Old Fort Niagara is set to host a Living History Weekend on Saturday and Sunday of Columbus Day Weekend, October 10th and 11th. The fort’s staff and volunteers will present a variety of 18th century living history activities for visitors to enjoy from 10 am to 4 pm. [Read more…] about Living History Weekend At Old Fort Niagara
Old Fort Niagara
300th Anniversary of Le Magazin Royal Niagara Trading Post Being Marked
The Historical Association of Lewiston, the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, Artpark and Old Fort Niagara are set to celebrate the 300th Anniversary of Le Magazin Royal Niagara Trading Post on September 12th, at Artpark in Lewiston. [Read more…] about 300th Anniversary of Le Magazin Royal Niagara Trading Post Being Marked
Old Fort Niagara Has Reopened
Old Fort Niagara, is considered the oldest continuously occupied military site in North America. It opened in 1934 as a historic site and public museum. The Fort, originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America, is located near Youngstown, Niagara County, NY, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.
The site has reopened to visitors, following a 15-week closure due to the ongoing pandemic. Daily hours of operation have been shortened slightly from 10 am to 4 pm to allow for extra cleaning before and after hours. [Read more…] about Old Fort Niagara Has Reopened
1700s Fashion Show at Old Fort Niagara
Old Fort Niagara is set to celebrate Women’s History Month with a brand-new program and special access to its sewing studio on March 21, from 2 to 3:30 pm, for “Fort Niagara’s Women of Distinction.” The program will feature four women from the fort’s past, each representing different time periods, ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds, and wearing period-specific clothing currently being sewn in the fort’s sewing studio. [Read more…] about 1700s Fashion Show at Old Fort Niagara
Old Fort Niagara’s ‘Winter Woods Battle’
Old Fort Niagara has announced that their ‘Winter Woods Battle’ is set to return on Saturday, February 15th, from 10 am to 4 pm, and will feature cordwaining (shoemaking) as a new demonstration along with its assortment of indoor and outdoor living-history activities for visitors.
Re-enactors from regional units – Brant’s Volunteers, Hoisington Rangers, New York Provincials and Shroth’s New York Company – will join the fort’s staff and volunteers in presenting a full slate of programming for all, indoors and out. [Read more…] about Old Fort Niagara’s ‘Winter Woods Battle’
African-American History at Old Fort Niagara Talk Planned
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown is set to host a walking tour that illuminates the African-American history of the fort on Monday, January 20th.
The tour will be led by Executive Director Robert Emerson, who will discuss slavery in New France and the story of Richard Pierpoint, a black loyalist during the American Revolution; New information on the 24th Infantry Regiment that was posted at Fort Niagara in 1908-1909; and the life of Hubert Crawford, the African-American artist, who painted the mural “Lions of Cantigny” at the Fort Niagara Officers’ Club in the late 1930s. [Read more…] about African-American History at Old Fort Niagara Talk Planned
French Heritage Day At Old Fort Niagara
Old Fort Niagara has announced French Heritage Day, featuring living history programs on the French influences on the Niagara region on Saturday, November 9th.
Demonstrations of life as a soldier, games, cooking, trading, music, muskets and artillery will occupy the French Castle and fort grounds from 10 am to 4 pm. [Read more…] about French Heritage Day At Old Fort Niagara
Lantern Tours Highlight Dark Side of Old Fort Niagara
Old Fort Niagara was built in 1678 to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario. The fort played a significant part in the French and Indian War, and fell to the British in a nineteen-day siege in July 1759, called the Battle of Fort Niagara.
The Fort has announced that tickets are now on sale for its new “Lantern and Lore Tours” set for October. [Read more…] about Lantern Tours Highlight Dark Side of Old Fort Niagara
American Revolution Tory Partisan William Caldwell
The name William Caldwell first caught my attention while researching the August 12, 1781, raid in Wawarsing, in Ulster County, NY. His name was mentioned again in Governor George Clinton’s public papers. It was also in connection to the August raid which, it was believed, was lead by Caldwell (then a Captain). During this raid he led other Tories and Native American allies.
William Caldwell was born around 1750 in Northern Ireland. Prior to the American Revolution, Caldwell came to England’s North American Colonies first settling in Pennsylvania. [Read more…] about American Revolution Tory Partisan William Caldwell
War of 1812: The New Brunswick Regiment of Foot
Best known for its perilous Winter March through the wilderness of New Brunswick to the battlegrounds in Upper Canada, the 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot was a British unit originally raised to defend the Maritimes, with members drawn from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Upper and Lower Canada, and the British Isles.
In 1813, the regiment was sent to raid the American naval base in Sackets Harbor, New York, and then moved to the Niagara Peninsula to continue its fight against the invading Americans. [Read more…] about War of 1812: The New Brunswick Regiment of Foot