Lake Placid, NY to Lake George, NY (Hwy 73 to Keene, Hwy 9N to Lake George)
The path from Lake Placid to Crown Point takes me back through the Adirondack forests, now clearly illustrating that fall is in the air.
Lake Champlain pierces New England like a sapphire dagger pointed south towards the Hudson River Valley and New York City.
In 1929 the Lake Champlain Bridge was the first bridge to cross Lake Champlain, spanning the narrows between Chimney Point on the eastern bank in Vermont and Crown Point on the western bank in New York. The current bridge was constructed in 2011. Roughly 163 miles long, mostly in the United States but reaching into Canada, even today Lake Champlain is only crossed by three bridges.
The narrows at Crown Point have long been a key spot on the lake where not only was is there a short crossing between east and west but also a point on the western side commands sweeping views up and down the lake. By the mid-1600’s the expansion of the French, centered in Quebec and Montreal to the north, and the growing British colonies of the New England coast inevitably came into conflict in the Champlain Valley. A water route between the Hudson River drainage of New York and access to the north via Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River had long been used by natives as they moved back and forth with only two short portages at either end of Lake George. As the French moved south and the British moved north the “zone of conflict” centered around three key points: Crown Point (where Lake Champlain narrows to only a width of only a quarter of a mile), Ticonderoga (where a bluff commands the southern end of Lake Champlain and the first portage site), and Fort William Henry (at the southern end of Lake George near the site of the second portage.)
Crown Point
The French were the first to stake a claim to this crucial crossing, building a small fort at Chimney Point on the Vermont side, taking control of territory currently claimed by the British. Three years later in 1734 the French moved across the lake and built Fort St. Frederic at Crown Point on the western side. For the next 25 years the French and their native allies used Fort St. Frederic as a base from which to terrorize the British frontier to the west. The ruins of Fort St. Frederic sit close to the base of the modern bridge and just down the bluff from its’ British successor, Crown Point.
The British made several attempts to capture the fort in the 1750’s and finally were successful under General Amherst in 1759 as the French withdrew from the area. The British then began to build one of the largest forts that they were ever to construct in North America on a rise just south and west of the French ruins. Crown Point was a massive, pentagonal formation with walls 20 feet tall and designed to house up to 4,000 men. An information post in the fort shows the original schematic (note that the explanation is given both in English and French – this is common throughout New England, reflecting the importance of the tourists visiting from Montreal and Quebec, just to the north.)
The fort met its end not through war, but through carelessness. In 1773 an accidental chimney fire got out of control and reduced the fort to ruins. Given that the British were now in control of North America, Crown Point’s position on Lake Champlain was no longer as important and so the fort was not rebuilt. An aerial photograph from the middle of the 20th Century shows the 1929 bridge and the ruins of Crown Point. Not much has changed over the ensuing years. The fort is being maintained, not restored, with the only repairs taken designed to maintain the ruins and prevent further erosion.
The view from the parking lot show the chimneys of the barracks peeking above the ramparts of the fort.
In the interior of the fort a small maintenance crew is working on the Soldier’s Barracks on the day that I visit.
Evidence of the fatal fire that destroyed the barracks still remains on an interior wall.
A thirty feet deep ditch, in places chiseled from rock, surrounded the walls on all sides.
From atop the northern point the view is up Lake Champlain towards Canada.
From the same spot I look back into the fort. The fort’s water supply was a large well inside the walls (now surrounded by a large fence to keep the wandering tourist from falling in!)
A brief aside in the “touristing” story… While I was wandering around Crown Point, my faithful companion Joey was busily enjoying himself in the Lunch Box. You’re looking at the remnants of a map of Vermont and the paperback that I was currently reading. You can’t see his head because, while I was standing there yelling “No”, Joey was merrily shaking half of the paperback in a frenzy of fun!
The next great British fortification, Fort Ticonderoga, is about 20 miles south of Crown Point commanding passage between the lake and the portage to the Hudson River Valley.
