Fort Ontario

Fort Ontariois an American historicbastion fortsituated by theCity of OswegoinOswego County, New York.It is owned by the state of New York and operated as a museum known asFort Ontario State Historic Site.

Fort Ontario
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New York State Register of Historic Places
View from Fort Ontario
Location	1 E. 4th St. and Lake Ontario,Oswego, New York
Coordinates	43°27′57″N76°30′29″W
Area	36 acres (15 ha)
Built	1839(1839)
NRHP referenceNo.	70000426
NYSRHPNo.	07540.000009
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	December 18, 1970
Designated NYSRHP	June 23, 1980

Geography and early history

A 1757 map showing the defenses around the mouth of the Oswego River (image shows replica map from 1850)

Fort Ontario is located on the east side of theOswego Riveron high ground overlookingLake Ontario.

Fort Ontario was one of several forts erected by the British to protect the area around the east end ofLake Ontario.The original Fort Ontario was erected in 1755, during theFrench and Indian War,in order to bolster defenses already in place atFort Oswegoon the opposite side of the river. At that time its name was the "Fort of the Six Nations," but the fort wasdestroyedby French forces during theBattle of Fort Oswegoin 1756 and rebuilt by British forces in 1759.

At the conclusion ofPontiac's War,Pontiacurged moderation and agreed to travel to New York, where he made a formal treaty withWilliam Johnsonat Fort Ontario on July 25, 1766.

During theAmerican Revolutionary War,a detachment from the3rd New York Regimentdestroyed 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 ColonelMarinus Willetin 1783. The British held the fort after the war was over until 1796 after the signing ofJay's Treaty.

Nineteenth century

The fort wasattackedand destroyed by British forces during theWar of 1812in the year 1814. After a period of disuse, new construction was undertaken in part because of tensions with Great Britain as well as to check smuggling activities between Canada and the United States.

During theAmerican Civil Warthe new construction began at the fort because of fear of British help from Canada to the Confederacy. After theAmerican Civil Warit held Company F, 42nd Infantry which consisted of wounded soldiers from the war that had reenlisted in the U.S. Army. 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.

Recent

When the United States enteredWorld War Iin April 1917, the fort was repurposed as a military hospital, known as General Hospital No. 5. The facility was used to train medical personnel before they were posted to France.

In 1921, the fort again became an infantry base, initially the28th Infantry Regimentand in 1933, the2nd Brigadeof theU.S. 1st Infantry Divisioncalled Fort Ontario home until the brigade was deactivated on June 1, 1940. During this period, some of the historic buildings inside the fort were restored and a golf course was laid out on the grassy ramparts.

The walls of Fort Ontario

In 1940, the fort was refurbished as an induction center for new conscripts with 60 new buildings for 3,000 men, but it was used instead as a base for severalNational Guardanti-aircraft units. As America enteredWorld War II,Fort Ontario was repurposed again as a training center for African American military police.Later in the war, the fort was home to approximately 982 Jewish refugees, from August 1944 to February 1946. TheFort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelterwas the 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 because of 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.

Although closed by the U.S. Army after World War II, some of the buildings at Fort Ontario are still used for training by the Army Reserve.

The restored fort is open to the public as a state historic site. It was listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesin 1970.In 2010, Fort Ontario was one of the state-funded historical sites named byGovernor David Patersonas being potentially unfunded because of the budget crisis faced by New York State. In response, many of the citizens of Oswego and students of theState University of New York at Oswegohave joined together in support of the historical site.

Fort Ontario was built with two other forts in the period,Fort GeorgeandFort Oswego.

Description

Aerial view of Fort Ontario showing the five bastions.

The present fortifications are built on apentagonalplan with fivebastions,similar to the layout ofFort Jackson, Louisiana.It was designed for heavy cannon mountedenbarbette(i.e. in the open firing over theparapet), buthowitzerswere mounted incasematesbuilt into the ramparts of the bastions. The stone-facedscarp wallsof the bastions were also pierced withloopholesfor rifle fire, which are of varying design, reflecting the preferences of the different engineers overseeing the construction. Originally, aravelinprotected the side of the fort facing Lake Ontario and mounted further heavy guns.

The current layout of the fort includes Officer Quarters #1, thePowder Magazine,the Enlisted Men's Barracks, the Storehouse, and Officer Quarters #2. There are also two guardhouses by the entrance of the tunnel to the main entrance.

Internal view of Fort Ontario after a fresh snowfall, December 2018.

See also

• List of New York State Historic Sites

References

• Graymont, Barbara,The Iroquois in the American Revolution,1972,ISBN0-8156-0083-6

External links

• Historic Fort Ontario
• Fort Ontario State Historic Site,official site
• Friends of Fort Ontario