On the way to the fort, I took a few pictures of the autumn leaves. They are starting to pop all over now.
We ate lunch at the Hot Biscuit Diner in Ticonderoga, New York and then headed to the fort.
The Visitor Center
Lake Champlain
One of the corners of the star that we
walked past as we entered the fort.
Fort Ticonderoga was built by the French between 1755 and 1757 during the French and Indian War. The name "Ticonderoga" comes from the Iroquois word tekontaró:ken, meaning "it is at the junction of two waterways". It is situated on a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain. The fort was of strategic importance during the 18th-century colonial conflicts between Great Britain and France, and again played an important role during the American Revolutionary War.
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| Time Line on the Entry Walls |
The cannons were the grandest that we've seen in our travels - beautiful designs and color. Not sure if they were original to the fort or not.
Ethan Allen
Fort Ticondaroga has seen its share of battles. The French held their fort during the Battle of Carillon in 1758. Then in 1759 the British returned and took the fort from a token French garrison. The Green Mountain Boys under Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold captured the fort in a surprise attack. The Americans held the fort until June 1777 when British forces forced the Americans to withdraw. The British held the fort until it ceased to be of value to them after 1781 and the fort fell into ruin. People scavenged
what they could from it, leaving it practically demolished. In 1785 Fort Ticonderoga became property of the State of New York. Then ownership of the site was transferred jointly to Union and Columbia colleges in 1803. Then in 1820 the Fort and its 546-acre garrison grounds were purchased by William Ferris Pell. In 1909 the Pell family began the restoration of the Fort as it is today.
In one area of the Museum, there was a whole section with pictures and information about the various ailments of the soldiers. The above picture is of a Small Pox victim. Below are pictures of various types of gun shot wounds with information about how they went about trying to save the soldiers. It is a wonder anyone survived!
There were soldiers and merchants out and about the fort.
We are about to see a Musket demonstration.
And then they fired the muskets!
The Firing of the Muskets
Mohawk Warrior (An ally during the French and Indian War)
Looking down from the second floor of the Fort
on Lake Champlain and the Cannons
A model of the fort
Migration of the Iroquois
This section of the fort faces land and
some of it is still being restored
Panorama showing Lake Champlain
For more information about Fort Ticondaroga, see:
A man showing how the uniforms were made
After we left the fort, we headed over to Mount Defiance so we could get the picture that showed the star shape of the fort. Of course, we got there and found out that you had to buy your tickets at Fort Ticonderoga so we had to head back and by the tickets there.
You can drive a certain portion of the trip and then climb to the top of the hill or you could hike all the way up. We chose to save our legs and drive as far as we could. It was still quite a hike to the top! It was worth it though because of the great view.
Lake Champlain
Western Conifer Seed Bug
Fort Ticonderoga from Mount Definance
Lee getting the above picture
After we left Mount Defiance we headed into town. They have a nice city park and we decided to walk the path and see what we could see. This park is called the Bicentennial Park and used to be sprawling paper mill and its wood yard.
The Kissing Bridge
This waterfall is absolutely overflowing in the
spring but has a few trickles at this time of year.
The Band Stand
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