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Kingston
UNESCO
world heritage sites
Murney Tower
at
2 King St W
The Tower was built in response to the Oregon Crisis, which was a tense dispute over the border between British North America and the United States in the 1840s.
Shoal Tower
on
Clarence Street
The guns of Shoal Tower defended the approaches of Kingston Harbour. A dispute between Great Britain and the United States over the boundary between British Columbia and Oregon that threatened to lead to war and to the invasion of Canada (see Oregon crisis) prompted their construction.
Fort Frederick
at
9-15 Passchendale Drive
The original fort, consisting of earthworks, was built during the War of 1812 for protection against naval attack. On November 10, 1812, the Fort Frederick battery took part in repulsing an American naval squadron under Commodore Isaac Chauncey.
Fort Henry
at
1 Fort Henry Drive
The original fort was constructed during the War of 1812 to protect the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard (the site of the present-day Royal Military College of Canada) on Point Frederick from a possible American attack during the war and to monitor maritime traffic on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. The original fort was replaced by a much larger construction in the 1830s to maintain protection of the naval dockyard and protect the southern entrance to the Rideau Canal.
Cathcart Tower
on
Cedar Island, Fort Henry Drive
It is surrounded by a shallow ditch and by a glacis extending to the shorelines on three sides. The guns of Cathcart Tower covered the eastern approaches of Kingston Harbour.