Fort York facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fort York |
|
|---|---|
| Native name French: Fort-York |
|
Aerial view of Fort York from the southeast
|
|
| Location | 250 Fort York Boulevard, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Built | 1793 |
| Original use | Military fort |
| Rebuilt | 1813–15 |
| Restored | 1932–34; 1949 |
| Restored by | Municipal government of Toronto |
| Current use | Museum |
| Owner | Municipal government of Toronto |
| Official name: Fort York National Historic Site of Canada | |
| Designated | 25 May 1923 |
| Official name: Fort York Heritage Conservation District | |
| Type | Heritage Conservation District |
| Designated | 21 May 1985 |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
Fort York (French: Fort-York) is an old military fort in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was built in the early 1800s. The fort was a home for British and Canadian soldiers. It helped protect the entrance to Toronto Harbour. The fort has strong stone and earth walls. Inside, there are eight historic buildings, including two blockhouses (strong defensive buildings). Fort York is part of a larger area called Fort York National Historic Site. This site covers about 16.6 hectares (41 acres). It includes the fort, Garrison Common, military cemeteries, and a visitor centre.
The fort started as a small army camp in 1793. John Graves Simcoe set it up. As tensions grew between Britain and the United States, the fort was made stronger in 1798. American forces destroyed the first fort in April 1813 during the Battle of York. But work to rebuild it began later that year. The new fort was finished in 1815. It served as a military hospital for the rest of the War of 1812. It even saw a brief fight against an American ship in August 1814.
Fort York continued to be used by the British Army and Canadian soldiers. This was true even after New Fort York opened nearby in the 1840s. In 1870, the fort officially became Canadian property. The city of Toronto took ownership in 1909. However, the Canadian military still used the fort sometimes until the end of World War Two.
In 1923, the fort and its surroundings became a National Historic Site of Canada. The fort was restored in 1934 to look like it did in the early 1800s. It then opened as a museum. The museum teaches about the War of 1812 and military life in 19th-century Canada.
What's in a Name?
The name Fort York is a newer name for the site. At first, people called it the Garrison or the Fort at York. These names came from the settlement it protected, which was called York. In 1841, a new fort was built. People then started calling the older fort the Old Fort to tell them apart. The name Fort York became common in the 1870s. From the early 1900s until 1970, it was known as Old Fort York. Then, the Toronto Historical Society renamed it Historic Fort York.
Fort York's Story
The British first thought about building a fort in Toronto in the 1780s. But a permanent military base wasn't set up until 1793. This was when relations between Britain and the United States were getting worse. In the early 1790s, John Graves Simcoe was the lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. He wanted to build a fort in Toronto. This was part of a bigger plan. He wanted to move British soldiers from isolated areas in the U.S. and near the border. This would help reduce tensions with the Americans. Simcoe also worried that American forces could easily take over British bases, like the one in Kingston.
Simcoe chose Toronto (which was called York from 1793 to 1834) for the new military camp. It was far from the border. Its natural harbour also had only one entrance from the water. This made it easy to defend. Simcoe imagined the harbour as a base. From here, the British could control Lake Ontario. They could also stop any American attacks from the west.
He also saw the fort as a hub for moving British forces around the colony. Simcoe planned for the fort to be linked to other smaller forts. These would be along east-west roads. These roads would be an alternate route to the Great Lakes. There was also a north-south portage route to Georgian Bay. This route was important for keeping in touch with British bases on Huron, Michigan, and Superior. This was in case routes through Lake Erie were cut off by Americans. However, many of these planned forts were never built. Simcoe could not get enough money for them.
The First Fort (1793–1813)
The first permanent British army camp in Toronto began on July 20, 1793. One hundred soldiers from the Queen's Rangers arrived near Garrison Creek. They built 30 cabins from fresh wood for winter. These cabins were in a triangle shape, similar to the fort today. Simcoe wanted Fort York to be part of a larger defense system for the harbour. He planned another fort at Gibraltar Point. But his idea to build more defenses was rejected. The governor general, Lord Dorchester, thought the money should go to the naval base in Kingston instead.
