New Fort Brady

When Sault Ste. Marie expanded and its canal was widened, the riverfront site of Fort Brady was abandoned for a higher, more strategic site selected by General Philip Sheridan. Work began in 1886, and the new fort was opened in 1893. From this hilltop, New Fort Brady guarded the copper and iron ore enroute from the mineral regions of western Lake Superior through St. Mary’s Ship Canal. Although never under attack, its troops were called up in 1894 during civil unrest, but primarily they protected the canal until the Second World War, when fifteen thousand soldiers were stationed here. In 1944 the National Guard assumed these responsibilities and New Fort Brady was closed. Camp Lucas, a small section of the fort, was reactivated briefly during the Korean Conflict.