Fort Niagara

Fort Niagara
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
View of French Castle at Fort Niagara
Location	Fort Niagara State Park, Porter, Niagara County, New York, US
Nearest city	Youngstown, New York
Coordinates	43°15′46″N 79°03′47″W / 43.26278°N 79.06306°W / 43.26278; -79.06306
Area	250 acres (100 ha)
Built	1726
NRHP reference No.	66000556
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHL	October 9, 1960[2]

Fort Niagara
Youngstown, New York
Fort Niagara 1728
Type	Trading Post
Site information
Controlled by	France 1678–1759 Great Britain 1759–1796 U.S. Army 1815–1963 U.S. Coast Guard 1963–present
Site history
Built	1678
In use	1726–present
Battles/wars	French and Indian War Pontiac's War Bradstreet's Expedition The War of 1812
Garrison information
Past commanders	Louis-Thomas Chabert de Joncaire (1720–1726) John W. Heavey (1916–1917)

Fort Niagara, also known as Old Fort Niagara, is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's eastern bank at its mouth on Lake Ontario. Youngstown, New York, later developed nearby.

The British took over the fort in 1759 during the French and Indian War. Although the United States ostensibly ceded the fort after it gained independence in the American Revolutionary War, the British stayed until 1796. Transfer to the U.S. came after signing of the Jay Treaty that reaffirmed and implemented the legal border with British Canada. Although the US Army deactivated the fort in 1963, the Coast Guard continues to have a presence. A non-profit group operates the fort and grounds as a state park and preserves it in part as a museum and site for historical re-enactments. It is also a venue for special events related to the region's history.