Navy Hall

Navy Hall, the site of Upper Canada's first parliament, was first built in 1765 as a complex including a dock, shipyard, supply depot, and administrative residences; the site was selected for its superior shelter from the regular storms which battered Lake Ontario. Used both as a shipping centre on the Great Lakes and as a base for the Provincial Marine (Upper Canada's navy), Navy Hall was used during the American Revolution as a winter quarters for the Marine. Following a period of decline and disuse in the 1780s, the complex became a key administrative centre for the emergent community of Newark (present-day Niagara-on-the-Lake), which would in 1792 become the capital of Upper Canada. John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of the province, had the decrepit buildings renovated in July of 1792. One would become his residence, another his office, and another the meeting-place of the provincial legislature. In 1797, the provincial capital was moved to York (present-day Toronto) - Newark was to vulnerable to American attack, as Fort Niagara had been turned over to the US government as a part of Jay's Treaty the year before. With the movement of the capital, Navy Hall once again became a military site amidst an escalation of tensions across the Niagara.

Resuming its military role, Navy Hall continued to serve as a a base for the Provincial Marine, and the Lieutenant-Governor's former residence became a dining hall for the officers of Fort George, who often hosted their counterparts from Fort Niagara in the years before the War of 1812. While Fort George was under construction in the 1790s, Navy Hall served as a barracks for the centre division of the British Army in Canada. After 1800, Navy Hall served as an offloading area for supplies and men coming into Fort George from the St. Lawrence Seaway. During the American bombardment of Fort George and Newark in the lead-up to the Battle of Queenston Heights, the Navy Hall complex was destroyed by hotshot. After the war in 1815, the buildings were reconstructed and continued to serve military administrative functions; the present buildings date from 1815, and the last remaining wooden structure was encased in stone and roofed in copper in 1937, during the reconstruction of Fort George.

The modern-day site is an example of the early heritage movement in Canada, and the dedication to preserving and presenting Canadian history in the early twentieth century, reflecting the classical revival values of that era. There is a commemorative plaque to the first legislative assembly of Upper Canada at Navy Hall today, as well as a monument to John Graves Simcoe on the northern edge of the site.

Navy Hall is administered by Parks Canada and is a unit of Fort George National Historic Site. The hall can be rented for private events as a venue, although the building complex itself is not open to the general public, however the environs are dedicated to public use. There is a public-use modern dock at Navy Hall, as well as a Monument to John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada.