By Rafe Calder
Kingston was the capital of the Province of Canada for about two years. Then Parliament left. What stayed behind was a harbour, a great deal of cut limestone and a set of forts that, as Parks Canada puts it, were never tested in war.
Where it sits
The Canadian Encyclopedia, in an entry by Brian S. Osborne, places Kingston where the Great Lakes meet the St. Lawrence River. It says the place was first settled in 1783, incorporated as a town in 1838 and as a city in 1846.
The fire and the stone
The Canadian Encyclopedia connects the nickname “limestone city” to an 1840 fire. It says legislation banned wood in favour of stone and brick, and that this led to the nickname. Neither source gives the exact date of the fire or a count of lost buildings, so we give none.
Five forts around one harbour
Parks Canada describes the Kingston Fortifications National Historic Site as five separate nineteenth-century military installations around the harbour, built as one defence system: Fort Henry, Fort Frederick, Murney Tower, Shoal Tower and Cathcart Martello Tower. It gives the construction dates as 1832 to 1840 and the designation date as 22 June 1989. It says they protected the southern end of the Rideau Canal, the naval dockyard and Kingston itself, that the British garrison left in 1870, and that afterwards the forts served as training and storage facilities for the Canadian military.
Among the elements Parks Canada lists as worth protecting are the “distinctive forms and dramatic profiles” of the Shoal, Murney and Cathcart towers, limestone used for all the structures, and the Martello design with its caponiers and snow roofs.
Fort Henry
The Canadian Encyclopedia says Fort Henry was first built during the War of 1812 on Point Henry and rebuilt between 1832 and 1837. Its importance grew once the Rideau Canal was finished, since it defended the canal’s most vulnerable end. In 1936 the Ontario government leased the fort and had it restored as a historic park, a Great Depression works project; it opened to the public in 1938. The entry says the fort was designated a national historic site in 1923, and that in summer a guard demonstrates precision drill.
We do not choose. Our reading: the Shoal Tower dates fall after the five-site page’s stated range, so that range probably describes the earlier works, and the 1844 date may be the year the move took effect.
Why the harbour tower looks odd
Parks Canada says Shoal Tower is a Martello tower with massive round walls, surrounded entirely by water, which made it unique in British North America. It was meant to guard against a possible American attack and to protect the Royal Naval Dockyard. The record covers submerged rubble and cribbing from its construction.
Institutions and industry
The encyclopedia says Queen’s College at Kingston was founded in 1841 and developed into Queen’s University, and it names the Royal Military College as part of the institutional sector. It says that before the Second World War the economy was led by the Canadian Locomotive Company, the shipyards and Kingston Cotton Mills, and that by 2000 the institutions dominated.
Planning a winter visit
The sources describe summer drill at Fort Henry, so we have left hours, fees and winter schedules out. Our reading: from December the harbour, the towers and the limestone streets can be seen from outside, and the drill cannot be counted on. Check the operators before you go.
What kind of sources these are
A national encyclopedia, two federal heritage records and a tourism board’s archived page, which is promotional and undated. We read no deed, map or archive.
What we left out
Prices, hours, the penitentiary and prison history, living people, and anything about what is for sale in town.
Quick answers
Why is Kingston called the limestone city? According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, an 1840 fire led to a ban on wood construction in favour of stone and brick, and the nickname followed.
How many fortifications does Kingston have? Parks Canada lists five: Fort Henry, Fort Frederick, Murney Tower, Shoal Tower and Cathcart Martello Tower, protected together as one national historic site.
Was Kingston ever Canada’s capital? Yes. The Canadian Encyclopedia says it was capital of the Province of Canada from 1841 until December 1843. The tourism board gives 1844 for the move.
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Roam first. Shop later.