See GC3HWQ3: Historic Saint John Series – County Courthouse for the first in the series.
Saint John is a city steeped in history. Commonly referred to as ‘the Loyalist City’ as well as ‘Canada’s Most Irish City,’ Saint John is Canada's oldest incorporated city (1785). Saint John is home to this country's oldest museum and farmers market. Saint John also established Canada's first police force. This city has been welcoming people from Eastern Europe, England and Ireland for centuries, with each group of immigrants leaving their unique imprint on Saint John culture, architecture and language.
The cache location features commanding view of a very famous landmark in Saint John that dates back to the War of 1812. Looking to the east, located high on a hill is Carleton Martello Tower.
The city's location made it a very probable target of attacks and this led to the construction of the tower, one of fourteen Martello towers built in Canada (only nine still exist). Martello Tower played a pivotal role in conflicts up until the Second World War. The site features a restored powder magazine, a restored barracks room, and exhibits in the tower and in the Visitor Centre. Visitors will also marvel at the spectacular view of the city of Saint John and its harbour.
Located on a high rocky promontory overlooking the harbour, the Carleton Martello Tower is a strongly built, plain, squat, cylindrical stone tower that is two storeys high. It's in fact an excellent example of the traditional Martello style of towers built throughout the British Empire during the 19th century. The tower’s exterior wall inclines slightly inwards as it rises up to the parapet. Shuttered windows and an arched doorway pierce the wall on the second level. The entrance is accessed by an exterior stairway. An additional two-storey, concrete command post was added to the top of the tower in 1941.
The Carleton Martello Tower is most associated with the defence of British North America and Canada between 1812 and 1918 and with the defence of eastern Canada during the Second World War. The original intent of the tower was to defend Saint John during the War of 1812 but was not completed until after the conflict, as the construction was staggered from 1813 to 1815.
Upgrading began during the 1830s and it was armed during the Fenian threat in the late 1860s. During the First World War it served as a detention centre for deserters and during the Second World War as an observation, artillery and command post for Saint John Harbour.
The tower is a good example of a functional 19th century military structure. The original portion of the tower illustrates the second generation of martello tower construction in Canada. The tower displays the very good functional and massively strong characteristics of the Martello towers.
It is compatible with the coastal defence setting of Saint John. Located on a high rock outcrop, it is highly visible throughout the Saint John area. The structure is a landmark to both local people and to visitors being a point of reference for the harbour.
Martello Tower is located on Charlotte Street Extension on the Lower West Side of Saint John and offers a panoramic view of the city of Saint John, its harbour and the Bay of Fundy. Carleton Martello Tower is the oldest building in the city and has been designated as a National Historic Site of Canada since 1930. It was opened to the public in 1963.
The tower is open daily from June 1 through to October 15.
Congrats to the team of ynds, sk8ter boy and SVTF on being FTF!