Historical Development of the Fort
Fort Niagara, 1840
- 30 Officers' Quarters (French Castle), 1726
- 31c Old Bakehouse, 1762 altered c.1807-10
- 32 South Redoubt, 1770
- 33 North Redoubt, 1770-71
- 34b Storehouse, 1762
- 35 Powder Magazine, 1757
- 460c "Red" Barracks, c.1807-10 altered 1814-16
- 463c Officers' Quarters, c.1814 (1815-16 addition removed)
- 464b "Yellow" Barracks, c.1807-10 with 1816-40 addition
- 468 "Engineer" Barracks, 1816-18
- 469 Proposed Blockhouse (built 1842)
Cessation of work on Fort Niagara's new fortifications consigned the place to serve as little more than an open complex of barracks for the next twenty years. The river side was virtually indefensible, and the interior of the post was exposed to fire from Fort Mississauga which the British had begun in 1814 on the western shore of the river's mouth. Aside from the seawall, the only vestige of Lieutenant Smith's ambitious plan was a two-story "Engineer Barracks" (468) which had been constructed to house his workmen. Its seemingly peculiar placement in the parade ground was due to its location within Smith's unfinished plan which called for a total reorientation of the river side fortifications.
The neglect of the 1820s and 1830s ended abruptly in the aftermath of the Canadian Rebellion of 1837. Tension between the United States and Great Britain and resulting military activity on the Canadian side of the Niagara River drew attention to the defenseless state of Fort Niagara. Lake Ontario, probably in a high water cycle, was also once again on the attack, and the incomplete seawall was deteriorating. A general military inspection of the defenses of the northern frontier in 1838 resulted in appropriations for new fortifications at Niagara. The work subsequently undertaken between 1839 and 1843 would have the greatest impact on the fort's appearance since the expansion of the 1750s.
Captain William D. Fraser was assigned to transform Fort Niagara. This sketch, which combines both existing elements and some completed as late as 1842, is based on his "Plan of Fort Niagara Showing the Contemplated Repairs" of February 1840.
The 1839-43 alterations were designed to protect Fort Niagara against assaults from two directions. A massive stone wall was erected along the river side to shield the interior of the post from British guns. It included three batteries from which heavy guns could strike back at the Canadian shore. The 1816-18 seawall was completed and topped by a stockade and blockhouse (469) to cover the beach. The old earthworks also received attention. They were partially reconstructed and newly faced with wooden planks to impede erosion. A shot furnace (not shown) was built in 1843 to service the river side batteries, and alterations were made to several of the old stone buildings. By 1843 Fort Niagara was again considered to be defensible although its utility against the powerful artillery then available must seriously be questioned. At least the place once again had an appearance of strength.