New Fort York
Encyclopedia
New Fort York was built to replace Toronto
's original Fort York
at the mouth of Garrison Creek
as the primary military base for the settlement. Unlike the older fort, it was not made of wood.
grounds around 1840 by the Royal Engineers
of the British Army
with the biggest building being the Officers' Quarters. The two storey Queenston limestone structure cost 19,000 pounds and housed troops following the 1837 Rebellion.
Other features of the fort included:
British troops left the fort in 1870.
Troops stationed at the fort over the years:
The North-West Mounted Police
also used the facility for training in the 1870s.
New Fort York was renamed the Stanley Barrackshttp://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_Toronto/Plaque_Toronto104.html in 1893 after the Governor General of Canada at that time, Lord Stanley of Preston
(of hockey
's Stanley Cup
fame).
During World War I, the barracks housed German, Austro-Hungarian, and Turkish citizens, who were interned there as enemy aliens. The barracks were last used during World War II
when the Canadian troops were stationed there prior to being sent overseas. All the fort's buildings and other exhibition building housed the troops.
on Kingston Rd. at Guildwood Parkway, at the entrance to Guildwood
Village, where they may still be viewed.. Lights replaced the stone globes on the top of the gate posts. The Officers' Mess building can still be found on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition
, but it is now vacant.
The building served as the home for Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
, Hockey Hall of Fame
and the Toronto Maritime Museum
.
Today only one of the original buildings survives. The Officers' Quarters, generally called the 'Stanley Barracks', became home to the city–owned Toronto Maritime Museum
from 1958 to 1998 before it moved to Harbourfront
. The museum has since closed and Stanley Barracks is vacant once again. The Barracks was open one weekend in May 2006 during Doors Open Toronto
.
The grounds of the fort is also home to a piece of Toronto history, as well as a former home to another; the tugboat
Ned Hanlan
is on display on the west side of the building, but is not open to the public.
Canadian National
locomotive No. 6213
was located on the east side from 1960 until 2009. In 2009, it was moved to Roundhouse Park
to become the centrepiece of the Toronto Railway Historical Association's railway museum. The U-2 class Northern-type locomotive, built by Montreal Locomotive Works
in 1942, was retired from service in 1959 and given to the City of Toronto in 1960.
Foundations of some of the buildings still survive. A hotel planned adjacent to the site will expose some of the foundations as part of the project.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's original Fort York
Fort York
Fort York is a historic site of military fortifications and related buildings on the west side of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The fort was built by the British Army and Canadian militia troops in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, to defend the settlement and the new capital of the...
at the mouth of Garrison Creek
Garrison Creek
Garrison Creek was a short stream about long that flowed southeast into the west side of Toronto Harbour in Ontario, Canada.It has been largely covered over and filled in, but geographical traces of the creek can still be found. The natural amphitheatre known as Christie Pits is one such remnant;...
as the primary military base for the settlement. Unlike the older fort, it was not made of wood.
History
A series of six stone buildings were constructed in what is now the Canadian National ExhibitionCanadian National Exhibition
Canadian National Exhibition , also known as The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 18 days leading up to and including Labour Day Monday. With an attendance of approximately 1.3 million visitors each season, it is Canada’s largest...
grounds around 1840 by the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
with the biggest building being the Officers' Quarters. The two storey Queenston limestone structure cost 19,000 pounds and housed troops following the 1837 Rebellion.
Other features of the fort included:
- five smaller builds for troops and storage
- parading grounds
- stockade
British troops left the fort in 1870.
Troops stationed at the fort over the years:
- Royal Canadian RiflesThe Royal Canadian Rifle RegimentThe Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment of the British Army was raised in 1840 for service in Canada. Its members were veterans of service in other regiments of the British Army. The concern which led to the creation of the Regiment was the continuing problem of desertion...
- Seventy-First Highland Light Infantry71st (Highland) Regiment of FootThe 71st Regiment of Foot was a Highland regiment in the British Army, which in 1881 became the 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry .- First formation :...
- Royal ArtilleryRoyal ArtilleryThe Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
- Thirteenth Hussars
- Canadian Permanent ForcePermanent Active MilitiaPermanent Active Militia was the proper name of Canada's full-time professional land forces from the 19th century to 1940 when the Canadian Army was so designated....
- C Company of the School of Infantry
- B Squadron, The Royal Canadian Dragoons
- The Royal Canadian Regiment
The North-West Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
also used the facility for training in the 1870s.
New Fort York was renamed the Stanley Barrackshttp://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_Toronto/Plaque_Toronto104.html in 1893 after the Governor General of Canada at that time, Lord Stanley of Preston
Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby
Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby KG, GCB, GCVO, PC , known as Frederick Stanley until 1886 and as Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886 and 1893, was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom who served as Colonial Secretary from 1885 to 1886 and the sixth Governor General...
