The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District has secured $760,000 for designing new erosion defenses at Old Fort Niagara.
“The Corps of Engineers is committing some of its best expertise and resources to plan for lasting protection of Old Fort Niagara,” said Buffalo District commander Lt. Col. Robert Burnham. “Helping ensure this historic treasure remains available to residents and visitors while stabilizing yet another piece of the Great Lakes shoreline is something we’re proud to do.”
Considerable erosion along the Lake Ontario shoreline has jeopardized the wall surrounding Old Fort Niagara, threatening landmarks like the French Castle and North Redoubt at the state historic site.
“We are grateful to the Army Corps of Engineers and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for their support of this important project,” said Old Fort Niagara Executive Director Robert Emerson. “It has been almost a century since preservation pioneers saved Old Fort Niagara from certain ruin. It is deeply gratifying to see preservation efforts continue well into the 21st century.”
The design work is underway and expected to be complete by January 2025. The current plan involves reconstructing the shoreline slope with 400 feet of stone revetment stretching east from the end of the fort’s masonry wall, which would better protect it against future erosion.
Funding for this phase comes from 65% federal and 35% non-federal, with $480,000 from the Army Corps and $280,000 from the State Parks office. The federal funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The project feasibility study done in 20201 was cost-shared 50/50.
Emerson had previously told the Gazette that during a period of Lake Ontario’s high water levels in 2017, the shoreline to the east of the fort collapsed and created a huge divot. An Army Corps investigation found the northern shoreline was greatly impacted by erosion, and that the fort’s wall and north redoubt would be threatened too unless remediation took place.
The state’s temporary solution to the erosion was placing some boulders on the shoreline, which have been there since 2017.
Chronicle Heritage completed an archeological survey this past October of six acres of fort property and the shoreline. Their findings included some old bullets and nails there.
Construction for the erosion defenses project is anticipated to start in 2027, costing $5.8 million with $2.04 million from State Parks and the remainder from federal sources.