Fort Ticonderoga
The site on the bluff near the southern end of Lake Champlain was first fortified by the French who built Fort Carillon in 1755 as the base from which to launch a large attack on the British Fort William Henry to the south on Lake George. The importance of the location cannot be overstated. British forces had two choices if they moved north: come from Fort William Henry up Lake George and portage over to Lake Champlain just below Ticonderoga or come from the other portage from Fort Edwards down at the tip of lake. Either way any force on its’ way north would have to pass Fort Ticonderoga. Nearly 8,000 French forces attacked Fort William Henry in 1757 and the British retaliated a year later by sending 16,000 men against the French in one of the bloodiest battles ever to occur in North America prior to the Civil War. The French temporarily repelled the British but in the face of another massive advance north of British forces in 1759, the French blew up the powder magazine and retreated into Canada (Fort St. Frederic at Crown Point was also abandoned during this retreat.) The British took control of Fort Carillon and renamed it Fort Ticonderoga. An early map illustrates the situation.
Fort Ticonderoga is visible above the trees as you approach through a small farm along the shores of Lake Champlain.
Climbing the bluff the ramparts present a stark outline against a morning sky.
In a surprise attack on May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British and shipped cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to George Washington for use in the battle to liberate Boston from the British. Two years later British General Burgoyne’s invading army from the north took the fort back on their way to meet George Washington at the decisive battle near Saratoga, some 70 miles to the southwest. The focus of the Revolutionary War moved farther south and Fort Ticonderoga became somewhat of an afterthought, finally abandoned late in 1777 as the British retreated back to Canada. In 1816 William Ferris Pell purchased the fort and surrounding lands and it remained in his family for generations. The Pells undertook a partial restoration of the fort and opened Fort Ticonderoga to visitors in 1909. It is now overseen by the Fort Ticonderoga Association. This photo from 1910 shows the West Barracks and parade ground prior to the start of the restoration.
An aerial view of the fort found on the internet gives a great view of the layout. North is towards the top of the photograph. The fort is not particularly large, basically a rectangle with large three-story buildings backing to the east, south and west walls and two “points” outside the main fort connected to the interior of the main enclosure by wooded walkways. The unconnected arrowhead-shaped bastions are on the north and west sides of the fort. The main gate into the fort is on the south side.
The approach to the fort is from the west, walking along the right side of the western bastion, which is separated from the main fort with the only access a wooden bridge crossing the gap.
The deck of the arrow-shaped bastion is lined with cannon aimed at protecting approach from the east and south. A second row of cannon lined a lower level outside of the fort walls on the southern side, monitoring traffic on Lake Champlain below. The eventual demise of the fort came when American forces put cannon atop Mount Defiance in the distance, allowing for a barrage of artillery to reach the fort from the heights.
The rectangular interior of the fort has three large buildings on the east, south and west housing barracks and offices for those stationed in the fort. The arched entry through the south building was the only ground access to the fort. Heavy oak doors barred the outside entrance.
The other detached bastion points northeast up the lake.
Standing on the deck of the northeast bastion and looking back towards the main fort, the second floors of the three barracks are visible.
The interior of the south buildings contains a collection of weaponry used during colonial times. This collection of swords, all made in England around 1760, were used by officers in the British army in America.
Troops sent to fight the French (and later the Americans) by the British in America generally did not have the most modern weapons, those were reserved for troops fighting the French in Europe. Arms used during the Revolutionary War, particularly in the beginning, were usually older muskets, etc., that had been brought to the colonies by the British and French during the French and Indian War (1754-1863). By the end of the war the American armies were using more modern guns procured from the French. The first large scale production of arms in America didn’t really get underway until the 1790’s.
Muskets required powder which the soldiers stored in powder horns made from bull horns, often meticulously hand carved and decorated by the owner.
This powder horn is engraved “JOHN MILLER His Horn Maid at Crown Point August ye 1 1762”.
This horn was made in New York in 1759.
The south barracks contained housing for officers, who generally had a small room for each, and the west barracks were primarily housing for the soldiers, who shared large bunk rooms.
This is a “living history” museum where actors portray characters who explain their way of life to the tourists. However, I am visiting well after Labor Day in the off-season and there are few demonstrations available. I did stumble into the fort laundry and found a laundress and soldier passing the time…
I leave by the main gate and stand on an earth works that provide the platform for the lower level of artillery.
The land drops away quickly and the view is to the south, towards the beginning of the portage to Lake George.
