A thunderstorm did not stop people from turning out on Saturday for the opening of the military fort in Niagara-on-the-Lake that has overlooked the waters of the Niagara River for 210 years.
Fort Mississauga National Historic Site opened to visitors for the first time in years on May 16, after undergoing seven years of restoration work to return it, as best as can be done, to its former glory.
Alongside hosting the opening of Fort Mississauga, the Friends of Fort George raised more than $200 through an antiques evaluation event at Navy Hall.
Ongoing repairs to Brock’s Monument have cut the Friends’ on-site revenue since the monument shut down last fall, pushing the group to open new sites and new fundraisers to cover more than $100,000 in annual student wages.
Fort Mississauga, inside the NOTL Golf Club property, will remain open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until June 28, with interior tours at $5 per person.
Nearly 750 people visited the fort across the opening weekend, including a bonus Victoria Day Monday.
Tony Chisholm, president of the Friends of Fort George, said all money raised through events like the Navy Hall antiques session goes directly toward hiring summer students trained by Parks Canada.
“Contributing money to the Friends of Fort George helps us hire more students for the fort so that when tourists come to town, they’ve got a bigger squad and there’s more people to greet them,” said Chisholm.
The fort was built in the wake of the War of 1812 to secure British forces in the Niagara Peninsula from the American navy controlling Lake Ontario. Construction started in 1814 and completed in 1816. It was left in a state of disrepair since it was last used as a training site for Canadian soldiers during the Second World War.
Starting in 2019, however, Parks Canada began to restore the site, re-establishing earthworks, cleaning up debris inside, replacing the roof, stabilizing its central tower, constructing a new pedestrian boardwalk to the front gate and other restoration efforts.
For one day in May 2024, the public was given the chance to see inside the fort and observe the restoration work, but before then, the fort had never been open to the public for regular visits.
Meanwhile, at Navy Hall, the antiques evaluation drew several local residents hoping to find out the history and value of the items they brought with them, including chinaware, brass, silver and glass items.
Andre Wagner, a member of the Society of Antique Jewellery Historians whose family has been in the antique business since 1965, charged $10 per item and donated all proceeds to the Friends.
He assessed whether pieces carried historical value, market value or mainly sentimental worth.
Evaluating one resident’s piece of decorated crockery, Wagner told the room the item dated likely to the 1920s or 1930s based on its style.
“It’s charming from a sentimental point of view, and it also has one of my favourite words: patina,” Wagner said. “In terms of value, sadly, not so much, so off to Newark Neighbors, that’s where that’s going to end up.”
The Friends of Fort George hired 11 students last year. Grants cover part of that cost, with the remainder raised through events, the Fort George gift shop and Brock’s Monument programs.
Restoration work at the monument has cut access to its interior staircase, reducing the group’s ability to earn money on site. The Friends plan to operate an outdoor pop-up tent near the monument this summer.
Fort Mississauga tours run at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. each weekend day and include a visit to the Sally Port, a controlled gateway built into the fort’s outer wall. Visiting the grounds is free. The Canada Strong Pass, available June 19 to Sept. 7, covers admission to all Parks Canada sites at no charge.
