Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site

Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site An official Parks Canada page. Français : http://ow.ly/BJa650LYGWn

Cette page est aussi disponible en français à http://www.facebook.com/LHNFortStJoseph

Are you ready? Fort St. Joseph will open for the season on Wednesday, June 3! The grounds and visitor centre will be ope...
05/24/2026

Are you ready? Fort St. Joseph will open for the season on Wednesday, June 3!

The grounds and visitor centre will be open Wednesday through Sunday each week until the end of September. Admission is $5.00 for adults, $4.50 for those age 65 and better, while youth aged 17 and younger are free.

We’re looking forward to seeing you soon!

Have you seen a monarch yet this spring? We’re keeping our eyes open in anticipation! The milkweed is growing in the mea...
05/18/2026

Have you seen a monarch yet this spring? We’re keeping our eyes open in anticipation! The milkweed is growing in the meadow, providing a tasty salad bar for the soon-to-hatch caterpillars, and the early season wildflowers are starting to bloom so the butterflies have a nectar source. You can help this endangered species, too, by leaving some milkweed plants to grow in your spaces and encouraging other native flowers to bloom throughout the year.

Learn more about what Fort St. Joseph is doing to support monarchs here https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/on/stjoseph/nature/proteger-le-pre-protecting-the-meadow, or talk with our friendly staff during your visit this summer.

By the early 19th century, the primary fur trade canoe route between Montréal and Lake Huron was a route well-traveled. ...
05/13/2026

By the early 19th century, the primary fur trade canoe route between Montréal and Lake Huron was a route well-traveled. But that didn’t mean that there weren’t challenges along the way! Along the Ottawa, Mattawa and French Rivers, there were at least 40 notable portages where river conditions or the need to change waterways required a change in strategy. Options included:
• Perche – use of poles 8-10 feet long to push the loaded canoe upstream against strong currents
• Demi-charge – unload half of the cargo to lighten the load and return a second time for the other half
• Décharge – unload all the cargo and carry it around while transporting the empty canoe by water
• Portage – unload all the cargo, then carry both the cargo and the canoe around until the river is passable again.

Thank you to everyone who came out to participate in World Migratory Bird Day at Fort St. Joseph on May 9! The rain held...
05/13/2026

Thank you to everyone who came out to participate in World Migratory Bird Day at Fort St. Joseph on May 9! The rain held off and the birds were cooperative, allowing new and experienced birders to have a great day. By our count, 117 different species were collectively spotted, including two new species for the site! An immature male Orchard Oriole, first spotted by Sam Phenouf, and a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, first spotted by Elijah Rodgers, make our highlight list. 🤩

The event would not have been possible without our proud partners at Central Algoma Land Trust . Thank you!

We can’t wait to do it all again soon! The Fall Migratory Bird Day event is being planned for October 10, 2026, so watch for details.

Today is World Migratory Bird Day! Join Parks Canada and Central Algoma Land Trust (https://www.facebook.com/centralalgo...
05/09/2026

Today is World Migratory Bird Day!

Join Parks Canada and Central Algoma Land Trust (https://www.facebook.com/centralalgomalandtrust) today at Fort St. Joseph from 6:00am to 2:00pm to see how many bird species we can find in this one day event! We had over 100 each of the past 3 years. Can we do it again?

World Migratory Bird Day is annual global event highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitat. Anyone can contribute to the conservation of migratory birds by participating in citizen science projects. Whether you watch your backyard feeder during a local Backyard Bird Count, track your birding adventures on eBird, or submit photos to iNaturalist for help with identification, the data submitted by dedicated volunteers can be used by researchers around the globe. Your observations can make a difference!

Join Parks Canada and Central Algoma Land Trust this Saturday, May 9, for World Migratory Bird Day! https://www.facebook...
05/06/2026

Join Parks Canada and Central Algoma Land Trust this Saturday, May 9, for World Migratory Bird Day! https://www.facebook.com/centralalgomalandtrust

Fort St. Joseph will be open from 6:00am to 2:00pm to watch for birds on their northward migration for the breeding season. Carter Dorscht from Central Algoma Land Trust will be here to help point out birds.

Birders of all ages and skill levels are welcome!

Regular admission fees apply. https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/on/stjoseph/visit/tarifs-fees

World Migratory Bird Day is one week away! Are you ready?The special 1-day event will feature early-season access to For...
05/03/2026

World Migratory Bird Day is one week away! Are you ready?

The special 1-day event will feature early-season access to Fort St. Joseph and the St. Joseph Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary on Saturday May 9. Gates open from 6:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Thanks to our friends at Central Algoma Land Trust for partnering for this fun event! https://www.facebook.com/centralalgomalandtrust

Marbles, or objects resembling marbles have been found in many places around the world. Today when you think of marbles ...
04/29/2026

Marbles, or objects resembling marbles have been found in many places around the world. Today when you think of marbles you may think of colourful glass spheres. During the time of Fort St. Joseph, such glass marbles would have been very expensive and hard to come by, so marbles made of stone or clay were popular. Marble games in many cultures often involved using large marbles to knock smaller marbles out of a designated circle. In some variations, players played for keeps, and the games could have included gambling. It seems that the soldiers or residents of Fort St. Joseph may have participated in the activity, as a stone marble was found during the excavations and is now on display in the museum.

Try your hand at this fun game on your next visit to the Fort, as well as check out the display in the museum!

Fort St. Joseph and Central Algoma Land Trust (https://www.facebook.com/centralalgomalandtrust) are proud to partner tog...
04/20/2026

Fort St. Joseph and Central Algoma Land Trust (https://www.facebook.com/centralalgomalandtrust) are proud to partner together to celebrate birds this spring! We’re having a “Big Day” on World Migratory Bird Day, Saturday May 9, and you can join us!

Let’s see how many different species we can collectively identify. Everyone is welcome, regardless of experience level. We even have binoculars to rent if you want to try some out!

We’ll be with all the “early birds”, opening the site at 6:00 am. Hope to see you there!

Respectful gift giving between leaders of First Nations and the British Crown took place at Fort St. Joseph. Large quan...
04/12/2026

Respectful gift giving between leaders of First Nations and the British Crown took place at Fort St. Joseph. Large quantities of maple sugar were collected at the Island of St. Joseph and much of it was forwarded to the nearest British post in Amherstburg. On March 9, 1798 Capt. McLean of Amherstburg ordered a survey of the maple sugar that had arrived from St. Joseph Island the preceding November by the Sloop Francis.

“We the President & Members of the Board do hereby certify to have seen weighed in the Provision Magazine at this Post one hundred
thirty Mococks and one Barrel (the contents of eight more) of Mapple [sic] Sugar the gross weight of which amounting to Four Thousand nine Hundred two pounds & a half.”
THos. FRASER
Lt. 2nd Battn R. C. W.
PIERRE BOUCHERVILLE
Ens. 2nd Batt" R. C. V.
STEPHEN MC KAY
Ens. 2nd Battn. R. C. V.

Thomas Duggan, storekeeper at Fort St. Joseph, recorded similar numbers for multiple years. Imagine how many maple trees were tapped around the Upper Great Lakes to produce roughly 5,000 pounds of maple sugar…as gifts…per year at Fort St. Joseph.

Image: “Indian Sugar Camp” by Capt. Seth Eastman, US Army, c. 1850.

Address

185 Fort Road
Hilton Beach, ON
P0R1G0

Telephone

+17052462664

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