Fort Erie is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. It is directly across the river from

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. Fort Erie is one of Niagara's fastest growing communities, and has experienced a high level of residential and commercial development in the past few years. Garrison Road (Niagara Regional Road 3) is the town's commercial corridor, stretching east to west through Fort Erie. Fort Erie is also home to other commercial core areas (Bridgeburg, Ridgeway, Stevensville and Crystal Beach) as a result of the 1970 amalgamation of Bertie Township and the village of Crystal Beach with Fort Erie.

Crystal Beach Park Crystal Beach Park was an amusement park in Crystal Beach, Ontario from 1888 to 1989. It was serviced by the ''Canadiana'' passenger ferry in Buffalo, making it a popular tourist destination for both Canadians and Americans. The park was know ...

occupied waterfront land at

Crystal Beach, Ontario Crystal Beach is a lakefront community in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. As of 2016, it had a population of 8,524. It was named for the "crystal clear" water conditions present when it was founded on the northeast shore of Lake Erie, across from B ...

, from 1888 until the park's closure in 1989. The beach is part of Fort Erie.

History

During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

Fort Erie was used as a supply depot for British troops. After the war the territory of what is now the Town of Fort Erie was settled by soldiers demobilised from

Butler's Rangers Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist provincial military unit of the American Revolutionary War, raised by American loyalist John Butler. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. Th ...

, and the area was named Bertie Township in 1784. The original fort, built in 1764, was located on the Niagara River's edge below the present fort. It served as a supply depot and a port for ships transporting merchandise, troops and passengers via Lake Erie to the Upper

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

. The fort was damaged by winter storms and in 1803, plans were made for a new fort on the higher ground behind the original. It was larger and made of flintstone but was not quite finished at the start of the

. During the war, the Americans attacked Fort Erie twice in 1812, captured and abandoned it in 1813, and then recaptured it in 1814. The Americans held it for a time, breaking a prolonged British

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

. Later they destroyed Fort Erie and returned to Buffalo in the winter of 1814. undergroundrailroadsmall2

The Fort Erie area became a major terminus for slaves using the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

(between 1840 and 1860); many had crossed into Canada from Buffalo, New York. Bertie Hall (which was used for a time in the 20th century as a Doll House Museum) may have been a stopping point on the Underground Railroad. The area of Ridgemount was one of the three main areas in Fort Erie settled by African-Americans, earning it the name "Little Africa". Along with Little Africa, the other two areas of settlement were Bertie Hill and Snake Hill (Erie Beach). In 1866, during the Fenian raids, between 1,000 and 1,500 Fenians crossed the Niagara River, occupied the town and demanded food and horses. The only payment they were able to offer was Fenian bonds; these were not acceptable to the citizens. The Fenians then cut the

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

wires and tore up some railway tracks. Afterwards, they marched to Chippewa and the next day to Ridgeway where they fought the

Battle of Ridgeway The Battle of Ridgeway (sometimes the Battle of Lime Ridge or Limestone Ridge) was fought in the vicinity of the town of Fort Erie across the Niagara River from Buffalo, New York, near the village of Ridgeway, Canada West, currently Ontario, Ca ...

, a series of skirmishes with the Canadian

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. The Fenians then returned to Fort Erie and fought the Battle of Fort Erie, defeating the Canadian militia. Fearing British reinforcements, they then decided to retreat to the U.S. In 1869 the population was 1,000 and Fort Erie was served by the Grand Trunk and the Erie & Niagara railways. The Grand Trunk Railway built the

International Railway Bridge The International Railway Bridge is a two-span swing bridge carrying the Stamford Subdivision of the Canadian National Railway across the Niagara River between Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, and Buffalo, New York, United States. It was originally b ...

in 1873, bringing about a new town, originally named Victoria and subsequently renamed to Bridgeburg, north of the original settlement of Fort Erie. By 1876, Ridgeway had an estimated population of 800, the village of Fort Erie has an estimated population of 1,200, and Victoria boasted three railway stations. By 1887, Stevensville had an estimated population of "nearly 600", Victoria of "nearly 700", Ridgeway of "about 600", and Fort Erie of "about 4,000". In 1888, the amusement park at Crystal Beach opened. From 1910, the steamship (and until 1929, the steamship SS ''Americana'') brought patrons from Buffalo until 1956. The park continued to operate until it closed in 1989. A gated community was built in this area. Niagara_movement_meeting_in_Fort_Erie,_Canada,_1905

Niagara_movement_meeting_in_Fort_Erie,_Canada,_1905

In 1904, a group of speculators bought land at Erie Beach, planning to build an amusement park and other amenities, and sell lots around the park to vacationers from Buffalo. Erie Beach featured a hotel, a casino, a race track, regular ferry service from Buffalo and train service from the ferry dock in Fort Erie, and what was billed as the world's largest outdoor swimming pool. Erie Beach and Crystal Beach were in competition to provide bigger thrills to patrons, until Erie Beach went bankrupt during the Depression and closed down on Labour Day weekend, 1930. The

