We are staying 2 nights at the Navy Pier Marine Marina in Sackets Harbor. The previous sentence sounds like a lesson in bad grammar and poor spelling, but... Our location is Navy Pier Marine, which does have a marina, and Sackets has only one "t" and no apostrophe (possessive case). Confusing, but it is a nice marina just across from the restored downtown. The marina is built on Navy Pier, which appears to be a natural pier that protects the harbor. I took the picture of Lucky Us standing on Navy Pier, and the town is to the upper right across the small bay (i.e. across Sackets Harbor).
At the start of the War of 1812, the US sent 4,000 men, including over 1,200 shipwrights, to Sackets Harbor. The purpose was to build a fort and ships to gain control of Lake Ontario and to protect the US from any possible invasion by British and Canadian forces. They were able to build as many as 15 ships per year, including several in as few as 8 weeks. The photo at left shows the home of the Garrison Commander and his family, which is just outside the gate of our marina. If this looks like a southern style plantation home, you are correct. The government, or at least the Navy, was building this style home for its base commanders no matter where the base was located during this time period. The walls were not insulated, and it had no heat. The walk around balconies were omitted from the sides, which saved enough money to add a crude central heating system.
The garrison at Sackets Harbor came under attack by a fleet of ships on May 29, 1813. The actual battlefield was right in front of the Commanders home. The small forts and earthen works have long since been removed as the area returned to farming after the war. The big trees were planted on the 100th Anniversary of the start of the war, and the smaller ones were planted on the 200th Anniversary to replace ones that had died. You can see the waters of Black River Bay down low through the trees. There is a near vertical cliff about 20 to 25 feet high at the edge of the water. This made an idea location for gun emplacements to defend Sackets Harbor against attacks from the water. In a surprise (?) move the enemy landed troops just to the west and attacked by land because of the strong sea side defenses. The fierce day long battle ended with both sides retreating after apparently thinking that they had lost. The invading forces re-boarded their ships and headed back to Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The US was able to gain control of the other Great Lakes but not Lake Ontario as no other major battles took place after this one.
The town is very pretty with an array of historic and newer buildings. Pictured at left is the Union Hotel, which was completed in 1817 about 3 years after the war ended. It is constructed out of local limestone and has been restored by the state, which now owns the building.
One of the art shops downtown has a lovely "Fairy Garden" planted in the front yard. The picture at right is just one small spot in a garden with about 20 other fairy settings. It is quite an eye catcher as you walk down the street. We couldn't help but think this would be a grand place for Sarah and Katie, our granddaughters, to play.
After all these posts, you might have gathered that eating is an important part of my "learning" about local towns. Last night we had dinner outside with live music. The picture at the left was taken from a balcony over the harbor where we had dinner tonight. The marina is across the harbor at the upper left. The weather today was picture perfect with only a few scattered high clouds. The temperature was in the low 70s due primarily to the "cool" water all around.
After a full day of (relative) rest, education and great food, we will be heading out in the morning back to Oswego, NY where we will use the canal system to head to Lake Erie. See ya!
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