Plaque commémorative du blockhaus de Chatham

CHATHAM BLOCKHOUSE
1794
On this site a blockhouse was constructed in 1794
by order of Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe.
He planned to establish here a small naval arsenal
which would form a link in the defences of Upper
Canada's western frontier and also draw the Indian
trade from Detroit. The post was garrisoned by a
detachment of the Queen's Rangers, and two gunboats
were built; but by 1797 it was abandoned. In 1798
the province's Administrator, Peter Russell, had the
blockhouse moved to Sandwich to serve as the Western
District's courthouse and gaol.

Erected by the Ontario Archaeological and Historic Sites Board