National Register of Historic Places
Old Fort Niagara-Colonial Niagara Historic District
Listed federally as Old Fort Niagara--Colonial Niagara Historic District
Also designated a National Historic Landmark.
Youngstown vicinity, Niagara County, New York
The record
- Listed
- October 15, 1966
- Type
- Historic district
- Address
- N of Youngstown on NY 18, Youngstown vicinity
- County
- Niagara
- State
- New York
- Period of significance
- 1650 to 1874
- Contributing resources
- 6 buildings, 2 sites
- Coordinates
- 43.26301, -79.06297
- Reference number
- 66000556
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
The outline is the area recorded for this listing in National Park Service map data, drawn approximately.
Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, The New York Public LibraryDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
The story
Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com
The Old Fort Niagara-Colonial Niagara Historic District is a historic district on NY 18 near Youngstown, in Niagara County. Old Fort Niagara was built in 1726-1727 under Gaspard Chaussegros de Lery and rebuilt as a stone and earthen-walled fortress by Pierre Pouchot from 1755 to 1759.
Why it's listed
It was listed under criteria A and D, with national-level significance in military history, exploration and settlement, and historic non-aboriginal archeology. Its period of significance runs from 1726 to 1816, reflecting the fort's 1726-1727 construction and 1816 repairs after the War of 1812.
Physical character
Its walls are fieldstone and brick on stone foundations, with slate roofs, earthen ramparts, and bluestone among its materials. In 1816 the roof was rebuilt, a columned portico and Federal style sidelighted doorway were added, and three Federal style arched dormers went in. Surviving features include the stone chateau known as the Castle, north and south redoubts, a powder magazine, a bakehouse, and a drawbridge with vaulted headhouse rebuilt in 1929.
Historical context
Sir William Johnson's British forces took the fort after its surrender in 1759, and held it until the Jay Treaty forced its transfer to American troops in 1796; the British recaptured it in 1813 and returned it in 1815. The Old Fort Niagara Association restored the Castle and rehabilitated post buildings from 1926 to 1934, and New York State acquired the site as Fort Niagara State Park in 1964.