Nine Mile Portage and Willow Depot National Historic Event
Simcoe County, Ontario
HSMBC Plaque
© Parks Canada Agency | Agence Parcs Canada, B. MacMillan, 2016.
Address :
Simcoe County, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
2014-07-07
Dates:
-
1814 to 1855
(Significant)
Other Name(s):
-
Nine Mile Portage and Willow Depot
(Designation Name)
Research Report Number:
2011-22, 2011-36
Importance:
Crucial in supplying the British post at Michilimackinac, in 1813, and allowed to maintain control of key territories in 1814
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: Fort Willow, Springwater, Ontario
Linking Upper Canada to British posts on the Great Lakes, this supply chain played a vital role during the War of 1812. In 1813, after the Americans seized control of Lake Erie, the Nine Mile Portage and Willow Depot allowed the British to supply their isolated garrison on Mackinac Island. Thanks to this route, the British and their Aboriginal allies maintained their position on the island, which was crucial to the control of the upper Great Lakes area and the territory west of Lake Michigan. After the war, the route was used for the transportation of furs and other supplies until being superseded by the railway in the 1850s.