction was undertaken in part due to tensions with Great Britain and the check smuggling activities between Canada and the United States.
During the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
the new construction began at the fort due to fear of British help from Canada to the South. Although the fort remained a military base, the fort itself fell into ruin, since funds were used to create more modern quarters outside the fort.
The modern fort
2nd Brigade of the
U.S. 1st Infantry DivisionThe 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army —nicknamed “The Big Red One” after its shoulder patch; and also nicknamed "The Fighting First"—is the oldest division in the United States Army, and has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917.-Assigned:* 1st Infantry Brigade** 16th...
called Fort Ontario home until the brigade was inactivated on June 1, 1940.
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Fort Ontario was home to approximately 982 Jewish refugees, from August 1944 to February 1946. Fort Ontario was the first and only attempt by the United States to shelter Jewish refugees during the war. After the end of the war the refugees were kept in internment due to disagreements concerning whether or not to allow them to become United States citizens. In January 1946, the decision was made to allow them to become citizens, and by February all of the Jewish refugees were allowed to leave Fort Ontario.
The restored fort is open to the public as a state historic site. It was listed on the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1970.
Fort Ontario was built with two other forts in the period,
Fort GeorgeFort George, New York was the name of five forts in the state of New York.The first Fort George was built in 1626 in New Amsterdam and named Fort Amsterdam. The British Army occupied it as Fort James from 1664 to 1687. Briefly re-occupied by the Dutch from 1673-1674 as Fort Willem Hendrick, it was...
and
Fort OswegoFort Oswego was an important frontier post for British traders in the 18th century. A trading post was established in 1722 with a log palisade, and New York governor William Burnet ordered a fort built at the site in 1727. The log palisade fort established a British presence on the Great Lakes....
.
External links