2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Butler's Barracks are just one one of four military installations along the Niagara River by Niagara-by-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.
The others:
Fort George
Fort Mississauga
Navy Hall
I have written about the two forts this past month.
The British passed control of the Butler's Barracks over to the Canadian Army in 1871.
--Brock-Perry
From Wikipedia.
Fort Mississauga National Historic Site is a fort located on the shore of Lake Ontario at the mouth of the Niagara River by the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.
It consists of a box-like brick tower surrounded by a star-shaped earthworks.
It was built from 1814-1816 during the War of 1812 to replace the nearby Fort George (which was considered to be too far from Lake Ontario). It was built on a foundation of brick and stone salvaged from rubble left over after retreating U.S. forces burned the nearby town of Newark (today's Niagara-on-the-Lake) in December 1813.
It would help in the defense of Upper Canada as a part of the regional network that also included Fort George, Navy Hall and Butler's Barracks.
However, Fort Mississauga was not completed until after the end of the war.
--Brock-Perry
On 21 May 1921 the site was named as a National Historic Site of Canada and a stone cairn placed on the site. During the mid-1930s, the Department of National Defence accepted an offer from the Niagara Parks Commission to reconstruct and restore Fort George, Fort Mississauga and Navy Hall in return for a 99-year lease on all three properties for C$1 a year; although the Department reserved the right to reclaim the properties with a six-month's notice.
The commission began to restore Navy Hall in August 1937 which was followed by work on the fort's gunpowder magazine. The fort's officers' quarters were moved to another part of the fort. The buildings erected during the First World War were relocated outside the fort.
During this period, bulldozers were used to push the fort's earthen ramparts back into place. The surrounding area was also cleared of undergrowth. In 1939, the reconstruction of Fort George's former buildings and a visitor centre outside the fort took place. White pine from northern Ontario was brought in for construction.
--Brock-Perry
In 1828, the headquarters of the British Army Centre Division was officially transferred to to York, Ontasrio. At that time, Fort George was reportedly just a few "wooden decaying barracks." In 1839, Navy Hall was converted into barracks for the fort's garrison and the former barracks became stables.
During the 1860s, the British government took control of the military complex in the area which included Fort George, Fort Mississauga, Butler's Barracks and the training common. The ruins of the fort were intermittenly leased to a private citizen who acted as the custodian-tenant of te property.
During that period, structures in the fort were converted to other uses: Officers quarters were incorporated into a farmhouse, the stone gunpowder magazine used for storing hay and the property itself used for grazing cattle.
By the 1880s, the bastions and gunpowder magazine were in bad condition.
In 1882, the Wright family was granted a lease by the Department of Militia Defence, which led to the opening of a golf club in the area with the golf course occupying portions of the ruin.
--Brock-Perry
The poor wartime construction of Fort George led to its replacement by Fort Mississauga in the 1820s. Even so, the grounds of the former Fort George saw military activity 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 is an irregular-shaped earthwork with six bastions and a number of reconstructed buildings within it. A restored gunpowder magazine is the only building that dates back to the original Fort George. The fort forms part of the 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.
--Brock-Perry