Niagara Movement The Niagara Movement (NM) was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group of activists—many of whom were among the vanguard of African-American lawyers in the United States—led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. ...

meeting was held at the Erie Beach Hotel in 1905. The movement later led to the founding of the NAACP. The

Point Abino Light Tower The Point Abino Light Tower is a lighthouse on the rocky north shore of Lake Erie at the southern tip of Point Abino peninsula west of Crystal Beach, Ontario, Canada. The Greek Revival white square tower with red accents is attached to the fo ...

was built by the Canadian government in 1918. The lighthouse has been automated in 1989. Since its decommissioning in 1995, the Point Abino Lighthouse was designated as a National Historic Site. The lighthouse is now owned by the Town of Fort Erie and is available for weekend tours in the summer. On August 7, 1927, the

Peace Bridge The Peace Bridge is an international bridge between Canada and the United States at the east end of Lake Erie at the source of the Niagara River, about upriver of Niagara Falls. It connects Buffalo, New York, in the United States to Fort Er ...

was opened between Fort Erie and Buffalo. On January 1, 1932, Bridgeburg and Fort Erie amalgamated into a single town. The ruins of Fort Erie remained until they were rebuilt through a depression era "work program" project, as a tourist attraction. Work started in 1937, and the fort was opened to the public in 1939. In 1970, the provincial government consolidated the various villages in what had been Bertie Township, including the then town of Fort Erie, into the present Town of Fort Erie.

Geography

Fort Erie is generally flat, but there are low sand hills, varying in height from , along the shore of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

, and a limestone ridge extends from Point Abino to near Miller's Creek, giving Ridgeway its name. The soil is shallow, with a clay subsoil. The town's beaches on Lake Erie, most notably Erie Beach, Crystal Beach and Bay Beach are considered the best in the area and draw many weekend visitors from the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and

areas. While summers are enjoyable, winters can occasionally be fierce, with many snowstorms, whiteouts and winds coming off Lake Erie.

Communities

In addition to the primary urban core of Fort Erie, the town also contains the neighbourhoods of Black Creek, Bridgeburg/NorthEnd/Victoria, Crescent Park, Crystal Beach, Kraft, Point Abino, Ridgeway, Snyder, and Stevensville. Smaller and historical neighbourhoods include Amigari Downs, Bay Beach, Buffalo Heights, Douglastown, Edgewood Park, Erie Beach, Garrison Village, Mulgrave, Oakhill Forest, Ridgemount, Ridgewood, Rose Hill Estates, Thunder Bay, Walden, Wavecrest and Waverly Beach. Fort Erie Secondary School and Ridgeway-Crystal Beach High School were two public high schools serving Fort Erie and area communities until September 2017. The two former schools were closed and merged into Greater Fort Erie Secondary School, located on Garrison Road.

Climate

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, Fort Erie had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The median household income in 2015 for Fort Erie was $60,800, which was below the Ontario provincial average of $74,287.

Attractions

* Fort Erie Race Track * Old Fort Erie * Point Abino Lighthouse * Safari Niagara

Hiking

Fort Erie is the eastern terminus of the Friendship Trail, and the southern terminus of the Niagara River Recreation Pathway. Both trails are part of the

Trans-Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail, officially named The Great Trail between September 2016 and June 2021, is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail extend ...

system.

Parks

Mather Arch Park, located just to the south of the Peace Bridge, is on land donated by American citizen Alonzo C. Mather in tribute to the peace and friendship between Canada and the United States. The park contains Mather Arch, which was built largely due to donations by Mather, originally dedicated by the Niagara Parks Commission in 1939, and restored in 2000 as a millennium project. There is also a memorial statue to those from Fort Erie who died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Sports

Infrastructure

Transportation

Highways

Fort Erie has been the Niagara terminus of the

Queen Elizabeth Way The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The freeway begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western ...

since 1937. Road traffic continues to Buffalo, New York across the

, which was built in 1927. Fort Erie was the eastern terminus of King's Highway 3A from 1927 to 1929, and

Ontario Highway 3 King's Highway 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which travels parallel to the northern shoreline of Lake Erie. It has three segments, the first of which travels from ...

from 1929 until 1998, when the portion of Highway 3 within Fort Erie was downloaded to the

Regional Municipality of Niagara The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the souther ...

and redesignated as Niagara Regional Road 3. Within Fort Erie, Highway 3 is named Garrison Road, and is the major east–west connection through the town. Dominion Road was designated as King's Highway 3C from 1934 until 1970, when it was downloaded to the newly formed Regional Municipality of Niagara and redesignated as Niagara Regional Road 1. Fort Erie is the southern terminus of the Niagara Parkway, which extends from

Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one of Ni ...

to Fort George.

Public transit

Public transit is provided by Fort Erie Transit, which operate buses in town and connecting to other Niagara municipalities.

Niagara Falls Transit Niagara Falls Transit operates the public transport bus services in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1960, Niagara Transit originally operated ten routes. In 2007 the operation of Niagara Transit was taken over by the transportat ...

operates a service from

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

into Fort Erie, connecting with the Fort Erie Leisureplex on Garrison Road.

