Fort Willow or Willow Depot was a fortified

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

supply depot in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. It is located in modern-day

Springwater, Ontario Springwater is a township (Canada), township in central Ontario, Canada, in Simcoe County, near Barrie. It is the county seat of Simcoe County. History Prior to European settlement, Ossossane, the largest Wyandot people#cite ref-21, Wendat sett ...

. The depot was built near the strategically-important

Nine Mile Portage The Nine Mile Portage was a portage which connected Kempenfelt Bay of Lake Simcoe, Ontario, to Willow Creek (Ontario), Willow Creek, a tributary of the Nottawasaga River that flows to Wasaga Beach on Georgian Bay. The Barrie Chamber of Commerce in ...

, a pre-existing

portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

route used by

First Nations people First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

, as well as by the French in conducting the fur trade. The portage route allowed the British to supply their forts in the upper Great Lakes during the war which included the garrison at Michilackinac Island, near modern-day Sault Ste. Marie and the

Penetanguishene Naval Yard Penetanguishene Naval Yard was a Royal Navy yard then a British Army base from 1813 to 1856 located at Penetanguishene in Upper Canada (present day Ontario). Land was first acquired in 1798 near Penetanguishene and a base finally built in 1813, ...

. The British use of the fort and portage route in the War of 1812 is recognized by the Canadian government's Historic Sites and Monuments Board as a National Historic Event.

History

The Fort Willow site sits on the historic

route. This route was used by

for hundreds of years to travel between

Kempenfelt Bay Kempenfelt Bay is a long bay that leads into the Canadian city of Barrie, Ontario. It is as deep as in places, and is connected to the larger Lake Simcoe. It is known for its ice fishing and legends of Kempenfelt Kelly, a Loch Ness monster ...

Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly within the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century, the lake was called ''Ouentir ...

and Willow Creek, a tributary of the

Nottawasaga River The Nottawasaga River is a river in Simcoe County and Dufferin County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Huron. The river flows from the Orangeville Reservoir in the town of Orangeville, ...

. From the Nottawasaga River, it was then possible to reach

Georgian Bay The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...

. French explorers and

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

rs later followed this route. The portage had come to the attention of the British armed forces by 1793.

Recent history

Restorations and archaeological investigations have located and outlined the former buildings used by the soldiers. Information kiosks provide a thorough history of the area's past use and how its location helped ensure the geographical boundaries of Canada today. Accessibility improvements were made to the trail leading to the fort site in 2017.

Today

After archaeological research, the area of Fort Willow has been partially reconstructed by the Fort Willow Improvement Group. The site is in Springwater Township, approximately 10 km west of downtown

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

, Ontario. The outline of various buildings as well as explanatory signs have been installed.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Fort Willow at The Nottawasaga Valley Conservation AuthorityFort Willow ArchaeologyFort Willow at the Township of Springwater
Canada in the War of 1812 History of Ontario History of Simcoe County Military history of Ontario