Susie's 65th-Part 9-Old Fort Niagara and Lighthouse, Youngstown, NY, USA

Wednesday June 27th, 2018

Today we had a break from Niagara Falls.  Can I hear you all heaving a big sigh of relief?!!!!!

We went to Old Fort Niagara and Fort Niagara Lighthouse

Here's the lighthouse, it was a really nice one.  Unfortunately they were not open for tours, but we did get a stamp for our book.

I was trying to follow a stream on my phone, of Andy Murray & Kyle Edmund playing each other at Eastbourne. I got frustrated as it kept cutting out, so I gave up.  Bryan had gone on ahead and I caught up with him after about 30 minutes.  He took a picture of me as I was walking up the pathway into the fort.  I'm the blob in blue at the bottom of the path. :)

                           
and I took a picture of him waiting for me!!
                           
Here's a close up.
                           

Here is a VIDEO recreating the history of the Fort and how it has been restored.  I recommend watching it if you want to learn about the history of the Fort and see reenactments of the past.  

The entry into the fort. (Descriptions in italics taken from the "Old Fort Niagara-Your Guide to the Fort")

The Gate of Five Nations (1756) From 1756 until about 1805 this was the main entrance to the Fort. The French named the gate in honor of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee).  The original gate was wooden.  The present gatehouse is a 1931 reconstruction.

The Gate of Five Nations

Bryan got a picture of a lighthouse that was across the river in Canada.  We may try and find that on our way to the hotel tomorrow.
                           
This little fella welcomed Bryan to the fort.

To open and close the main gate 

Once through the gate, we found the following:

"The Provisions Storehouse(1762) was built by the British, this building housed 7,000 barrels of food."

Provisions Storehouse

"The Dauphin Battery(1756) The French built this five-gun battery to protect the main gate.  It is armed with three 6-pounder and two 12-pounder cannons"

Dauphin Battery 

"The Powder Magazine(1757) The French erected this building which survived the siege of 1759."

Powder Magazine

"18-Pounder Battery (1840-1872) Heavy guns were placed here during the 1840's to bear on Canada, but were never fired in conflict"

18 Pounder Battery

"The arched Postern Gate was the main entrance to the Fort after 1839." 

Looking out at the Coastguard Station

Ducks

"The River Defenses (1839-1843) The United States erected this massive river wall in response to the Canadian rebellions of 1837-38.  Guns on the Hot Shot Battery face Ft. Mississauga on the Canadian shore. " 

"Adjacent to the Battery is a Hot Shot Furnace completed in 1843.  Here cannon balls could be heated red hot. When fired at a wooden ship or building, hot shot would quickly set it afire."

Hot Shot Furnace

"The North Redoubt (1771) is a companion structure to the South Redoubt, this building differed slightly in design, housing a powder magazine on its ground floor.  Both buildings incorporate two styles popular in 18th century Britain - classical Roman arches topped by Chinese-style roofs"

The North Redoubt(1771)

Inside the North Redoubt

Bryan going up

Sue playing Peek-a-boo!!!

At the top

This bird was hiding out at the top. 

View of the lighthouse from the top

The Lasalle Monument (1932) Commemorates the French explorer who established the first fort here in 1679"

LaSalle Monument, French Castle in the background

Vegetable Garden

"The French Castle (1726) This is the oldest building of the Fort and in the eastern interior of North America, and was originally the only structure at Fort Niagara.  The building was designed by Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Lery, chief engineer of New France.  It was designed to look like a house rather than a fortification to avoid giving offense to local Natives.  Dormer windows on the third floor provided defensive positions for the garrison."

They were setting up for an event at the weekend "French and Indian War Encampment"

Inside the French Castle

This gentleman was waiting to give us a history of the fur trade. He really played the part. There were several different types of fur pelts there. He asked where we were from, and when he found out I was English, he kept referring to the Brits as being responsible for bringing all the "boxes".  I really didn't know what he was talking about, but didn't say anything.  He probably wondered why I was giving him a blank stare.  When we got outside I asked Bryan what the boxes were, and he gave me a blank stare. Eventually he realized that I was talking about the red "foxes" and had misheard "boxes".  Oh dear, I even had my hearing aids in, but it did make us laugh.  😂

He kept pointing at the white "boxes" whenever he said "foxes". :)

French Castle

"The Rush-Begot Monument (1934) commemorates an 1817 treaty that limited armaments on the Great Lakes."

While we were at the monument I had an insect fly into my mouth, and down my throat.  I had no choice but to swallow it!!!  Ugh, YUCK!!!  I wasn't happy but what could I do???  Nothing, except I immediately thought of the rhyme.

"There was an old lady 

who swallowed a fly

but I don't know why

she swallowed a fly

perhaps she'll die"

There I was singing/chanting this song after swallowing a fly.  Bryan disowned me, but I was laughing, what else could I do, except maybe die!!!  I will hasten to add there was no one anywhere near us at this time!!!  It was really quite funny, and as I'm writing this 19 days after the event, I'm still alive!!!  Thank goodness!!

Back to the Fort after that brief interlude............

They were practicing for the event this weekend.

"Three Historic Flags - The Fort flies early versions of flags of the three nations that occupied Fort Niagara: France (1726-1759), Britain (1759-1796, 1814) and the United States (1796-1813, 1815 onward)"

"The South Redoubt (1770) The British constructed this building to protect the main gate and provide a cannon platform.  A guard room is located on the second floor."

South Redoubt with Powder Magazine on right

Inside the South Redoubt

We finished our tour and went back out of the front gate.

These Canadian Geese bade us farewell.

I had been told about an old flag that was in the museum and so we went to find it.

"In the early morning hours of December 19th, 1813, British troops fought their way into Fort Niagara to capture the post from the United States.  The War of 1812 was in its second year, and fighting had already raged across the Niagara river several times.  One of the most significant trophies taken by the British that morning was Fort Niagara's garrison flag, an immense version of the Stars & Stripes."  Read this LINK. to find out the full history of the flag and its return to America from the UK.

We spent quite a while just looking at this flag and thinking about the history behind it.  It is quite something.  The way they have it displayed to preserve it as best as possible, while still allowing the public to view it, is amazing.

We were going to get on the Discover Niagara Shuttle from here and do the 14 mile, 2 hour round trip around various locations as shown below.  It is a hop on, hop off trolley and the best part is it's FREE!!  Now, at some of the stops you can park for free and this bus will take you all the way to Goat Island and the Falls.  Here at the Fort, you have to pay an entrance fee of $8 to get in the park.   If you want to go into the Fort there is an another admission fee but they deduct the cost of the park admission from it.  We decided not to do the trolley as it was already late, the Fort had taken us longer than we anticipated to see but that's because we were enjoying it.  

Look at all those places you can get to!!!!  It's a great deal.

Another great day, tomorrow we will be going to our hotel overlooking the falls.  Can't wait!!!!