Fort George to undergo facelift
Amanda Roth
Issue date: 2/2/10 Section: News
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An extensive restoration on Fort George started about four weeks ago.
Fort George is Niagara-on-the-Lake's most celebrated site and memorial for the War of 1812 and the now 80-year-old replica of the historic site is receiving $2.75 million renovations.
Six cannon platforms and sections of its decaying wooden fence are being replaced to secure the outer walls of the fort and stabilize the crumbling building.
More renovations will take place inside the building, where workers will replace some sections of the roof and walls that are falling apart.
The replica of Fort George was built in the 1930s and was conceptualized to look like the military hub established by the British to defend the border of Upper Canada against the Americans in 1802.
It was also designed to control and regulate supplies coming down the Niagara River.
During the War of 1812, Fort George served as the Center Division of the British Army's headquarters. Our university's namesake, Sir Issac Brock himself, served at this fort until his death at the Battle of Queenston Heights in Oct. 1812.
The original Fort George was destroyed by American artillery fire and captured during the Battle of Fort George in May 1813. Afterwards, American forces used the fort as their own base in attempts to invade the rest of Upper Canada.
After pushing back American forces at the Battles of Stoney Creek and Beaver Dams, the fort was retaken in Dec. 1813, after a seven-month occupation.
After the war, attempts were made to rebuild the fort, but by the 1820's it was uninhabitable and abandoned for a better location.
The site was used over the years for agriculture, as part of a local golf course and by the Canadian Military as a hospital for Camp Niagara, until the construction of Fort George's replica in the 1930's and the site's establishment as the Fort George National Historical Site of Canada.
Three archeologists are working alongside construction workers to search for archeological artifacts while they complete the renovations.
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