Simcoe went ahead with building Fort York despite the objections. He had to use money from the local government, not military funds. This was because the fort was not an official army post yet. By November 1793, Fort York had two log barracks (soldier homes), a fence (stockade), and a sawmill. Over the next year, the Queen's Rangers built a guard house and two blockhouses near Gibraltar Point. These were smaller than Simcoe had hoped. The fort protected the harbour entrance. It also guarded the most likely land route for American attacks. British planners believed Americans would land west of the harbour and move towards the settlement. Simcoe kept working on York's defenses until late 1794. He decided York could not be defended as it was. In 1794, Simcoe took some cannons from York. He was ordered to build Fort Miamis in the Northwest Territory. York was left with only a few old cannons from Kingston.
By 1796, most of the colony's government had moved to York. The fort had 147 soldiers. York's naval shipyards were at Humber Bay. There was no naval base in the harbour. So, Fort York's defenses were still limited. However, two more blockhouses were built around the settlement, including one at Fort York. The blockhouse at Fort York also had a cupola (a small dome). This was used to guide ships into the harbour.
In late 1798, Fort York officially became a British Army post. This meant it could get money for military use. After this, a strong fence was built around the fort. Many of its original buildings were replaced. New ones included barracks, a carriage shed, the colonial government house, a guardhouse, a gunpowder magazine (storage for gunpowder), and storehouses. As tensions with the United States rose again, Major-General Isaac Brock ordered more work. Three artillery batteries (places for cannons) were built. A wall and dry moat were added on the west side of the fort. The batteries had furnaces. This allowed them to fire heated shot (hot cannonballs). More 12-pounder guns were placed on mobile carriages. These could move to respond to threats outside the fixed battery ranges.
Simcoe's original idea of using York as a naval base was also looked at again. Plans were made to expand the fort near Government House for a naval base. But most British naval ships in Upper Canada were in Kingston. So, Governor General George Prévost planned to move them to York in stages.
When news of the American declaration of war arrived, the soldiers and cavalry at Fort York left for the Niagara area. They later fought in the Battle of Queenston Heights. While they were away, the Canadian militia guarded Fort York. But it was clear that the settlement could not stop an attack without stronger defenses. This was hard to do because of wartime shortages.
Battle of York
The town of York was attacked by American forces in April 1813. This attack was the first part of Henry Dearborn's plan. He wanted to take the Canadas by attacking York first. Then he would attack the Niagara area, Kingston, and finally Montreal. Fort York was part of the town's defenses. These included batteries and blockhouses around the town and Gibraltar Point. When American ships were spotted, most professional soldiers, First Nations warriors, and some local militia gathered at the fort. Soldiers from the town's blockhouse were later told to move to Fort York. This was because it was clear no landings would happen east of the settlement.
Most of the fighting happened when the Americans landed. This was about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) west of the fort. The British-First Nations force could not stop the landings. They also could not push back the Americans at the western battery. So, they retreated back to the fort. American forces moved east towards the fort. They gathered outside its walls, exchanging cannon fire with the fort. The naval ships also fired at the fort. They had moved directly south of the fort's fence. The British commander, Roger Hale Sheaffe, knew the battle was lost. He ordered a quiet retreat from the fort. He also told his men to set off the fort's gunpowder magazine. This was to stop the Americans from capturing it. The two sides kept firing cannons until Sheaffe's retreat was complete. The British flag was left on the flagpole. So, the Americans outside thought the fort was still occupied.
The gunpowder magazine held 74 tons of iron shells and 300 barrels of gunpowder. When it exploded, a lot of debris flew into the air. It then fell onto the American forces still outside the fort. The explosion caused over 250 American casualties. Fearing a counterattack, American forces regrouped. They did not enter the abandoned fort until after British forces had left York.
American forces occupied the fort after the town surrendered. During this time, some militia members were held in the fort for two days. They were then released. British soldiers who died were buried in shallow graves inside the fort. They were later reburied outside the fort after the Americans left. Government House was already damaged by the explosion. American forces burned it down on May 1, 1813. Before leaving York, the Americans burned several more buildings. This included most of the structures in the fort, except its barracks.
The Rebuilt Fort (1813–1932)
Plans to rebuild the town's defenses, including the fort and nearby blockhouses, started in late 1813. This was to protect four ships the Royal Navy planned to station at York's harbour. Several buildings at the fort were finished by November 1813. These included the Government House Battery and the Circular Battery. Each had two 8-inch (20 cm) mortars. Two more blockhouses were almost done. These blockhouses were also designed to be barracks for the town's soldiers. This allowed troops to be stationed in the settlement right away. In the following years, the forest around the fort was cleared. This was to remove cover for Americans if they attacked again. The defensive earthworks, barracks, and gunpowder magazine were rebuilt. The fort was not finished until around 1815. This was because there were few skilled workers in York. Also, a warm winter in 1813–14 prevented using sleighs to transport supplies.