Just a few miles beyond Mount Defiance lies Lake George, stretching about 32 miles from north to south. A short portage on either end of Lake George connected it to Lake Champlain on the north and the Hudson River to the south. It’s a beautiful setting as the highway weaves up and around the west shoreline.
I am still in Adirondack Park and this area seems almost frozen in time. Lake George has long been a vacation destination and particularly the southern end around the village of Lake George boomed during the 1950’s and 1960’s as a summer resort area. The lower western side of the lake is a non-stop medley of small vacation homes, “mom and pop” motels, etc. but next to no modern hotels, etc. I’m a bit puzzled until I remember that development in Adirondack Park was extremely restricted with the passing of the park guidelines in 1971 and thus there hasn’t been much knew construction in the last 40 years (just a lot of remodeling, I’m sure!) I settle in the King Phillip’s Campground just south of the village (but still in Adirondack Park and the Lunch Box nestles under the trees amidst the falling leaves…
It is the off-season and most of the attractions are closed but their attempts to lure tourists still decorate the highway!
The Magic Forest Amusement Park has all the bases covered in its parking lot: an American flag, Uncle Sam, Santa Claus and Paul Bunyan lurking in the trees!
The village of Lake George hugs the southern tip of the lake, wrapping around the shore below Fort William Henry. Standing on the fort wall, I look to my left at the village wrapping around the tip of the lake, to the right at the cruise ship docks, and directly in front of me north up Lake George.
Just across the street from the docks and below the fort is the 1912 train depot. The Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company also owned the Lake George Steamboat Company and it built the railroad to Lake George in order to bring vacationers to the lake where they would board the steamboats for points around the lake. Its style reflects the Mediterranean Revival architecture popular in the early 1900’s.
Beach Street stretches west along the lake towards the village center, lined with tourist shops and restaurants.
Visible from all points along the shore on a bluff above the lake is Fort William Henry, third of the chain of forts.
Fort William Henry
The French were the first Europeans to enter the Lake George region when, in 1632, Father Isaac Jougues moved south from Quebec with the intent of converting the natives to Catholicism. He actually didn’t enter the Lake George region until 1646. The Mohawk, one of the great Five Nations Confederation, populated the area and did not greet the father with open arms. Still, he was the first to claim the area for France. However, a small pox epidemic hit the natives and they blamed Father Jougues and he was killed. The French continued to expand their influence and in 1755 moved south from Quebec to confront the British. The Battle of Lake George took place on September 8, 1755 and resulted in a British victory. The leader of the British forces, Sir William Johnson built Fort William Henry on a bluff just west of the battlefield. For the next two years Fort William Henry protected the northern approach to the British colony in the Hudson River Valley.
In 1757 the French General Montcalm moved south with a force of over 8,000 men and laid siege to the fort. After six days, the British artillery was destroyed and they surrendered. The French destroyed the fort and in an unusual move, Montcalm allowed the British to retreat with their possessions. The native allies of the French were furious because they had been promised the “spoils of war” as payment and so they pursued the retreating British and attacked, resulting in the infamous “Massacre at Fort Henry” memorialized in James Fennimore Cooper’s famous novel “The Last of the Mohicans.” The remains of the fort remained buried under the sand until 1957 when an archaeological excavation explored the buried remains and the reconstruction of the fort followed.
The fort was built in a rectangular shape with diamond bastions at each of the four corners. The wall consisted of logs filled with sand. Approaching from the parking lot, the south and west sides of the fort beckon.
The entrance into the front takes one through the thirty feet wide wall and into the inevitable gift shop.
Turning left you emerge into the courtyard.
The east and west barracks had underground rooms where supplies were kept locked in small rooms resembling jail cells and an original fireplace at the end shows where soldiers were fed.
The corner bastions were all lined with cannon, providing protection in all directions.
The view east along the lake side of the fort illustrates how wide the walls are and that the reconstruction protects the thick wall by roofing them with tar paper.
The interior of the fort contains a well and space for vegetable gardens. The small peaked roof in the foreground is the roof of the Military Crypt. During the excavation of the late 1950’s actual skeletons were found and initially placed on display here underground in the crypt. During the early 1990’s it was decided that displaying actual remains was inappropriate and the skeletons were removed.
My time in the Champlain Valley has come to an end and now my eyes turn to the southwest as I begin to explore the Catskill Mountain area of New York.
Next up: Spa Country
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