Niagara Falls, Fort Niagara Lighthouse & Old Fort Niagara

I am slowly getting caught up.  There is still much to do but I thought I'd take a break and show you a couple of places I visited while in New York.

We took a day and went to Niagara Falls and Old Fort Niagara.  It was cold and windy!

We were not allowed to go onto any of the decks that are near the water because, as you can see in the above photo, the decks were covered in ice.  Fortunately, I had been to the Falls several summers ago and was able to experience all of it, even getting soaked on the Maid of the Mist!

The following photos are looking at the Canadian side...

Horseshoe Falls

After a quick lunch, we headed to Old Fort Niagara.  I had never been before and it was an interesting place to visit with lots of photo ops!

The 'French Castle' is the oldest building of the Fort as well as the oldest building in North America's Great Lakes area.  It was also the sole structure of Fort Niagara.  It sits on the point of where the Niagara River empties into Lake Ontario.

The fort was originally built by the French.  To calm the suspicions of the hostile Iroquois it was designed to resemble a large trading house. Under the French regime, trading did take place on the ground floor.  Indians came in great numbers to trade furs for manufactured goods.

The fort was taken over several times as you read above by the British and Americans to finally come under the American flag in 1815.

The three historic flags commemorate the nations that have held the fort...  The white French flag, the British Union flag and the 15 stripe, 15 star United States flag.

The firing of a musket.  There is lots of smoke when fired and we found out that a musket is not a very accurate weapon when shot and is difficult to load in the dark, on windy days or in the rain!

Soldiers barracks

Officers apartment

Officers apartment

Soldiers barracks

The chapel on the second floor was the earliest permanent church in western New York.

The following structures were added between the years 1757 - 1770 by both the French and the British.  The log cabin structure was added in 1932 and was intended to represent a log cabin that was originally built here by the French in 1757.

Below is the Hot Shot Furnace completed in 1843.  Cannon balls could be heated in here to nearly white-hot.  When fired into a wooden ship or building, the hot shot would quickly set it afire.

Did you notice the difference in the wall behind the furnace?  British construction of Fort Mississauga on the Canadian shore in 1814 left the interior of Fort Niagara exposed to bombardment.  This problem was remedied between 1839 and 1841 when the massive River Wall was erected.  The difference in stones is due to a change in stone suppliers between 1839 and 1840.

This arched Postern Gate was the main entrance to Fort Niagara after 1839.

The North Redoubt (1771)

Redoubts are forts within a fort.  

The South Redoubt (1770)

The British constructed this building before the American Revolution to protect the main gate and to provide a platform for cannon.  The ground floor was a fortified gateway.

The second floor housed twenty soldiers.

Entrance used today for visitors.

Scarp Walls and Casemate Gallery (1872)

The earthwork walls of Fort Niagara were reinforced with brick and concrete between 1863 and 1872.  The Gallery is designed to contain four 24-pounder cannons.  

Outside the fort sits the Fort Niagara Lighthouse.  It was built in 1871 and lit in 1872.  By the late 1900's trees obscured the light from both the river and the lake.  Rather than cut down the trees it was decommissioned in 1993.

That's all for now... thanks for coming along!  I must get back to my chores!

Till next time,