The fort was used as a hospital from late 1813 until the end of the war. The naval ships at York helped move wounded soldiers from the Niagara front to the town. On August 6, 1814, an American naval group arrived near York's harbour. They thought British ships were there. The ship USS Lady of the Lake was sent into the harbour under a white flag. This was a trick to check the town's defenses. But the militia in the fort shot at the ship. The two sides exchanged fire before the Lady of the Lake went back to its group outside the harbour. The American group did not try another attack on the fort. But they stayed outside York's harbour for three days before sailing away.
After the War of 1812
Work on the fort stopped right after the war. By 1816, the rebuilt fort had eighteen buildings. These could hold 650 soldiers. Another 350 soldiers could stay in military buildings next to the fort. After the war, the fort remained important for military planners. York was seen as a place that could protect a retreat to Kingston and Lower Canada. It could also be a gathering point for British forces to defend the Niagara area. The British also kept using the fort to protect the north-south portage route to the upper Great Lakes.
In the decades after the War of 1812, some buildings inside the fort were torn down and replaced. But the fort's condition often depended on British foreign relations. It was poorly maintained during peaceful times. It was repaired and strengthened when there were signs of conflict. By the early 1830s, it was clear that new forts were needed to replace the decaying Fort York. A plan was approved in 1833. New Fort York was finished in 1841. It was 2,779 feet (847 meters) west of Fort York. At first, it was only connected to the town by a path through Fort York. Even with new forts, the military still used Fort York's batteries to help defend the harbour. The open space next to it was used for drills and as a rifle range. From 1839 to 1840, the old fort also hosted a Royal Society weather and magnetic observatory. It later moved to its permanent location at the University of King's College. Plans were also made to build three martello towers between Fort York and Gibraltar Point, but these plans were dropped.
When the Rebellions of 1837–1838 began, soldiers from Fort York were sent to Lower Canada. This left the fort with only 10 British Army soldiers. The fort was later reinforced by the Queen's Rangers after the Battle of Montgomery's Tavern. Militia members came to the city to defend the government. The fort was left almost empty again in 1854. This was when the soldiers were called to fight in the Crimean War. During their two-year absence, about 150 "enrolled pensioners" maintained the fort. These were retired British Army soldiers who were given land near the city.
Worsening relations between Britain and the United States in the 1860s led to new ideas. The Trent Affair made the military think about strengthening the Toronto army base. They wanted to use it to stop or slow down a possible invasion of Canada West. This plan suggested taking apart the fort's shore batteries. They would be replaced with mobile cannons. This idea never happened, but it was suggested until the 1880s.
To reduce tensions with the Americans, Britain began to withdraw its military forces. This was before the signing of the Treaty of Washington. Fort York was officially given to the Canadian government on July 25, 1870. The last British imperial troops left Fort York in 1871. Two Canadian militia regiments also left as part of the Wolseley expedition. In the 1870s and 1880s, the local and city governments tried to buy Fort York. But their offers were rejected. The old fort was the only way for New Fort York to access the rest of the city. It was also used as a rifle range. The fort was also used as homes for soldiers' families, military offices, storage, and a training ground. During the Second Boer War and First World War, the fort was also used as a local enlistment center.
In 1903, the municipal government of Toronto agreed to buy the old fort and New Fort York. As part of the transfer, the city agreed to preserve and "properly care for" the old fort. The agreement also allowed the military to keep using the property until new facilities were built for them. The Canadian militia continued to use the fort as a storehouse for ammunition and supplies. They also used it as homes for military families until the 1930s when restorations began.
In 1905, there was a plan to build a streetcar line through Fort York. This led to historical and military groups forming the "Old Fort Protective Association." The streetcar plan never happened. But appeals from the association, politicians, and Toronto media led Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier to add new rules to the fort's transfer. The city had to restore the old fort to its original condition. If not, the land next to it would go back to federal ownership. The property was officially transferred to the city government in 1909.
On May 25, 1923, Fort York was named a National Historic Site of Canada.
