Although Ontario’s Fort Mississauga is recognized as a National Historic Site, unlike other Canadian fortresses of its era—Fort York in Toronto, Fort Henry in Kingston, and nearby Fort George—it hasn’t been restored. A rarely visited relic, it lies almost forgotten and in a state of disrepair amid the grounds of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club, the oldest golf course in North America.
Fort Mississauga was built during the War of 1812, designed to improve British defenses along the Niagara Frontier and secure the western end of Lake Ontario. It was intended to replace Fort George, which had quickly proven itself highly vulnerable to artillery fire from Fort Niagara and American warships.
In 1813 a battery built at Mississauga pointed a few miles to the north of Fort George. By the summer of 1814 the battery had become Fort Mississauga, which was planned as an irregular star-shaped earthwork redoubt armed with four 24-pound guns mounted on traversing carriages. These guns had a range of a mile and could reach the American shore or bombard vessels entering the Niagara River.
At the heart of the fort’s defenses was a brick-and-stone central tower, thick-walled with rounded corners to deflect artillery fire. Its foundations consisted of fire-blackened bricks salvaged from the ruins of Newark, present-day Niagara-on-the-Lake, burned to the ground by American forces in December 1813. Additional buildings, made of wood, lay within the earthworks to house as many as 80 troops.
The closest Fort Mississauga came to being attacked occurred in July 1814, when an American brigade of 3,000 men commanded by Colonel Moses Porter halfheartedly advanced toward it. Facing formidable—although incomplete—earthworks, and under fire from powerful long-range guns, the American attack was tentative at best, and Porter quickly withdrew his men from the field of battle.
With the end of the war in 1815, Fort Mississauga’s construction slowed. It never reached its original vision of a massive fortress larger than Fort George and home to more than 1,000 troops. If completed, it would have been among the largest fortresses in North America.
Nevertheless, even in its reduced form it served as a vital strongpoint in the defense system that extended along the Great Lakes. A British garrison was maintained there almost constantly until 1855, at which point it was taken over by Canadian militia units. The fort was manned on a continuous basis during the American Civil War and the Fenian scare of 1877, in both cases to ward off cross-border assaults that never materialized.
During the 20th century, by which time its earthworks and stone walls had become obsolete, and the enemy it was built to defend against was no longer a threat, Fort Mississauga was used as a training facility by the Canadian military. Thousands of young men passed through here on their way to distant battlefields during both world wars and the Korean War.
Today, Fort Mississauga is maintained by Parks Canada. Although the stone tower and surrounding earthworks are visible from the road, Fort Mississauga should be experienced up close. A pedestrian pathway from the corner of Simcoe and Front Streets leads through the fairways of the historic golf club. While the stone blockhouse is sealed up, visitors can explore the earthworks, enter tunnels, marvel at the imposing concrete tower, and tour a subterranean powder magazine. With guidance from information markers, visitors will quickly gain appreciation for the history of these ruins.
Fort Mississauga National Historic Site
Simcoe and Front Streets, Niagara-on-the-Lake (located within Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Course)
Open: daily
Admission: free
www.pc.gc.ca