Travel Photography > Photos tagged as fort_niagara
Detail from an early 1700's window clasp. It was made by hand by a blacksmith, there weren't any hardware stores in the Great Lakes region back then!
These were students from a college in Niagara Falls studing to become teachers. They were kind enough to let us 'crash' their tour.
The British built the two parapet's after they took the fort from the French to protect against Indian attacks.
Mortar's were one of three types of large guns used at the Fort. These were for use against attacking soldiers (anti-personnel weapons)
There was a lot of walking involved with touring the Fort, but Mom really enjoyed herself
What the well dressed French Soldier would have worn during the 1700's
During the 1700's, cooking was done over a fire, not on a stove. The bar was used to hang kettles over the fire (or swing out for eating). The opening in the back was an oven for baking bread.
The red brick building on the right is not part of the original fort.
You can tell who built which building by what kind of Insignia is above the door. This is an example of the British Insignia (also the years the British held the Fort)
There is a Ghost story associated with this well...
They ate, slept and relaxed in the same room. The highest ranking soldier slept closest to the fire.
This is the main door in the "Castle", the oldest building at the fort. All ironwork would have been done by a blacksmith.
After the British occupied the fort, they covered the walls of any rooms used by officers with plaster. The tour guide (red shirt) is describing the room to some Niagara College students.
This is the oldest building at Fort Niagara, built in 1726 by the French at the mouth of the Niagara River to protect their fur trading interests in the Great Lakes region.
Canon were smooth bore guns used to break up enemy formations or defenses. They were not very accurate and not good against foot soldiers. Ft Niagara has one of the largest collections of 1700's big guns in the US.
This is the third type of large gun used at Fort Niagara in the 1700's, it combines some of the features of the cannon and the mortar.
A draw bridge is very heavy, so to lift it, it was built with a counterweight system (the bridge goes up, the weights go down, and vice versa)
This is at the entrance to the fort.
When the Fort was built, there was about 200 feet of land between the "Castle" and Lake Onterio. That is almost entirely gone due to erosion, but there is now a concrete bulkhead to protect against further erosion.