The intent of Fort Frontenac was to control the lucrative fur trade in the Great Lakes Basin to the west and the Canadian Shield to the north.

Another function of the fort was the provision of supplies and reinforcements to other French installations on the Great Lakes and in the Ohio Valley to the south.

Governor Frontenac and his close associates also hoped to personally benefit from building the fort by controlling trade.

The fort, which was constructed of wood surrounded by a wooden stockade consisting of sharpened poles, was completed within six days.

[5] The fort was sited to protect a small sheltered bay (the "cannotage")[6] that the French could use as a harbour for large lake-going boats.

Unlike the Ottawa River fur trade route into the interior, which was only accessible by canoes, larger vessels could easily navigate the lower lakes.

The cost of transporting goods such as furs, trade items, and supplies through at least the lower Great Lakes would be reduced.

He was also required to attract settlers and meet their spiritual needs by building a chapel and establishing a mission with one or two Recollet priests.

[8] A description of the fort written in the 17th century mentions that: Three quarters of it are of masonry or hardstone, the wall is three feet thick and twelve high.

In 1687 La Barre's successor, the Marquis de Denonville, gathered an army to travel into the Seneca territory.

As Denonville and his army moved up the St. Lawrence toward the fort, several Iroquois, many of whom were friendly to the French, including women and children and some prominent leaders, were captured and imprisoned at Fort Frontenac by intendant de Champigny ostensibly to prevent them from revealing Denonville's troops' location.

The French abandoned and destroyed the fort in 1689, claiming that its remoteness prevented proper defense and that it could not be adequately supplied.

It was from Fort Frontenac that a 2,000-strong French force organized an attack on the Iroquois who inhabited areas south of Lake Ontario.

[14] However, when the Marquis de Montcalm arrived at the fort in 1756 to launch an attack on the British at Oswego, he was not impressed with its construction.

...As for the interior, a wooden scaffold has been built all around except along the north curtain where the commandant's house and chapel are, where the buildings are against the wall.

[16] By the 1750s, Fort Frontenac essentially served only as a supply storage depot and harbour for French naval vessels, and its garrison had dwindled.

During the Seven Years' War between Britain and France, who were vying for control of the North American continent, the British considered Fort Frontenac to be a strategic threat since it was in a position to command transportation and communications to other French fortifications and outposts along the St. Lawrence – Great Lakes water route and in the Ohio Valley.

[16] In the long term, however, the surrender compromised French prestige among the Indians and contributed to the defeat of New France in North America.

General Sir Frederick Haldimand, Governor of the Province of Quebec, ordered Major John Ross, commander at Oswego, to repair and rebuild the fort to accommodate a military garrison.

The research also provided important details about the development and use of the fort and surrounding area, and helped to establish the relationship between the physical remains and the information included in historical maps and plans.