Welcome to Snake Hill Parkette!
This waterfront public property is owned and maintained by the Town of Fort Erie.
For more information or assistance, call 905-871-1600 or visit forterie.ca.
Snake Hill History:
Indigenous Use
Snake Hill is a local name for this area where a large sand dune used to exist.
Indigenous people used this land as a source of stone for tools and weapons nearly 4,000 years ago. In the 1600s there was an Iroquoian fishing camp at this site. And in the early 1900s, an archaeologist described evidence of “… a village and possibly a [burial] mound at the point known as Snake Hill.”
Image Source: Dr. Kristin Stanford, Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory
Snake Watching
The earliest reference to snakes in this area dates to 1767. Captain Jonathan Carver wrote in his journal that
“The Sand about Lake Erie is very good … and Nothing can make it so disagreeable as the multiplicity of Snakes of several sorts the most numerous is the water snakes … they are frequently seen in the middle of the Day Laying Coil … that in many Places the[y] Cover the water … that the whole Surface of the water for some distance appear[s] quite Black. From this point onwards, the name “Snake Hill” really stuck.
Image Source: Public Archives Canada, National Map Collection
Military Use
During the War of 1812 this area was part of the British military post at Fort Erie and a significant battle happened here in August 1814. Snake Hill and Fort Erie were occupied by the American army at that time. Hundreds of British soldiers were wounded or killed as they tried to recapture this area and the Fort. A field hospital operated nearby to help the wounded and dying. Many soldiers were buried near the hospital in unmarked graves.
Though the Americans won the Battle of Snake Hill, they abandoned Fort Erie in November 1814
Black History
In the mid 1800s, Black settlers established a community here known as the Snake Hill Settlement. Large camp meetings near here attracted visitors from both sides of the border.
Image Credit: Fort Erie Historical Museum
Recreation
In the late 1800s, Snake Hill Grove just west of here became a popular picnic spot on Lake Erie. This evolved into Erie Beach Amusement Park. You can visit this location today and learn about its history at Waverly Beach, another park that is operated by the Town.
Visitors to the amusement park could arrive by train from the ferry landing near Bertie Street. That train was locally known as the Snake Hill and Pacific Railroad.
Archaeology and Remembrance
In 1987, archaeologists discovered the bodies of 28 American soldiers who were buried near the field hospital in 1814. Their remains were exhumed and repatriated to the New York State Military Burial Ground in Bath, New York.
Image Source: ASI Heritage
Media Coverage
International media covered the discovery of bodies at Snake Hill, the archaeological digs and repatriation of American soldiers in 1988. To this day, the relatively small piece of land at Snake Hill Parkette holds big stories to tell.
Naming the Parkette
In 2024, the Bertie Historical Society suggested ‘Snake Hill Parkette’ as a new name for this piece of public property. The Town of Fort Erie agreed and renamed Snake Hill Parkette under the Town’s Park Naming Policy. This process includes the submission of an application, consultation with the community, and Council approval.
Further information about the Fort Erie Park Naming Policy and Application can be found on the sidebar of this Let's Talk Fort Erie page.
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