Intercity transit

Private intercity coach services are primarily operated by

Coach Canada Coach Canada is the Canadian affiliate of Coach USA. Charter services (rental of bus with driver) when originating in most areas in Ontario can travel to anywhere in North America. Megabus operations however are confined to the provinces of Queb ...

Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...

, with service to St. Catharines and Toronto. The terminus is located at Robo Mart, 21 Princess Street at Waterloo Street. The

was built in 1873, and connects Fort Erie to Buffalo, New York across the Niagara River. There is currently no passenger rail service to Fort Erie. The nearest passenger rail stations are in

and

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

Waterways

Fort Erie is at the outlet of Lake Erie into the Niagara River. The lake and river serve as a playground for numerous personal

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

s, sailboats, power boats and watercraft. There is a marina at the site of a former shipyard at Miller's Creek on the Niagara River, and a boat launch ramp in Crystal Beach. Prior to the completion of the two bridges, passengers and freight were carried across the river by ferry. From 1829, when the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. Traversing the Niagara Peninsula from Port Weller in St. Catharines ...

first opened, to 1833, when the cut was completed to

Port Colborne Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed afte ...

, ship traffic between Lake Erie and

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 ...

would transit the upper Niagara River.

Utilities

In order to reduce large-scale ice blockage in the Niagara River, with resultant flooding, ice damage to docks and other waterfront structures, and blockage of the water intakes for the hydro-electric power plants at Niagara Falls, the

New York Power Authority The New York Power Authority (NYPA), officially the Power Authority of the State of New York, is a New York State public-benefit corporation. It is the largest state public power utility in the United States. NYPA provides some of the lowest-co ...

and

Ontario Power Generation Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) is a Crown corporation and "government business enterprise" that is responsible for approximately half of the electricity generation in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is wholly owned by the governmen ...

have jointly operated the Lake Erie-Niagara River Ice Boom since 1964. The boom is installed on December 16, or when the water temperature reaches , whichever happens first. The boom is opened on April 1 unless there is more than of ice remaining in Eastern Lake Erie. When in place, the boom stretches from the outer breakwall at Buffalo Harbor almost to the Canadian shore near the ruins of the pier at Erie Beach in Fort Erie. Originally, the boom was made of wooden timbers, but these have been replaced by steel pontoons.

Notable people

* Ernest Alexander Cruikshank, Brigadier General and historian; was born in Bertie Township. * Randy Burridge, played over 700 games in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

and was an All-Star in 1992. *

Derek Clendening Derek Clendening (born November 18, 1981 in Fort Erie, Ontario) is a Canadian writer who primarily focuses on horror fiction and related non-fiction. With ''Dark Scribe Magazine'' he has published numerous interviews with notable horror authors ...

, Canadian writer * Billy Dea, professional hockey player, lived in Crystal Beach with his wife Sally and son Derrick for a large part of his professional career. *

Michael Fonfara Michael Fonfara (11 August 1946 – 8 January 2021) was a Canadian keyboard player who was most notable for his work as a member of The Electric Flag and Rhinoceros in the 1960s, Rough Trade and Lou Reed's backing band in the 1970s and The Downchi ...

, keyboard player; was born in Stevensville. * Paul Gardner, professional hockey player; was born in Fort Erie. *

Paul Hellyer Paul Theodore Hellyer (August 6, 1923 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian engineer, politician, writer, and commentator. He was the longest serving member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada at the time of his death. Early life Hellyer w ...

, engineer and politician. *

Douglas Kirkland Douglas Morley Kirkland (August 16, 1934 – October 2, 2022) was a Canadian-born American photographer. He was noted for his photographs of celebrities, especially the ones he took of Marilyn Monroe several months before her death. Early life ...

, photographer. * James L. Kraft, entrepreneur and inventor; was born outside of Stevensville and worked in Fort Erie before emigrating to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. * Dan "DJ Shub" General, musician. * Shane Lindstrom (professionally known as Murda Beatz), record producer. * Matty Matheson, chef and internet personality. *

Pierre Pilote Joseph Albert Pierre Paul Pilote (December 11, 1931 – September 9, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and perennial All-Star, most notably for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), for which he served ...

, professional hockey player; lived in Fort Erie for most of his adolescence. *

David Anthony Pizzuto David Anthony Pizzuto (July 9, 1951 – February 10, 2012) was a Canadian-born American voice actor best known for contributing to video games such as '' Crash Team Racing'' as Nitros Oxide and Komodo Joe and also Papu Papu from the ''Crash Band ...

, actor. *

Ron Sider Ronald James Sider (September 17, 1939 – July 27, 2022), was a Canadian-born American theologian and social activist. He was the founder of Evangelicals for Social Action, a think-tank which seeks to develop biblical solutions to social and e ...

, theologian and social activist; was born in Stevensville. * Nick Weglarz, professional baseball player; was born in Stevensville.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Lower-tier municipalities in Ontario Populated places on Lake Erie in Canada Populated places on the Underground Railroad Towns in Ontario 1764 establishments in the British Empire