Fort St. Joseph (Ontario) facts for kids
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| Established | 1796 |
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| Location | Jocelyn, Ontario, Canada, on Lake Huron. |
| Type | Fort |
| Designated: | 1923 |
Fort St. Joseph was once an important British military base. It was located on the very southern tip of St. Joseph Island in Ontario, Canada. This spot is right on Lake Huron.
The fort had several buildings. These included a blockhouse, a place to store gunpowder (called a powder magazine), a bakery, and a meeting house for Indigenous people. All these buildings were surrounded by a strong wooden fence, known as a palisade.
Fort St. Joseph covered about 325 hectares (that's about 800 acres) along the St. Marys River. It was the starting point for the first attack in the War of 1812. This fort was a key military spot and a busy place for trade in the area. For a short time, it was the most western British outpost in North America. Today, Parks Canada looks after Fort St. Joseph, and it is a National Historic Site of Canada.
Contents
Why Fort St. Joseph Was Built
In 1783, the Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolutionary War. As part of this treaty, the new country of the United States gained control of Michilimackinac. This was a very important trading post on Mackinac Island, where Lake Huron and Lake Michigan meet.
Michilimackinac's location gave the Americans strong control over the upper Great Lakes. Because of this, Lord Dorchester, who was the military governor of Canada, decided that St. Joseph Island needed to be taken over quickly. He worried the Americans might try to claim it too. Lord Dorchester hoped that a new fort on St. Joseph Island could compete with Michilimackinac. He also wanted to keep the support of the Indigenous peoples in the region.
Things became clearer with Jay's Treaty, which started in 1796. This treaty made British forces leave several frontier forts that now belonged to the Americans. One of these forts was Fort Mackinac. To replace it, the British began building Fort St. Joseph in the summer of 1796.
Tensions Before the War of 1812
By 1807, relations between the British and Americans were strained. This was due to disagreements over trade and foreign policies. Control of the Great Lakes and the valuable fur trade also caused problems.
Fort St. Joseph was still not finished at this time. It didn't have enough soldiers and its weapons were old. It was clear that the fort would not be able to defend itself if attacked.
Fort St. Joseph and the War of 1812
The United States declared war on Great Britain on June 18, 1812. Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, the military commander of Upper Canada, understood how important Fort St. Joseph was. He sent a message to Captain Charles Roberts, who commanded Fort St. Joseph. The order was to prepare for an immediate attack on Michilimackinac.
On July 16, 1812, Captain Roberts set off. He led an army of British soldiers, French Canadian voyageurs (many from nearby Sault Ste. Marie), and about 400 Indigenous warriors. These warriors were from the Ottawa, Ojibwa, Menominee, and Winnebago nations. They traveled by boat towards Fort Michilimackinac.
The mission went smoothly. The group landed at British Landing on Mackinac Island on the morning of July 17, 1812. Lieutenant Porter Hanks, the American commander of Fort Michilimackinac, was not ready for an attack. His fort also had very few soldiers. Before Lieutenant Hanks's men could do anything, Captain Roberts's army had already taken their positions. Lieutenant Hanks had no choice but to surrender.
Meanwhile, American soldiers from Detroit arrived at Fort St. Joseph. They found it empty and burned the fort down. They also burned the North West Company storehouses that were there.
After the War
Michilimackinac remained under British control until the end of the war. However, when the peace treaty was signed in December 1814, Michilimackinac was given back to the Americans. Because of this, the British decided not to rebuild Fort St. Joseph.
The British then built a new fort on Drummond Island, which is between St. Joseph Island and Mackinaw. They still used the powder magazine at the otherwise abandoned Fort St. Joseph for a while. Eventually, Fort St. Joseph was forgotten when the British moved their soldiers to Penetanguishene after the fur trade became less important.
Fort St. Joseph Today
For many years, no one paid much attention to the forgotten fort. In the early 1920s, the Sault Ste. Marie Historical Society started looking into the ruins. After World War II, a road was built to the site, and a small picnic area was created.
The University of Toronto became interested in the site in the late 1950s. Teams began archaeological digs in the summers of 1963 and 1964. It wasn't until 1974 that Parks Canada took control of the site. A visitor center was then built there.
Today, archaeological digs still happen from time to time. Each new excavation helps discover more artifacts from the past. The park welcomes a few thousand visitors every year.
See also
- Chronology of the War of 1812
- War of 1812 Campaigns
- List of forts
- Upper Canada
- Fort Mackinac
- Islands of the Great Lakes
- Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Affiliations
The Museum is connected with: CMA, CHIN, and Virtual Museum of Canada.
