the town from Niagara Falls. The name was officially adopted in 1970, when the Town of Niagara and the Township of Niagara merged. Historic sites Most of the former military sites, such as Fort George, Navy Hall, and Butler's Barracks, have been restored. Fort George's restoration was done as a "Make Work Project," guided by plans from the Royal Engineers during the Great Depression of the 1930s, an early example of historic preservation. Fort George National Historic Site is a focal point in a collection of War of 1812 sites which, collectively, are managed by Parks Canada under the name Niagara National Historic Sites. That administrative name includes several national historic sites: Fort Mississauga, Mississauga Point Lighthouse (1804, the first on the Great Lakes), Navy Hall, Butler's Barracks, and Queenston Heights. Niagara-on-the-Lake features historical plaques. Critical battles in the defence of Upper Canada took place here, and at nearby at Queenston and St. David's, both now part of Niagara-on-the-Lake. In one of these, Laura Secord gained her fame. The town gave many African-Americans their first taste of freedom, both as a stop on the Underground Railroad for those travelling further into Upper Canada and as a refuge in its own right. Its stock of regency and classical revival buildings, considered the best in the country from the post-War of 1812 period, led the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to recommend the town's historic district be designated a National Historic Site of Canada, a designation which was approved in 2003. The historic centre had been designated as a provincial Heritage Conservation District under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1986. Although it did not make the final list, the historic district was considered for nomination as a World Heritage Site. The town has other National Historic Sites of Canada within its boundaries: the Battlefield of Fort George and nearby Fort George, Butler's Barracks, Fort Drummond, Fort Mississauga, the site of the Mississauga Point Lighthouse, the Niagara Apothecary (the oldest apothecary in Canada), the Niagara District Court House, Queenston Heights, Queenston-Chippawa Hydro-electric Plant, Willowbank and Vrooman's Battery. The Gate House built after 1849 was site of former Wilson's Hotel and inaugural meeting of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1797. John "Irish John Wilson (1744-~1798) was a sergeant with the Butler's Rangers and Loyalist from New Jersey. The stone foundation of the Gate House is the remains of the hotel