The Father Millet Cross is a memorial on the grounds of

Fort Niagara 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 e ...

Youngstown, New York Youngstown is a village in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 1,935 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. Youngstown is on the western edge of the town of Port ...

. The

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

cross is a replacement for the wooden cross erected by

Pierre Millet Pierre Millet (Milet) (19 November, 1635 at Bourges – December 31, 1708 at Quebec) was a French Jesuit missionary to the Iroquois people in the area that is now New York State. Life Having graduated Master of Arts, he entered the Society of Jes ...

at the New French

Fort Denonville Fort Denonville was a French fort built in 1688 at the current site of Fort Niagara. It replaced Fort Conti which had been built on the site in 1679 and had burned later that year. The fort was located at the mouth of the Niagara River on Lake On ...

in 1688. During the preceding winter, disease and starvation overwhelmed the fort's garrison of a hundred men and only twelve of them were saved by a rescue party. Father Millet, a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary, was with this rescue party. On

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

(April 16) he celebrated

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

and erected and dedicated a cross invoking God's mercy for the plague-stricken men. On the beam of the cross is inscribed: "REGN. VINC. IMP. CHRS." an abbreviation for ''Regnat, Vincit, Imperat, Christus'' which is Latin for ''Christ reigns, conquers, and commands''. On September 5, 1925,

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...

set aside an 18-foot square section (324 ft², 30.1 m², or 0.0074 acres) of Fort Niagara Military Reservation "for the erection of another cross commemorative of the cross erected and blessed by Father Millett 'sic''.html" ;"title="sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''" (Proclamation No. 1745—Sept. 5, 1925—44 Stat. 2582)This was similar to the purpose of the Cabrillo National Monument proclamation. It was the smallest-ever National Monument (United States), national monument in the United States.. (The next smallest is African Burial Ground National Monument, African Burial Ground at .) In 1926 the New York State

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. It is led by Patrick E. Kelly, the order's 14th Supreme Knight. ...

dedicated the memorial cross "not only to Father Millet, but to those other priests whose heroism took Christianity into the wilderness and whose devotion sought to create in this new world a new France." It stands on the shore of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

just west of the fort's north

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

. Father Millet Cross National Monument was originally administered by the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

but was transferred to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

in 1933 by executive order. xecutive Order No. 6228 of July 28, 1933 (5 U.S.C. secs. 124-132)/ref> In 1945, Fort Niagara was declared surplus by the U.S. Army and plans were laid to convert the site to a state park. On September 7, 1949,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

abolished the national monument and transferred the memorial to the state of New York for public use as part of

Fort Niagara State Park Fort Niagara State Park is located in the Town of Porter in Niagara County, New York, United States. Historic Fort Niagara is located within the park. The park is northwest of Youngstown near the northern terminus of the Niagara Scenic Parkway ...

. (63 Stat. 691)

References

{{coord, 43, 15, 48.7, N, 79, 3, 46.7, W, region:US-NY_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1926 Knights of Columbus Monuments and memorials in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Niagara County, New York Tourist attractions in Niagara County, New York Monumental crosses in the United States 1926 establishments in New York (state)