Becoming a Museum (1932–Present)
In 1932, the city of Toronto began a two-year project to restore Fort York. They turned it into a historic site and museum. The city started restoring the fort to its 1816 look as a way to create jobs. It also celebrated Toronto's 100th birthday as a city. Because of the restoration, the Canadian military stopped using the fort. However, they briefly used parts of Fort York again during World War Two. To help the military, Fort York Armoury was built between Fort York and New Fort York in the 1930s.
Fort York officially reopened as a museum on Victoria Day in 1934. A group of historical reenactors dressed as soldiers, fifers, and drummers was also kept to help with museum activities.
In 1949, the management of the fort moved from Toronto Parks Division to the Toronto Civic Historical Committee. More restoration work was also done that year.
In 1958, the government of Metropolitan Toronto suggested moving Fort York. They wanted to move it closer to Toronto's modern waterfront. The fort was now about 900 meters (980 yards) inland because of land added to the city in the late 1800s. The government wanted to move the fort to make way for the Gardiner Expressway. They also wanted to "recreate" the fort's original setting by the shoreline. However, this idea was rejected because of public opposition. The expressway was rerouted around the fort instead. The public effort to save the fort helped start the historic preservation movement in Toronto. It also laid the groundwork for the Toronto Historical Board.
The fort was added to the City of Toronto's list of heritage properties in 1973. The whole area was later named a provincial "heritage conservation district" in 1985. Several digs were done between 1976 and 2011. These helped find the exact locations of demolished buildings and the fort's original landscape.
In 1994, the Friends of Fort York and Garrison Common was formed by local residents. This group later became a registered charity to support the national historic site. In the same year, the Toronto Historical Board brought back the Fort York Guard. This historical group had operated until the mid-1980s. The Friends of Fort York later managed the Guard. It hired high school and university students who wore uniforms of the Canadian Regiment of Fencible Infantry. The Guard brought the site to life with musket, artillery, and music shows in the summer. This continued until 2022. The city government stopped the funding for it. This was reportedly because they believed living history displays promoted colonialism.
After Toronto joined together in 1997, museum operations came under the city's Museum and Heritage Services. But in 2000, Toronto City Council moved the fort's management to a board of citizen appointees. This board was separate from other city-run museums in Toronto.
In September 2017, Fort York hosted the archery event for the 2017 Invictus Games. This is a multi-parasports event for wounded, injured, or sick armed forces members.
Fort Grounds
Fort York National Historic Site covers about 16.6 hectares (41 acres) of land. When the fort was first built, it was right on the Toronto waterfront. But over decades, starting in 1850, land was added to the city. By the 1920s, the fort was about 900 meters (980 yards) inland. At one point, the military land the fort was on was 768 acres (311 hectares). But its size slowly got smaller as parts of the land were used for housing and factories. The grounds belong to the city of Toronto. It is one of the few National Historic Sites of Canada not owned or kept up by Parks Canada.
.JPG)
The national historic site includes Fort York, the training grounds west of the fort called Garrison Common, the visitor centre, and military cemeteries north of the fort. Some cemeteries and green spaces are separated from the rest of the site by the Railway Lands. The parkland north of the Railway Lands is connected by two pedestrian and bike bridges. These are called Garrison Crossing. Finished in 2019, these are the first bridges in Canada made entirely of stainless steel. The cemetery was used to bury soldiers and their families from 1793 to 1863. Part of the cemetery was later renamed Victoria Memorial Square. Some of the original headstones from the cemetery were used to create a memorial at Victoria Memorial Square.
In 2004, the provincial heritage district was expanded. It now includes Fort York Armoury, southwest of the visitor centre. However, unlike the rest of the historic site, Fort York Armoury is still used as a drill hall and armoury for the Canadian Army. The Department of National Defence looks after this building.
The grounds of the national historic site, including Garrison Common and the military cemeteries, are open to the public all year. But access to the fort and visitor centre is limited by the museum's opening hours.
.JPG_-_panoramio.jpg)
Exhibits about the War of 1812 and military life in 19th-century Canada are shown in the buildings inside the fort and the visitor centre.
The Fort Itself
The fort complex covers about 3.24 hectares (8 acres) of land. It includes the strong, stone-lined earth walls and the buildings inside them. Fort York is the only real fort left in Canada that was built during the War of 1812. Its defensive earthworks and seven buildings date back to its rebuilding from 1813 to 1815. The buildings within the fort also make up the largest collection of buildings in Canada from the War of 1812.
