Fort Mississauga
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Fort Mississauga National Historic Site is a fort along the shore of Lake Ontario, not far from the Niagara River in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The fort today consists of a box–shaped brick tower and historic star–shaped earthworks—the only one in the country. The all–brick fort was built from 1814–1816 during the War of 1812, to replace nearby Fort George. It was built on a foundation of brick and stone salvaged from rubble left after United States forces sacked the nearby town of Newark in December, 1813. It would help in the defense of Upper Canada the following year, as part of a regional network that included Fort George, Navy Hall, and Butler's Barracks. However, the fort wouldn't be completed until after the war.
The British Army was stationed at the fort from 1813 to 1855, followed by the Canadian Army, which used it as summer training ground beginning in the 1870s, then during both World Wars and the Korean War. A golf course was laid out nearby in the late 1870s. Today, Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Course surrounds the site, but public access is permitted via a walking path, with a warning to look out for golfers, who have the right of way. The path starts at the corner of Front and Simcoe streets.
Fort Mississauga National Historic Site is one of a handful of properties which comprise Niagara National Historic Sites, an administrative group managed by Parks Canada in the National Park System.
Before the fort was built, the site was used by at least three Native American tribes: the Neutral (15th century); Seneca (late 17th century); and Mississauga (18th century). In 1804, a lighthouse was erected at the site, which had become known as Mississauga Point. This was the first lighthouse on the Great Lakes, but was dismantled in 1814 to make way for Fort Mississauga, which incorporated stone from the lighthouse. Mississauga Point Lighthouse National Historic Site is today commemorated within the walls of Fort Mississauga by a plaque erected by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
 Looking into the entrance of Fort Mississauga |
 The tower at Fort Mississauga, taken from the surrounding earthworks |
 Gate to Fort Mississauga |
 Plaque mounted on the tower of Fort Mississauga |
