Matters remained in this position until in February, 1814, under the Treaty of Ghent, Fort Niagara was once more gracefully given over and again, and in peace, the Stars and Stripes took the place of the Red Cross Jack.
The name Niagara appears during the opening period of the British occupation to have been used generally for all parts of the neighborhood, but applied particularly to the old village on the east bank close under the walls of the old French fort.
Population now began to cross the river to the western side, and Abner Gilbert reports in 1761, the beginning of a village called Butlersberg, on the west shore, named after Colonel Butler, the Commander of the celebrated "Butler's Rangers" of the Revolutionary War, and which was afterwards largely settled by United Empire Loyalists.
This name was early changed to West Niagara in order to distinguish it from Fort Niagara.
At the advent of Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe, in 1791, and presumably at his instance, a new name Newark, after a town in Nottinghamshire, England, was given to this town on the west bank, and in 1792, by royal proclamation, the name Niagara was officially transferred from the town to the surrounding township.
Newark then became the seat of Government, and Capital of the Province of Upper Canada, and the place of residence of the Lieutenant-Governor. This distinction and advantage it enjoyed unrestrictedly until 1793, when Governor Simcoe removed his personal headquarters to the north side of the lake at Toronto, where he again indulged his fancy for changing names, by changing the then original name of Toronto, to that of York, in honor of a recent victory of H.R.H. the Duke of York in Flanders. Although Governor Simcoe had himself removed his residence to York, he received and entertained the Duc de Liancourt in 1795, at Newark. The Parliaments of Upper Canada continued to hold their sessions at Newark, and the town to be the official centre of the Province, until 1796, when Governor Russell, the successor of Governor Simcoe, finally removed the Provincial headquarters to York.
The loss of its prestige and official importance so incensed the inhabitants that they refused to continue the new name imposed upon them by Governor Simcoe and reverted at once to the name of West Niagara. The official Niagara Gazette, which had hitherto been dated from Newark, changed its heading to West Niagara, and so continued until October, 1789, when it was first published from York. Finally in 1798 an Act of Parliament was obtained by the municipality restoring to the town its old name of Niagara.
Old names die hard, so we find John Maude, in 1800, mentioning the name of West Niagara, late Newark. Common usage seems to have generally retained the name of Newark, at all events as used by strangers. John Mellish, writing in 1811, says "I came down the opposite side of the river, the wind was blowing so hard that I could not cross to Newark."
On the 10th December, 1813, when every house in the town, except one, was burned by the American troops, who had obtained possession in the previous spring, but were now retreating from it in consequence of the advance of the British troops under Col. Murray; the American General writing on the spot to the United States Secretary of War at Washington and describing in his official report of the position of affairs writes: "The village of Newark is now in flames." This destruction and the infliction of great privations upon the inhabitants and children, in the midst of a severe winter may have been justified under the plea of military exigency, but has always been considered inhuman. General McLure and his forces, however, retired so precipately across the river to the United States side that they left the whole 200 tents of their encampment at Fort George standing, and the new barracks which they had just completed untouched, so that we may hope that some of the women and children were not without temporary shelter.
With this total destruction in 1813 seems also to have passed away the name Newark, and the town arose from its ashes as Niagara.