Fort Niagara, New York - August 20th, 2021
Finding the little gems along the way add so much to a trip. Old Fort Niagara is not far from Niagara Falls. It is definitely worth the side trip.
Before we left the Niagara Falls area on Monday, we visited Fort Niagara. It is located just a few miles west of Four Mile Creek State Park, where the Niagara River enters Lake Ontario.
Fort Niagara is also a state park, so our camping permit allowed us into the park for free, saving us $8. However, there is a $15 per adult charge to enter the fort. At the entrance to the fort, you show them your entrance fee receipt. Ours indicated that we had not paid anything. We’re assuming that they were discounting the $15 by the amount you paid at the park entrance gate. So we may not have really saved anything by using our camping permit. There is more to the park than just the fort, like picnic areas, a beach, and a swimming pool. So if you just wanted to enjoy the park without visiting the fort, the camping permit would get you in for free.
At the visitor center for the fort, there is a short movie playing at a quarter past every hour. We arrived just in time for the first viewing of the movie. The movie is a great overview of the fort and its history. At the end of the movie, a staff member invited people to gather for a short guided tour. We opted for the guide. It was well worth our time. The guide was very knowledgeable and gave another great overview, highlighting the various points of interest in the fort and providing interesting and different information than the movie. Then we were free to roam around the fort on our own for as long as we liked.
A few minutes after our short tour ended, there was a musket firing demonstration by a man dressed as a British soldier, in his woolen uniform. A couple of other men were also dressed in uniform, each carrying their own Brown Bess musket. A woman dressed in period clothing was giving a clothes washing demonstration, which involved boiling water in a large kettle over an open fire along with lye and soap. All of the staff were a wealth of information, answering all kinds of questions that visitors would come up with.
Fort Niagara was originally a French fort, used to control the traffic entering the Niagara River from Lake Ontario, and thus controlling the four remaining Great Lakes, giving France a monopoly on the beaver fur trade. Later the British conquered the fort. It was given to the United States after the Revolutionary War, then the British took it back during the War of 1812 only to return it to the United States at the end of the war.
After visiting the fort, we ate our lunch at a picnic table across the parking lot, next to the Old Fort Niagara Lighthouse. The lighthouse was one of the first lighthouses erected on the Great Lakes.
After spending the previous day with all the crowds and sensational attractions at Niagara Falls the day before, Fort Niagara was a welcomed peaceful stroll. The slower pace and quiet atmosphere allowed us to soak in the history the fort had to offer.
Check out our related video: Fort Niagara, New York
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