Est. 1755 · French and Indian War · American Revolution · War of 1812 · Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter · New York State Historic Site
Fort Ontario's strategic position on the south shore of Lake Ontario at the Oswego River's mouth made the bluff a contested point through three centuries of North American conflict. The British constructed the original fort in 1755 to defend Oswego during the French and Indian War. French forces under the Marquis de Montcalm captured and destroyed it in 1756. Successive British, American, and U.S. Army garrisons rebuilt and modified the works.
The fort saw action during the American Revolution and was attacked again during the War of 1812. The current star-shaped earthen fortification largely reflects mid-19th-century construction, with brick interior buildings dating to the Civil War era. The U.S. Army continued to garrison the site into the early 20th century. During World War II, the post became the only refugee shelter operated by the United States government for Holocaust survivors — the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter held 982 European refugees from August 1944 to February 1946.
The Army deactivated Fort Ontario in 1946. The site became a New York State Historic Site, today administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Restored buildings, interpretive exhibits, and seasonal living-history programming run from May through October.
Sources
- https://parks.ny.gov/visit/historic-sites/fort-ontario-state-historic-site
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Ontario
- https://hauntedhistorytrail.com/explore/fort-ontario-state-historic-site
ApparitionsPhantom voicesCold spotsDisembodied laughter
Among the most cited apparitions at Fort Ontario is George Fikes, identified by site staff as the so-called Post Ghost, a British soldier said to have died at the fort in 1782. Local folklore extends the story by adding a participatory element: anyone who steps on Fikes's grave is said to be marked, while anyone who jumps over it can transfer the haunting to another person. The story circulates in Haunted History Trail materials and in Oswego County tourism collateral, though the underlying claim is folklore rather than historical record.
A second named figure is British Lieutenant Basil Dunbar, recorded as having died in a duel at the site in 1759. Folklore holds that Dunbar's apparition appears in a dazed state, as if unaware that he lost. Other recurring accounts include a blonde woman seen in a third-story window of one of the officers' quarters — the third floors are not open to the public — and a child's voice heard calling for a cat.
Many of the site's reported sightings occur during operating hours and in daylight, leading staff and visitors to occasionally mistake apparitions for living costumed reenactors. Fort Ontario embraces this part of its identity through the seasonal Murder, Mysteries, Mishaps, Maladies and Mayhem lantern tours, which weave documented incidents — duels, accidents, disease outbreaks — together with the longer folklore around the post.
Notable Entities
George FikesBasil Dunbar
