Point Frederick Peninsula
Encyclopedia
Point Frederick is a 41 hectares (101 acre) peninsula
National Historic Site of Canada in Kingston, Ontario
, Canada
. The peninsula is near where Lake Ontario
empties into the Saint Lawrence River
. The peninsula is hard by the entrance to the Rideau Canal
, which connects the Great Lakes
with the Ottawa River
.
The peninsula was named after Frederick, Prince of Wales
.
for many years before European colonization. In 1673 Count Frontenac selected Cataraqui as the site of a training post and fort named in his honour. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle
held it as a seigniory and as a base for his western discoveries. Fort Frontenac was besieged by the Iroquois in 1687, 1688 and was abandoned in 1689. Fort Frontenac was reestablished in 1695 as a port for the trans-shipment of furs. A fleet of French warships were built at Cataraqui during the eighteenth century to contest control of Lake Ontario with the English at Fort Ontario
(Oswego). In 1758, Colonel John Bradstreet
seized Fort Frontenac
as part of a campaign that led to the English conquest of Canada.
When the Provincial Marine relocated from Carleton Island to Kingston, Point Frederick was established as a naval depot in 1789.
During the War of 1812
Point Frederick became a busy Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard
from which attacks were launched on the American bases at Sackets Harbor and Oswego.
This peninsula was the headquarters of the Provincial Marine (c 1790-1813) and of the Royal Navy (1813-1853). A major British naval base was located on the peninsula during the War of 1812
. Military ships were built at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard
at Point Frederick from 1788 to 1853. Trees were planted in the 1880s since the peninsula was quite bare.
Because of Kingston's military tradition and the fact that several military buildings already existed at the old naval dockyard, Point Frederick was chosen in 1875 as the location for Canada's first military college, the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC). The dockyard and the Stone Frigate
were converted to classrooms, cadet dormitories, a kitchen and mess halls. The stores kept in the Stone Frigate
were transferred to less suitable locations further from the pier. Since Point Frederick was a narrow peninsula, officer`s quarters and a fence could be built to control access, effectively isolating the grounds. The college opened in 1876. An assemblage of architecturally significant structures on the peninsula is now used by the Royal Military College of Canada. On the southern part of the peninsula, a forty foot square blockhouse which was erected during the winter of 1813 was demolished in the early 1840s to make way for the Martello Tower, Fort Frederick (Kingston)
, erected in 1812-13 and rebuilt in 1846 which is now the site of the Royal Military College of Canada Museum
.
In 1875, the board of governors recommended the adoption of a uniform style of architecture was adopted for the college. With a few exceptions, most notably during the depression in the 1930s, subsequent buildings were built of limestone as opposed to brick. An observatory was built in 1885. In 1890 a Sand table
room was built for use in teaching military tactics, which replaced the old sand table room, which had been set up in a pre-college building. Between 1885-90, a boardwalk was built from the outer back gate to the inner gate. A rough breakwater was built on the site of the old wharf between 1885-90. Near the gymnasium, two tennis courts were constructed between 1885-90. To lodge pontoons, a building was erected in 1885-90.
Ridout Row or Hogan's Alley, consisting of sixteen small four room cottage houses with basement kitchen facilities was built in 1909 as staff housing. The cottage houses replaced the old naval cottages near the observatory, which had been built in 1822 and were demolished in 1910. In 1909, two squash courts were built on the shore of Navy Bay to the south of the gymnasium, Panet House and the water-pumping plant.
In 1918, a temporary wooden building was erected south of the Fort Frederick dormitory for use as a naval college gymnasium and a 'quarter-deck' for divisions and evening quarters for thirty two cadets and twenty-nine ratings who had been rendered homeless by the Halifax explosion
of 6 December 1917.
After a fire in 1931, the administration building was rebuilt and enlarged to accommodate a more spacious library by men from an unemployment relief camp under the command of the RMC Commandant on Barriefield lower common as a measure to deal with the depression. Camp labourers constructed a mechanical engineering building and a physics building during this period with cement blocks as opposed to conforming to the uniform architectural style based on limestone. In 1933, the boathouse was rebuilt after a fire. Camp labourers also dug the foundation for Yeo Hall, a mess and recreation building (1935-6) featuring a dining hall, kitchens and a gymnasium. The south wing of Fort Frederick dormitory, now known as Fort Lasalle, was added and joined to Yeo Hall by an arch and upper passage featuring a carving of the College arms in 1935-6. In 1936, camp labourers excavated the foundations of the Fort Haldimand dormitory. When the relief camp closed in 1936, however, the digging stopped.
Before 1977, all of the sports fields on the left side of the road going into the College were part of Navy Bay. Part of this land was reclaimed from Navy Bay in 1977-9. New playing fields on the peninsula were built on landfill reclaimed from Navy Bay.
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
National Historic Site of Canada in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The peninsula is near where Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
empties into the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
. The peninsula is hard by the entrance to the Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
, which connects the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
with the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
.
The peninsula was named after Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
.
History
Indigenous people lived on the site, known as CataraquiCataraqui
The Cataraqui was a British barque sailing ship which sank off the south-west coast of King Island in Bass Strait on 4 August 1845...
for many years before European colonization. In 1673 Count Frontenac selected Cataraqui as the site of a training post and fort named in his honour. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de LaSalle was a French explorer. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico...
held it as a seigniory and as a base for his western discoveries. Fort Frontenac was besieged by the Iroquois in 1687, 1688 and was abandoned in 1689. Fort Frontenac was reestablished in 1695 as a port for the trans-shipment of furs. A fleet of French warships were built at Cataraqui during the eighteenth century to contest control of Lake Ontario with the English at Fort Ontario
Fort Ontario
Fort Ontario is a historic fort situated by the City of Oswego, in Oswego County, New York in the United States of America. It is owned by the state of New York and operated as a museum known as Fort Ontario State Historic Site....
(Oswego). In 1758, Colonel John Bradstreet
John Bradstreet
Major General John Bradstreet was a British Army officer during the French and Indian War, King George's War, and Pontiac's Rebellion...
seized Fort Frontenac
Fort Frontenac
Fort Frontenac was a French trading post and military fort built in 1673 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It was positioned at the mouth of the Cataraqui River where the St. Lawrence River leaves Lake Ontario , in a location traditionally known as Cataraqui...
as part of a campaign that led to the English conquest of Canada.
When the Provincial Marine relocated from Carleton Island to Kingston, Point Frederick was established as a naval depot in 1789.
During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
Point Frederick became a busy Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard
Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard
The Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard from 1788 to 1853 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, at the site of the current Royal Military College of Canada.-History:...
from which attacks were launched on the American bases at Sackets Harbor and Oswego.
This peninsula was the headquarters of the Provincial Marine (c 1790-1813) and of the Royal Navy (1813-1853). A major British naval base was located on the peninsula during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. Military ships were built at the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard
Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard
The Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard from 1788 to 1853 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, at the site of the current Royal Military College of Canada.-History:...
at Point Frederick from 1788 to 1853. Trees were planted in the 1880s since the peninsula was quite bare.
Because of Kingston's military tradition and the fact that several military buildings already existed at the old naval dockyard, Point Frederick was chosen in 1875 as the location for Canada's first military college, the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC). The dockyard and the Stone Frigate
Stone frigate
Stone frigate is a nickname for a naval establishment on land. The term has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French...
were converted to classrooms, cadet dormitories, a kitchen and mess halls. The stores kept in the Stone Frigate
Stone frigate
Stone frigate is a nickname for a naval establishment on land. The term has its origin in Britain's Royal Navy after its use of Diamond Rock, off Martinique, as a 'sloop of war' to harass the French...
were transferred to less suitable locations further from the pier. Since Point Frederick was a narrow peninsula, officer`s quarters and a fence could be built to control access, effectively isolating the grounds. The college opened in 1876. An assemblage of architecturally significant structures on the peninsula is now used by the Royal Military College of Canada. On the southern part of the peninsula, a forty foot square blockhouse which was erected during the winter of 1813 was demolished in the early 1840s to make way for the Martello Tower, Fort Frederick (Kingston)
Fort Frederick (Kingston)
Fort Frederick is a historic military building located on Point Frederick on the grounds of the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its construction dates to 1846 and the Oregon crisis. The fort consists of earthworks surrounding a Martello tower...
, erected in 1812-13 and rebuilt in 1846 which is now the site of the Royal Military College of Canada Museum
Royal Military College of Canada Museum
The Royal Military College of Canada Museum, established in 1962, is located in a Martello tower known as Fort Frederick on the campus of the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, and is operated by the college. The Royal Military College of Canada Museum has regular hours from...
.
In 1875, the board of governors recommended the adoption of a uniform style of architecture was adopted for the college. With a few exceptions, most notably during the depression in the 1930s, subsequent buildings were built of limestone as opposed to brick. An observatory was built in 1885. In 1890 a Sand table
Sand table
Sand table is a term for using constrained sand for modeling or educational purposes. The original version of a sand table may be the abax used by early Greek students.-Abax:...
room was built for use in teaching military tactics, which replaced the old sand table room, which had been set up in a pre-college building. Between 1885-90, a boardwalk was built from the outer back gate to the inner gate. A rough breakwater was built on the site of the old wharf between 1885-90. Near the gymnasium, two tennis courts were constructed between 1885-90. To lodge pontoons, a building was erected in 1885-90.
Ridout Row or Hogan's Alley, consisting of sixteen small four room cottage houses with basement kitchen facilities was built in 1909 as staff housing. The cottage houses replaced the old naval cottages near the observatory, which had been built in 1822 and were demolished in 1910. In 1909, two squash courts were built on the shore of Navy Bay to the south of the gymnasium, Panet House and the water-pumping plant.
In 1918, a temporary wooden building was erected south of the Fort Frederick dormitory for use as a naval college gymnasium and a 'quarter-deck' for divisions and evening quarters for thirty two cadets and twenty-nine ratings who had been rendered homeless by the Halifax explosion
Halifax Explosion
The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows"...
of 6 December 1917.
After a fire in 1931, the administration building was rebuilt and enlarged to accommodate a more spacious library by men from an unemployment relief camp under the command of the RMC Commandant on Barriefield lower common as a measure to deal with the depression. Camp labourers constructed a mechanical engineering building and a physics building during this period with cement blocks as opposed to conforming to the uniform architectural style based on limestone. In 1933, the boathouse was rebuilt after a fire. Camp labourers also dug the foundation for Yeo Hall, a mess and recreation building (1935-6) featuring a dining hall, kitchens and a gymnasium. The south wing of Fort Frederick dormitory, now known as Fort Lasalle, was added and joined to Yeo Hall by an arch and upper passage featuring a carving of the College arms in 1935-6. In 1936, camp labourers excavated the foundations of the Fort Haldimand dormitory. When the relief camp closed in 1936, however, the digging stopped.
Before 1977, all of the sports fields on the left side of the road going into the College were part of Navy Bay. Part of this land was reclaimed from Navy Bay in 1977-9. New playing fields on the peninsula were built on landfill reclaimed from Navy Bay.