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Retracing The Footsteps Of History Along Lake ChamplainBy Habeeb Salloum
The lakes and rivers forming this passageway have, for centuries, seen mighty armies and grand flotillas negotiate their waters. Before being discovered by Samuel de Champlain in 1609, the Iroquois Indians used the waterways as a pathway for trade and war. After the British and French colonization of eastern North America, they became an important pathway for traders as well, as a roadway of invasions and counter invasions by the British, French and, later, the Americans. Above all, until the advent of the railway, it was the route by which the riches of the continent were conveyed to the Atlantic coast.
At Rouses Point, called the ‘Northern Gateway to the Northeast Passage, once an important railway town on the Canadian/American border, we began our journey through a part of New York state that is laden with history. Here, where the 180 km (110 mi) long Lake Champlain, the 6th largest fresh water lake in the U.S.A., spills into the Richelieu River, our first stop was to view the ruins of ‘Fort Montgmery’, commonly known as ‘Fort Blunder’, built to guard the U.S. border from a British invasion. As we stood atop the Rouses Point Bridge overlooking Fort Blunder, Melissa, the bubbly Director of Community Development who was guiding us around town, pointed to the ruins, “See that Medieval-like structure rising above the water! We call it Fort Blunder because when the Fort was being erected it was found to be one mile inside Canadian territory and its construction stopped. Even though after a survey of the border region the little piece of land on which the Fort stands was given back to the U.S. a few decades later, the name stuck.”
She expounded, “We have a saying ‘There is no preservation without visitation.” Melissa, very enthusiastic about her town, went on to relate to us with passion how Rouses Point was building facilities to help in this peaceful and welcome foreign invasion. A short bus ride southward and we were at the ‘Alice T. Miner Museum’, housed in a 15 room Colonial mansion established by Alice T. Miner, wife of William H. Miner, railroad industrialist and philanthropist of wide repute. The mansion was the centre of a 15,000-acre farm, which at the turn of the 20th century employed some 800 workers and is today the centre of the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute. We examined a few of the museum’s vast collection of Americana before driving to nearby Plattsburg - the site of the Battle of Plattsburg during which in the War of 1814 the American forces repelled a British invasion.
Early next morning we were on our way to the nearby Ausable chasm - called by some travellers ‘Little Grand Canyon of the East’. Carved by the Ausable River, rising in the Adirondack Mountains and winding its way northeast to Lake Champlain, this extraordinary Chasm is one of the most unique scenic spots in the entire Champlain Valley. The gorge is perhaps more awe-inspiring in our times than when Samuel de Champlain first explored the Champlain Valley over 400 years ago.
I was deep in thought thinking of Lake Champlain’s history when I heard one of my colleagues remark, “Imagine! Humans tainted this beauty for hundreds of years with their armies and warships!” I turned to her, “Is that not the nature of man?” They destroy then others come to praise or condemn, but, no matter, when they come to see these warriors’ handiworks, they bring in the tourist dollars.” IF YOU GO
For Further information, Contact: For the Lake Champlain Region, Champlain Shores Visitors & Convention Bureau. Toll free: 1-877-242-6752. Website: www.goadirondack.com The Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 310, Plattsburgh, New York 12901 U.S.A. Tel: (518) 563 -1000. Fax: (518) 563-1028 Lake Champlain Visitors Center, 94 Montcalm Street, Suite 1, Ticonderoga, NY 12883. Tel: Toll free - 1.866.The Lake. E-mail: info@lakechamplainregion.com Website: www.lakechamplainregion.com |
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We
had crossed over from Canada after re-tracing the footsteps of history along the
Richelieu River - the last part of the historic Northeast Passage waterway that
linked Canada’s St-Lawrence River with New York. Once one of the great routes
for both trade and war, called by the Indigenous Peoples ‘The Great Warpath’, it
is today a pathway for tourists and lovers of history.
For
the next two days we planned to explore the western edge of Lake Champlain,
touring the historic remains along this passageway called by some, the original
‘North American Super Highway’. I was excited thinking of the spectacular
landscape laden with history that we soon would be exploring.
As we continued on our exploration of the town, Melissa
continued, “In the ensuing years, residents salvaged stones from the ruined Fort
to build many of their town buildings. You see building the Fort proved useful
after all. Today, it’s our most important tourist site. Instead of protecting us
against foreign invasion, we are hoping it will bring us a tourist invasion.”
In that battle, the Americans, under the command of
Commodore McDonough, defeated a superior British navy in the only battle in
recorded naval warfare in which a fleet at anchor was the victor. Every year the
town of Plattsburg echoes to the sound of musket and cannon fire as actors in
the costumes of the day re-live the Battle that proved to be the war’s turning
point in the second and last British American conflicts.
We toured the ‘Kent Delord House Museum’ with its
collection of exhibits relating to life from the late 18th to the 20th
centuries, then ended the day at the ‘Champlain Valley Transportation Museum’
whose star attraction is the famous Lozier auto, produced in Plattsburg for the
affluent at the beginning of the 20th century. Its director, Capt. Frank Pabst
talked affectionately about his museum and its future, remarking, “When this
museum is finished, it will be the number one attraction in Plattsburg.”
After exploring one of America’s oldest and most popular
tourist attractions, we were again on the road following Lake Champlain until we
reached Westport - a hamlet where the Adirondack Mountains come down to meet the
lake. Here, crammed full with Bread and Breakfast establishments, we lunched at
the Westport Marina overlooking beautiful Lake Champlain then left for Crown
Point - an important spot during the French, British and American Wars. We drove
around to tour the remains of forts from these bygone years then stopped awhile
to admire the ‘Champlain Monument & Lighthouse’ before leaving for Ticonderoga -
our last stop that day.
Located at the southern end of Lake Champlain, the town is
noted for its 18th century reconstructed Fort Ticonderoga. The original Fort,
built in 1755 by the French was called Fort Carillon and later after its capture
by the British renamed Ticonderoga. On its grounds occurred the greatest French
victory in the ‘Seven Years War’, and the first American victory during
‘American War of Independence’. Restoration of the Fort was begun in the early
1900's and it has become today an important tourist attraction. 
After touring its Museum, which focuses on the military
history of the Lake Champlain and Lake Saint George regions, we walked out on
the ramparts. Behind us the Adirondack Mountains and before us Lake Champlain
and, beyond, the green mountains of Vermont created an inviting atmosphere with
a dream-like aura.