Fort George, Ontario

Fort George
Blockhouses inside the fort
Location	51 Queen's Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates	43°15′03″N 79°03′40″W / 43.25083°N 79.06111°W / 43.25083; -79.06111
Built	1796–1799
Original use	Military fortification
Rebuilt	1937–1939[note 1]
Restored by	Niagara Parks Commission
Current use	Museum
Visitors	~55,000 (in 2007)[1]
Owner	Parks Canada
Website	www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/on/fortgeorge
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	Fort George National Historic Site of Canada
Designated	21 May 1921
Location of Fort George in Southern Ontario

Fort George was a military fortification in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. The fort was used by the British Army, the Canadian militia, and the United States Armed Forces for a brief period. The fort was mostly destroyed during the War of 1812. The site of the fort has been a National Historic Site of Canada since 1921, and features a reconstruction of Fort George.

The British established Fort George in the 1790s to replace Fort Niagara. Many of its structures were demolished in May 1813, during the Battle of Fort George. After the battle, American forces occupied the fort for seven months before withdrawing in December 1813. Although the British regained the fort shortly afterwards, little effort was put into its reconstruction after they captured Fort Niagara the following week. The poor wartime design of Fort George led its replacement by Fort Mississauga in the 1820s, although the grounds of Fort George saw some use by the military until the end of the First World War. During the late-1930s, the Niagara Parks Commission built a reconstruction of Fort George. The site was opened in 1940, and has been managed as a historic site and living museum by Parks Canada since 1969.

The fort has irregular-shaped earthwork with six bastions, and a number of reconstructed buildings within it. The restored gunpowder magazine is the only building that dates to the original Fort George. The fort forms a part of Fort George National Historic Site, which also includes Navy Hall to the east of the fort. The historic site serves as a learning resource for the War of 1812, 19th-century military life in Canada, and the historic preservation movement during the 1930s.

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