- Signal Hill, Newfoundland and Labrador
Signal Hill is a hill which overlooks the city of
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador .Because of its strategic placement overlooking the harbour, fortifications have been placed on the hill since the mid 1600s.
History
The final battle of the
Seven Years' War in North America was fought in 1762 at theBattle of Signal Hill , in which the French surrendered St. John's to the British under the command of Lt. ColonelWilliam Amherst . Lt. Colonel Amherst renamed what was then known as "The Lookout" as "Signal Hill," because of the signalling that took place upon its summit from its flagmast. Flag communication between land and sea would take place there from the 1600s until 1960.During Signal Hill's first construction period in the late 1700s, Signal Hill was designated as the citadel for St. John's. Other Canadian citadels include
Citadel Hill in Halifax and Citadelle inQuebec City .During the 1800s, Signal Hill was manned specifically during the
Napoleonic Wars and theAmerican Civil War . A second construction period in Signal Hill's history saw the construction of the Queen's Battery Barracks which, today, has been completely restored to the period of 1862.Construction on
Cabot Tower began in 1897 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 and the 400th anniversary ofJohn Cabot 's landfall in 1497. The building was declared officially open in 1900. The practical uses of the building were flag mast signalling, and aMarconi wireless station which has since been moved toSt. John's International Airport .On
December 12 ,1901 , the first transatlanticwireless transmission was received here byGuglielmo Marconi in an abandoned fever andDiphtheria hospital, which has since been destroyed by fire. [Atlantic Cable. [http://www.atlantic-cable.com/NF2001/NF2001Images/NF0127e.jpgIEEE Milestone Plaque] ] The transmission originated from his Poldhu Wireless Station,Cornwall .The
United States maintained anti-aircraft guns on the hill duringWorld War II .National Historic Site
Today, Signal Hill is a Canadian National Historic Site [Parks Canada . [http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nl/signalhill/index_e.asp Signal Hill National Historic Site] ] and remains incredibly popular amongst tourists and locals alike; 97% of all tourists to St. John's visit Signal Hill. Amongst its popular attractions are the Signal Hill Tattoo, showcasing the
Royal Newfoundland Regiment of foot, circa 1795, and the North Head Trail which grants an impressive view of theAtlantic Ocean and the surrounding coast.Due to high winds in winter (which can reach up to 110 km (68 miles per hour), it is generally preferred to visit Signal Hill in the warmer months of the year.
A tourist information radio station,
CJSH-FM , broadcasts from the Signal Hill site.References
External links
* [http://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/search/relief?map_featureannotate_class_expression=ABQTT&map_chart=1+N%2F10&lat=47.5667&long=-52.6833&mapext=2972315.50039+857051.489837+2970940.07464+876582.636871&searchstring=Signal+Hill+National+Historic+Site&location1=NF&unique_key=ABQTT&map_featureannotate_class_symbol=arrow&layers=featureannotate Atlas of Canada Relief Map]
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