July 10, Kingston tour

July 10, Kingston       

Yesterday, we left the Rideau Canal and entered Lake Ontario.  A thunder shower popped up just before we crossed the LaSalle Causeway Bridge.  We timed our arrival to get to the bridge for the 6PM opening.  The marina was just beyond the bridge and we waited in the basin until we saw the dock help come out and direct us to a slip.  We were placed in a shared slip with a sailboat already docked.  I did not understand why they were putting us in such a tight spot during a blowing rain storm with a number of empty slips.   We sterned in and the wind caught us and Ken fought going sideways in the slip.  The young dock hands were pulling on the lines and a French sailor, next to us, was cussing at us while we docked.  Not a pretty sight. Unfortunately, we were off to a bad start in Kingston.  Sharing a slip with the rudest boaters we met on the Loop was stressful.

Grabbed my trusty rain jacket and off we went splashing in the puddles to exchange money and then hop on the morning trolley.   Our first stop was the Penitentiary and then to Fort Henry.

The French originally settled on a traditional Mississaugas First Nation site called Katerokwi in 1673 and established Fort Frontenac.  The fort was captured and destroyed by the British in the Battle of Fort Frontenac near the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1758.  A receiving center for fleeing refugees from the American Revolution, it became the primary community of south eastern Upper Canada.

During the War of 1812, Kingston was the base for the lake Ontario division of the Great Lakes British naval fleet which engaged in a vigorous arms race with the American fleet based at Sackett’s Harbor, New York, a stone throw away, for control of Lake Ontario.  After the war, Britain built Fort Henry and a series of distinctive Martello towers to guard the entrance to the Rideau Canal.  Fort Henry stills stands and we enjoyed watching the Drill Squad and Artillery Units perform with precision drill and a number of firing demonstrations including a cannon.

Kingston’s location at the Rideau Canal entrance to Lake Ontario, after canal construction was completed in 1832, made it the primary military and economic centre of Upper Canada.  Kingston was the first capital of the United Canadas before confederation from 1841 to 1844, and hosted the first meeting of the parliament of the United Canadas on June 13, 1841.  But its location made it vulnerable to American attack so the capital was moved to Ottawa in 1857. Kingston was the home of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald.  After a day of touring we enjoyed Prince Street lined with shops and restaurants