The fort has eight historic buildings. Seven of them are from the fort's rebuilding between 1813 and 1815. The eighth building is a copy of a barracks that used to be there. The buildings from 1813–15 include the two blockhouses, two soldiers' barracks, the officers' "brick barracks" and mess hall, a brick-walled magazine, and a stone-walled magazine. These buildings are still in their original places and use their original materials and designs. The stone magazine is for storing ammunition and gunpowder. Its walls are 2 meters (6.6 feet) thick. It has a strong, bomb-proof door. Problems with the magazine's foundation led to the building of the brick magazine soon after.
Besides its historic buildings, the fort also has some small modern facilities for museum operations. These include a modern kitchen and washrooms built into the northern walls of the fort. There is also a small gunpowder magazine from the 1970s.
.JPG_-_panoramio.jpg)
Soldiers' Homes
.JPG_-_panoramio.jpg)
Three barracks date back to the fort's 1813–15 rebuilding. There are two for enlisted soldiers and one for officers, which also has a mess hall. The living space for officers was much better than for enlisted soldiers. The two enlisted barracks housed many soldiers and their families. But by the 1860s, these barracks were mostly used as married quarters for only three soldiers and their families.
The brick officers' barrack has been restored to how it looked in the 1830s. It has two apartments for officers. Each apartment has four living areas for officers and a kitchen/servant's room. The mess hall part of the brick barracks was for all officers. It has two entrances, one to the outside and one to the barracks. Servant rooms also had a separate entrance. The officers' brick barracks also has the city's "oldest kitchen." A steep staircase in the kitchen pantry leads to the basement kitchen. The oven is still in the kitchen, but its floors have been removed for archaeological studies. A ground-level kitchen was added to the building in 1826.
The fourth barracks inside the fort is the blue officer's barracks and mess hall. This is a copy of a junior officer's barracks that used to be on the site. This single-story building has four apartments. Each has four separate rooms connected by a central hall for three officers and a servant's room/kitchen. The blue barracks was rebuilt in 1986.
Strong Blockhouses
.JPG_-_panoramio.jpg)
Like other British forts of that time, Fort York's two blockhouses were built to be splinter-proof. They had loopholes and portholes for small guns and cannons. The second story hung over the first. But unlike other British blockhouses, these had cellar storage and magazine facilities. They did not have windows on the first floor, as this was thought to be too dangerous. The levels of the blockhouses were designed so they could be separated if one floor was attacked. The foundations are made of limestone and shale. The square-timber walls are made of white pine and reinforced with wooden pegs. Clapboards were put on the outside walls to make them more waterproof. Both blockhouses had raised entrances on the second floor facing east. This was because an attack on the fort was expected from the west.
The fort's two blockhouses were north of the fort's shore batteries. They defended the rear of the batteries while the rest of the fort's defenses were being built. After the fort was finished, the blockhouses became less important. They served as the fort's citadel (a strong fortress). The blockhouses were also designed to be barracks. The blockhouse in the southeast (Blockhouse No. 1) could hold 120 soldiers. The blockhouse near the circular battery (Blockhouse No. 2) could house 160 soldiers. For a short time after the 1837–38 rebellions, both blockhouses had a dry moat and drawbridge. But these were later filled in. The inside of the blockhouses was changed several times to fit the military's needs and later the museum's needs.
Fort Walls
The fort's buildings are surrounded by strong, stone-lined earth walls. These walls were designed to absorb cannon fire. There was also space for palisades (strong fences) on the earth walls to stop land attacks. Even though land was added to the city in the 18th and 19th centuries, moving the fort away from the water, the original shoreline is still visible outside the southern walls.
The location of the walls has also changed over the years. The walls were strengthened or rebuilt in 1838, the 1860s, and the 1930s. In 1916, the northeastern part of the walls was torn down for the Bathurst streetcar route. This part was rebuilt in the 1930s when the city was restoring the rest of the fort. However, because the Railway Lands had grown, the northern part of the walls was rebuilt further south from its original spot. Rebuilding this wall also meant tearing down a barracks. During the same time, the fort's southern walls were also raised 1.6 meters (5.2 feet) and moved about 5 meters (16 feet) north.
