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Queenston Heights National Historic Site of Canada

14184 Niagara Parkway, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1968/06/19

Queenston Heights, general view showing the viewplane up to Brock's Monument.; Parks Canada / Parcs Canada
Queenston Heights, general view
Queenston Heights, aerial view showing Brock's Monument.; Parks Canada / Parcs Canada
Queenston Heights, aerial view
Queenston Heights, detail of Brock's Monument showing its Queenston limestone material and high level of craftsmanship.; Parks Canada / Parcs Canada
Queenston Heights, detail of Brock's Monument

Other Name(s)

Queenston Heights National Historic Site of Canada
Queenston Heights
Hauteurs de Queenston
Queenston Heights Battlefield
Champ de bataille des Hauteurs-de-Queenston
Redan Battery
Batterie du redan
Fort Drummond
Fort Drummond
Battle of Queenston Heights

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1812/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2007/07/04

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Queenston Heights is an extensive hillside area on the Niagara escarpment, centred on a heavily wooded, landscaped park which includes an elegant 57.9 metres (190 foot), classical column containing Sir Isaac Brock's grave. The park marks the site of the Battle of Queenston Heights in the War of 1812.

Heritage Value

Queenston Heights was declared a national historic site of Canada because:
- the Battle of Queenston Heights was fought here when an attempted invasion by American troops was repulsed by British/Canadian forces early in the War of 1812,
- the importance of Queenston Heights, and the difficulty of achieving a meaningful historic interpretation at Lundy's Lane, renders this the main battlefield to be interpreted in commemorating the War of 1812 in the Niagara Peninsula.

The heritage value of Queenston Heights National Historic Site of Canada resides in the completeness of the found forms and spatial inter-relationships of the remaining cultural landscape of the large area over which the battle was fought. This includes the landing place in Queenston, the locations of the defending British batteries, the portage road, the Redan battery, the cliffs, the slope upon which the British charges were made and where Major/Gen. Brock and Lt/Col. Macdonnell died, Sheaffe's march, and the Heights where the British victory was secured. Fort Drummond, a feature of Queenston Heights, has been separately recognized as a national historic site of Canada.

Sources: HSMBC Minutes, June 1968; Commemorative Integrity Statement, 1989.

Character-Defining Elements

Key features contributing to the heritage value of this site include:
- the cultural landscape as a product of its parts including archaeological remains, natural landscape, built landscape features including military defence works, the portage road, the Redan Battery and Fort Drummond,
- the spatial relationships of these resources,
- the found forms of the Redan Battery, including its earthworks, breastworks and expense magazine,
- the found forms, materials, and associated earthworks of Fort Drummond,
- the remains of Vrooman's Battery,
- the natural features of the site relevant to the battle, including the landing place at Queenston, the cliffs, the slope upon which British charges occurred, Sheaffe's route of march, and the plateau on the Heights,
- the found form, route, and continuing legibility of remnants of the portage road from Queenston to Chippewa,
- the viewplanes of the portage road from the Battery, from the Heights to Lewiston and to Queenston, from the road from Niagara-on-the-Lake Brock's Monument, and from the Redan Battery to the Niagara River,
- the memorials including early markers, the Laura Secord Memorial, and Brock's Monument,
- Brock's Monument in its Queenston limestone material and high level of craftsmanship, including its Neoclassical design as a 57.9 metres, fluted Composite order column on a rusticated stone basement and sculpted pedestal; its low enclosing wall with 6.1 metres, classical "trophy" statues at the corners; the 4.9 metres statue of Brock; the functional design as observation tower with interior staircase lit by loopholes ascending to the viewing platform; the ground-floor entry and crypt with granite floor slabs.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Federal

Recognition Authority

Government of Canada

Recognition Statute

Historic Sites and Monuments Act

Recognition Type

National Historic Site of Canada

Recognition Date

1968/06/19

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

1814/01/01 to 1814/01/01

Theme - Category and Type

Governing Canada
Military and Defence

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Defence
Battle Site

Architect / Designer

William Thomas

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage Directorate Documentation Centre 3rd Floor, room 366 30 Victoria Street Gatineau, Québec J8X 0B3

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

500

Status

Published

Related Places

Detail view

Brock’s Monument

Set in landscaped park grounds, Brock’s Monument dominates the view from Queenston Heights over the Niagara River. Constructed of stone, this outstanding example of Neoclassical…

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