Fort Rouille Monument
A large obelisk marks the spot where the original French-built Fort Rouille (also known as Fort Toronto) was erected in 1750 and 1751. Its construction was ordered by the Marquis de la Jonquiere, then governor of New France, in order to further establish a French presence in the area, and to intercept the trade of Indians traveling towards an English fur-trading post in present-day Oswego. It was a small palisaded fort with a bastion at each of its four corners, and containing five main buildings: a corps de garde, storeroom, barracks, black smithy, and a building for the officers. A drawing purported to date from 1749 shows the fort adjacent to Lake Ontario, whereas today it is situated on top of a small hill a hundred meters or so from the lake's current shoreline.