Fort Frontenac

Fort Frontenac (formerly Fort Cataraqui)
Part of chain of French forts throughout Great Lakes and upper Mississippi region.
Mouth of Cataraqui River, Kingston, Canada
Remnants of the old fort with the new Fort Frontenac in background.
Site information
Controlled by	Original: New France
Condition	Present fort: military barrack buildings used as college. Remnants of original stone fort can be seen.
Site history
Built	1673
Built by	Louis de Buade de Frontenac
In use	1673– present. Periods of abandonment.
Materials	Original: wood palisade, partially rebuilt with stone in 1675, rebuilt completely of stone 1695.
Demolished	1689 but later rebuilt. Destroyed by British, 1758. Partly rebuilt, 1783.
Battles/wars	Iroquois siege, 1688, Battle of Fort Frontenac (Seven Years' War), 1758
Garrison information
Occupants	French, British, Canadian

Fort Frontenac was a French trading post and military fort built in 1673 at the mouth of the Cataraqui River where the St. Lawrence River leaves Lake Ontario (at what is now the western end of the La Salle Causeway), in a location traditionally known as Cataraqui. It is the present-day location of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The original fort, a crude, wooden palisade structure, was called Fort Cataraqui but was later named for Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor of New France (Count Frontenac), who was responsible for building the fort. The fort, however, was still often referred to as Fort Cataraqui.

The British destroyed the fort in 1758 during the Seven Years' War and its ruins remained abandoned until the British took possession and reconstructed it in 1783. The fort was turned over to the Canadian military in 1870–71 and it is still being used by the military.

The intent of Fort Frontenac was to control the lucrative fur trade in the Great Lakes Basin to the west and the Canadian Shield to the north. It was one of many French outposts that would be established throughout the Great Lakes and upper Mississippi regions. The fort was meant to be a bulwark against the English who were competing with the French for control of the fur trade. By constructing the Cataraqui trading post the French could encourage trade with the Iroquois, who were traditionally a threat to the French because of their alliance with the English. Another function of the fort was the provision of supplies and reinforcements to other French installations on the Great Lakes and in the Ohio Valley to the south. Frontenac hoped that the fort would also help fulfill his own business aspirations.

The fort was sited to protect a small sheltered bay (the "cannotage") that the French could use as a harbour for large lake-going boats. Unlike the Ottawa River fur trade route into the interior, which was only accessible by canoes, larger vessels could easily navigate the lower lakes. The cost of transporting goods such as furs, trade items, and supplies through at least the lower Great Lakes would be reduced.