.JPG_-_panoramio.jpg)
.jpg)
The fort and its walls have nine places for cannons. But the fort's design planned for more cannon placements in other important areas during wartime. The central "circular battery" on the fort's southern walls was expanded in 1828 to hold more cannons. Strong fences were built along the earth wall in the 1860s. Also, parapets (low protective walls) were added, and another seven-gun battery was built along the southern walls.
Old Buildings No Longer There
Several other buildings were also built inside the fort but were later torn down. There is little left of the fort's original landscape or its first buildings. Most of them are buried underground. The remains of the original fort built in 1793 are under the current fort. The remains of the first Government House are buried under the fort's parade grounds. Debris and ruins from the battle in April 1813 were also buried in the crater made by the gunpowder magazine explosion. The spot where the gunpowder magazine exploded is marked by a maple tree. It has a plaque remembering the Rush–Bagot Treaty, a treaty signed after the War of 1812 that led to fewer military ships on the Great Lakes.
Several buildings were built during the fort's 1813–15 rebuilding. The fort had 18 buildings in 1816. However, many of these buildings were later torn down. These included the carpenter's shop, the sappers' and miners' barracks, some soldiers' barracks, and a cookhouse along the southern walls. Work on a third blockhouse along the fort's western wall was also happening in 1815. But it was destroyed by a fire and was not rebuilt. The carpenter building seems to have been torn down after 1815. The barracks were torn down in 1822, and the cookhouse in 1848.
The Commandant's House, "D" Barrack, the artillery barracks, and the 1838 cookhouse were also buildings inside Fort York that were later torn down. However, the area where these buildings were located is north of the current fort. This is because the fort's northern walls were rebuilt further south from their original location during the 1930s restoration.
Visitor Centre
The visitor centre is a 2,700 square meter (29,000 sq ft) rectangular building. It is north of the Gardiner Expressway and south of Garrison Common. The design contract was given to Patkau Architects and Kearns Mancini Architects in December 2009. The building opened to the public in 2014, but it was not fully finished until 2015. The building is built along the original slope of Lake Ontario's shoreline. The building also acts as a retaining wall for the slope and Garrison Common directly north of the centre. The roof of the building has a green roof. This roof also has the exit to the centre, leading visitors to Garrison Common.
The outside southern wall of the building is made of large weathering steel panels. These show where the historical slope and shoreline of the lake would have been in the early 1800s. Light comes into the building through narrow glass slits between the steel panels. Some parts of the southern wall have a glass wall. The steel panels are placed like "awnings," letting visitors outside peek into the museum. All the steel panels are bolted in place. But they can be taken apart if highway maintenance crews need the space.
The inside of the building is designed to guide visitors along a ramp. It goes from the entrance at the bottom of the building up to Garrison Common. The visitor centre has several exhibits. These include a 290 square meter (2,900 sq ft) exhibit of artifacts from the War of 1812. There is also a 480 square meter (480 sq ft) vault to show artifacts sensitive to light. An "immersive exhibit" about the Battle of York is also there. Besides exhibition galleries, the visitor centre also has offices and a community meeting centre.
Other Defenses Around the Fort
Besides Fort York, the British built several other forts and cannon batteries to defend the community. However, except for Fort York and New Fort York's officers' quarters, all these buildings were torn down by the mid-1900s. Before the Battle of York in 1813, the settlement was defended by Fort York and three other blockhouses. Two blockhouses were at Gibraltar Point, and one was in the town near King and Parliament Street. In addition to these blockhouses, the town also had two cannon batteries west of the fort: the Western Battery and the Half-Moon Battery. Most of the original fort and the three blockhouses around the settlement were destroyed by American forces after the Battle of York.
After the Battle of York, the fort was rebuilt. Three more blockhouses were built around the settlement. One was at Gibraltar Point, another next to the Western Battery, and the third was near Queen Street. This one defended the inland western approach into the town. The blockhouse on Queen Street was taken apart in 1818. The other two were left "in ruins" by the mid-1820s. After the rebellions in 1837–38, three more blockhouses were built around Toronto. One was near College Street and Spadina Avenue. Another was the blockhouse on Sherbourne Street. A third was along Yonge Street. In 1841, New Fort York was finished along the shoreline west of Fort York. The three blockhouses were taken apart by the mid-19th century. New Fort York, however, was used by the military until the end of World War Two. Most of New Fort York was torn down in 1951. But the new fort's officers' quarters still stand.
See also
