Niagara Military Heritage Centre

[Edwin Wand]

Article in the March 23rd St Catharines Standard.
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2...r-step-forward

Local history

Planned military museum takes another step forward

By Grant LaFleche, The Standard

Monday, March 23, 2015 11:22:44 EDT PM

Decades in the making, and possibly with years of work left to go, a planned museum dedicated to the long and storied military history of Niagara took a small step toward reality Monday.

At Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Lincoln and Welland Regiment Foundation and Parks Canada signed a memorandum of understanding to negotiate a lease that will eventually allow the museum to be created.

To be called the Niagara Military Heritage Centre, it will serve as the new home for the Lincoln and Welland Regiment Musuem and a place to honour any Niagara resident who wore the uniform, said Jeff Cairns, chair of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment Foundation.

“We will have a hall of honour and we will put out a call for materials,” he said. “If you have a family member who served and you want them honoured, we want to see the medals or documents, or copies of them or other materials.”

The five-acre museum site will be located at the Battle of Fort George property on the rifle range.

“It is an appropriate site,” Cairns said. “This is an historic site and a hallowed military site for Niagara. About 100 people died in that area during the Battle of Fort George, mostly British and First Nations soldiers, and they are still interred under the ground there.”

Once the lease has been settled, Cairns said, the next step will be the start of the architectural designs and eventually exhibit spaces.

If all goes well, the museum could open in late 2017.

St. Catharines MP Rick Dykstra said because of the rules that protect Parks Canada lands, it can be tricky to get permission to build on them. In this case, it took an order from the minister of the environment — the ministry Parks Canada falls under — to get the process moving.

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grant.lafleche@sunmedia.ca

[Andrew]

"The five-acre museum site will be located at the Battle of Fort George property on the rifle range."

Soooooo whats going to happen to the rifle range?

[Rob Dekker]

There's a rifle range at Ft. George?

[peter simundson]

Yes and it was a good range to fire on. It is just North East of
Niagara-on-the-Lake and takes up about 1/2 a mile of
road including three training areas. In use until about twenty years ago
when some local idiots set fire to the barn that housed the
targets and maint. materiel. Right after that DND stopped use
and demolished the Firing sites and target areas.

Spent many happy summers training there.

Peter S

[Rob Dekker]

You're thinking of the one on the Lakeshore Road, no? I don't recall any range at Fort George itself during my time.

[peter simundson]

That's the one. There was also an underground .22 range across the
road from Fort George on Army (DND) property.

It was dug out about 35 years ago.

On the Fort George site there was no range although there
was some range work there in 1812.

PS

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by peter simundson

Yes and it was a good range to fire on. It is just North East of
Niagara-on-the-Lake and takes up about 1/2 a mile of
road including three training areas. In use until about twenty years ago
when some local idiots set fire to the barn that housed the
targets and maint. materiel. Right after that DND stopped use
and demolished the Firing sites and target areas.

Spent many happy summers training there.

Peter S

Well, not exactly gone. The range is immediately recognizable on Goofle Earth. The butts and 6 firing points are still there. DND tends to keep land it owns, especially when there is known contamination.