(of hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
's Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
fame).
During World War I, the barracks housed German, Austro-Hungarian, and Turkish citizens, who were interned there as enemy aliens. The barracks were last used during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
when the Canadian troops were stationed there prior to being sent overseas. All the fort's buildings and other exhibition building housed the troops.
Post-World War II
After the war, most of the buildings became vacant. The Stanley Barracks were mostly demolished in 1953. The gates to the barracks (gate doors forged in England in 1839) were salvaged in 1957, however, and were re-erected in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
on Kingston Rd. at Guildwood Parkway, at the entrance to Guildwood
Guildwood
Guildwood, also known as Guildwood Village, is a historic and residential neighbourhood in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along the Scarborough Bluffs, south of Kingston Road, from Grey Abbey Trail in the east to the end of Sylvan Avenue in the west.-History:Guildwood village...
Village, where they may still be viewed.. Lights replaced the stone globes on the top of the gate posts. The Officers' Mess building can still be found on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition
Canadian National Exhibition
Canadian National Exhibition , also known as The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 18 days leading up to and including Labour Day Monday. With an attendance of approximately 1.3 million visitors each season, it is Canada’s largest...
, but it is now vacant.
The building served as the home for Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Canada's Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established in 1955 to "preserve the record of Canadian sports achievements and to promote a greater awareness of Canada's heritage of sport." It is located at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta...
, Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
and the Toronto Maritime Museum
Toronto Maritime Museum
The Toronto Maritime Museum was a museum that celebrated the history of the Toronto waterfront, and the history of commerce on the Great Lakes, and the role of maritime commerce in the development of the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
.
Today only one of the original buildings survives. The Officers' Quarters, generally called the 'Stanley Barracks', became home to the city–owned Toronto Maritime Museum
Toronto Maritime Museum
The Toronto Maritime Museum was a museum that celebrated the history of the Toronto waterfront, and the history of commerce on the Great Lakes, and the role of maritime commerce in the development of the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
from 1958 to 1998 before it moved to Harbourfront
Harbourfront
Harbourfront is a neighbourhood on the northern shore of Lake Ontario within the downtown core of the city of Toronto, Canada. Part of the Toronto Waterfront, Harbourfront extends west from Yonge Street to Bathurst Street along Queen's Quay. East of Yonge to Parliament St...
. The museum has since closed and Stanley Barracks is vacant once again. The Barracks was open one weekend in May 2006 during Doors Open Toronto
Doors Open Toronto
Doors Open Toronto, now in its 12th year, has evolved into a weekend festival that is recognized as one of Toronto's greatest cultural events....
.
The grounds of the fort is also home to a piece of Toronto history, as well as a former home to another; the tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
Ned Hanlan
Ned Hanlan (tugboat)
The Ned Hanlan is a steam-powered tugboat that spent her career in Toronto, Ontario. She displaces approximately 200 tons, and is currently mounted beside a former nautical museum housed in the old Stanley Barracks on the grounds of the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto...
is on display on the west side of the building, but is not open to the public.
Canadian National
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
locomotive No. 6213
CN 6213
The CNR 6213 is a preserved 4-8-4 steam locomotive. It was a member of the Canadian National Railway's massive fleet of U-2-g “Northerns”. The 6213 is on static display in Toronto, Ontario. There are possible options of restoring the U-2-g to operating condition...
was located on the east side from 1960 until 2009. In 2009, it was moved to Roundhouse Park
John Street Roundhouse
John Street Roundhouse is a preserved locomotive roundhouse in Toronto, Ontario. Built for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1929-31 by Anglin-Norcross to replace the earlier John Street roundhouse built in 1897...
to become the centrepiece of the Toronto Railway Historical Association's railway museum. The U-2 class Northern-type locomotive, built by Montreal Locomotive Works
Montreal Locomotive Works
Montreal Locomotive Works was a Canadian railway locomotive manufacturer which existed under several names from 1883–1985, producing both steam and diesel locomotives. For a number of years it was a subsidiary of the American Locomotive Company...
in 1942, was retired from service in 1959 and given to the City of Toronto in 1960.
Foundations of some of the buildings still survive. A hotel planned adjacent to the site will expose some of the foundations as part of the project.
See also
- Chronology of the War of 1812Chronology of the War of 1812-Origins:-1812:-1813:-1814:-1815:-External links:********...
- War of 1812 CampaignsWar of 1812 CampaignsThe following is a synopsis of the Land Campaigns of the War of 1812. The source is the United States Army Center of Military History-Canada, 18 June 1812 — 17 February 1815:...
- List of forts
- War of 1812War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
- Upper CanadaUpper CanadaThe Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
- List of oldest buildings and structures in Toronto