Our History

Incorporated on 28 March 1983 to oversee the excavations of Fort Frontenac, the Foundation’s first project was to excavate part of the site of Fort Frontenac, also known as Fort Cataraqui, which lies under the present Fort Frontenac complex and city roads in downtown Kingston. Following the successful completion of archaeological work, the Foundation reconstructed the Fort’s northwest bastion and installed interpretive plaques.

Since then, the Foundation has conducted cultural resource management throughout Eastern Ontario with more than 20 years of experience on at least 150 separate archaeological projects. The Foundation has produced in excess of 160 consulting and conservation reports, technical papers, and other publications including a semi-annual newsletter sent to its members. In 1986, the Foundation received a $264,800 grant from the government of Ontario to establish the Kingston Archaeological Centre. The Centre contains an interpretative display, which illustrates 8,000 years of human habitation in the Kingston area, and a research facility housing a library and archival collection.The Foundation is unique in Ontario in that it develops and maintains archaeological collections, in public trust, for public educational programs as well as conducting research for governments and the private sector.