June 23, 2024, Crown Point, NY
Our thought had been to drive south along the Vermont side of Lake Champlain and spend a couple of nights at Crown Point. Instead, we decided to drive north, through all of the islands, cross the bridge to New York at Rouses Point and drive south along the New York side of the lake.
There were lots of interesting stops along the way but during most of them we were dodging rain showers and lots of wind. Beginning with North Hero, we stopped at Alburgh Dunes SP. The small park protects rare sand dunes but, because of their fragility, the public can’t even get close enough to see them. There is a beach and picnic area but the day’s weather firmly discouraged any such activity.
Taking the bridge to Isle La Motte, we drove around its perimeter, stopping first at
Saint Anne’s Shrine. The location is one where the French constructed a fort in 1666 and dedicated it to Saint Anne. While the fort is long gone there are now beautiful stations of the cross, an open-sided church, and monument to Saint Anne. A church service was in progress during our visit.
A bit farther south is Fisk farm. It happened that VP Teddy Roosevelt was staying there, a guest of Lieutenant Governor Nelson Fisk, when he learned that President McKinley had been shot. McKinley was expected to survive. But, eight days later, while in the Adirondacks, Roosevelt learned that McKinley had died and boarded a train to return to DC to be sworn in as President.
We were greeted by a woman who resided on the farm and who maintains its barn as an art gallery. It didn’t look very active but was an interesting place to look around. Adjacent to the farm was the Fisk Quarry Preserve where black marble was once quarried. The Fisks operated a store to serve the quarry workers. We were told that some of the marble was used for the floor of Radio City Music Hall.
Then back to North Hero, through Alburgh and across the bridge to Rouses Point. Driving around both of the towns we admired some of the old architecture. In Rouses Point we looked for places mentioned in Bill’s great great grandfather’s log like Dr Marnes’ place where he tied up his boat overnight in 1910. We didn’t have much luck in that regard so headed south on Rt-9 and its variants, 9B and 9N.
We stopped for groceries at a Hannafords in Plattsburgh then continued south through the multitude of largely forgotten small towns that were the lifeblood of commerce on the lake for many years. Hemmed between the lake shore and the encroaching Adirondacks, it was a pretty drive.
Passing Ausable Chasm during a lull in the rain we parked and walked over the bridge to get a view of one of the falls. Really cool. It began to sprinkle again as we approached our rig and we got inside just before another torrential rainfall.
We finally arrived at the campground at Crown Point just after the office closed. Due to all the heavy rain many of the campsites were at least partly flooded. Fortunately ours was not and we quickly set up and snuggled in for the evening. The campground was mostly empty and, given the weather, we put off walking the fort ruins that are commemorated at this state historical site.
Dinner was salmon with snap peas and heirloom tomatoes.
June 24, 2024, Crown Point, NY
This was a busy, albeit rainy day.
It started with a walk through the French fort on the site, Fort St. Frederick. Built in 1731, it was intended to defend Lake Champlain and access to Canada by the British. It was unique in that it had an impressive four-story watchtower. We especially liked the ruins of four bake ovens whose foundations remain after all these years.
The French destroyed the fort in 1769 when faced with an invasion by an overwhelming British force. With the French gone the British immediately began building a fort of their own. We wanted to tour that one, too, but we could see rain working its way down the lake so we’d save that tour for the next day.
There is a Visitor Center at the base of the bridge so we stopped in there. Crown Point has had a bridge across the lake for many years and we’ve been crossing it for at least 35 of those years on our way to and from cross country ski trips.
The first bridge was a steel truss bridge. Designed by Charles Spofford, it was historically important because it was the first bridge to use a curved truss as the main bridge element instead of a rectangular box. Besides being prettier, it was more efficient in that its center was higher than the ends providing more clearance for vessels passing under it. When, at age 80, it was deemed to no longer be safe it was demolished using explosives. It was replaced by a temporary ferry for a couple of years while a new bridge was constructed. The new bridge is very graceful and is a very suitable replacement.
Ticonderoga, to the south, was the site of another early French fort that was later captured by the British. It is also the place where Lake George empties into Lake Champlain through the fast moving La Chute River. The river is only about two miles long but it drops 230 feet in those two miles. That made it an important source of water power. Since 1755, when the French built a sawmill there, it has powered industries. Over the years six dams were constructed to help harvest that power.
The Visitor Center & Museum in town did a credible job of documenting the area’s history. The largest recent industries have been paper making and the refining of graphite. Dixon owned the mill, using the graphite in the manufacture of pencils. However, the actual pencils were manufactured in New Jersey and that’s why the most common Dixon pencil model was the Dixon Ticonderoga.
When International Paper left the area it donated their land to the town. They, in turn, made it into a park with a walkway that follows the river and tells its story. The trail is also part of New York’s Empire State Trail. Damn! The rain began again, keeping us from walking the trail.
So, with time on our hands we decided to head north to explore Port Henry. On our way into town we noticed an old railroad station and a sign indicating a museum for the Town of Moriah. We were confused but finally learned that the “Town” is like a Pennsylvania township and that Port Henry is a hamlet within it.
On the hill above the railroad station is a magnificent building that was originally constructed as an office building for a business. It is still an office building, now for the town.
Beside the town office was a smaller, matching building that was once an elegant carriage house. It is now the Iron Center. The woman who staffs it was on her way out the door but turned around, reopened so we could have a tour. Betty was great. As it turns out she is the town historian and runs a one-woman show with offices upstairs and the museum down.
The museum does a credible job telling the coal mining story and with artifacts, and posters. But the highlight is a magnificent, four-sided diorama that fills a room. It shows a town on the surface and various operations in the hard-rock mine below. It is a masterpiece!
We talked a bit about my great great grandfather and his boat the WAWA that he kept in Port Henry. Betty took us upstairs to her offices to see if there might be a reference to the boat or the man. Alas, that was not to be. The collection of artifacts and papers in those rooms illustrated the challenge that museum archivists face in cataloging and organizing the material.
Driving around town there was lots of architectural evidence of the prosperity that accompanied the coal years. We especially liked the entrance to Mount Moriah Presbyterian Church.
Back at the campground we finally took the time to walk the few yards to the Champlain Memorial Lighthouse that sits on the point above the lake. While it is a magnificent structure from the parking area, the real view is from the other side. There is, on that side, a monumental sculpture of Champlain flanked by a French voyager and a Huron guide. A long granite stairway leads down to a large stone wharf that even very large boats could tie up to and a covered pavilion that could host large events.
