Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter

Located in Oswego, NY, Fort Ontario was built by the British in 1755. It was initially used as an National Guard base during World War II. In August 1944, Fort Ontario was repurposed as the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter by the War Refugee Board. The only camp in the United States designated to shelter refugees fleeing the Nazi regime in Europe, Fort Ontario was home to some 1,000 refugees between August 1944 - February 1946. The mainly Jewish refugees, who had come from Allied-liberated territory in northern Italy, represented over thirty different countries and were the only refugees allowed entry to the US outside of the immigration system during the war. Their undefined immigration status meant they could not leave the Fort. After the war, many of them were granted visas to stay in the US.