Posts Tagged ‘Crown Point’

Thursday, July 28, 2016

History Tour Across Lake Champlain Bridge July 31

crown point 1930On July 31, 2016, at 1 pm, a guided history walk across the Lake Champlain Bridge will be held. Attendees will meet at the Crown Point State Historic Site museum nestled between two colonial forts on the New York side of the bridge for the start of the tour. Allow at least two hours for this walk back and forth across the bridge.

Participants can learn about nearly 9,000 years of human history at this important and beautiful location on Lake Champlain. The channel with its peninsulas, or points, on each side made it one of the most strategic spots on Lake Champlain for the Native Americans for millennia, and for the French, British, and early Americans in the 17th and 18th centuries. » Continue Reading.


Monday, April 4, 2016

Experts: Cat In Crown Point Video Is House Cat, Not Cougar

cougarsThe state Department of Environmental Conservation has concluded that an animal shown in a Crown Point video posted online last week is a house cat, not a mountain lion.

DEC placed a life-size cutout of a mountain lion in the area where the animal was filmed and determined that the animal was small enough that it could have passed under the belly of a mountain lion. (See photos below.)

DEC announced its findings in an email this morning, a week after the video had attracted attention online.

Three wildlife scientists from Panthera, a nonprofit organization that works to conserve the habitat of wild cats around the world, came to the same conclusion after reviewing the video, according to Christopher Spatz, president of the Cougar Rewilding Foundation.

“They all suggested it was a house cat, judging by the gait,” said Spatz, whose organization favors restoring cougars to the East and other parts of the country.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, March 30, 2016

A Cougar In Crown Point? You Be The Judge

CougarA trail camera recently captured video of an animal that may be a cougar sauntering through a backyard in Crown Point near Lake Champlain.

Cara Cowan posted the video on her Facebook page this week. The video was taken a little after noon on March 20, according to its time stamp.

The 18-second clip shows a long-tailed tawny animal walking and then trotting through the yard before it disappears while descending into a large bowl-like swale.

» Continue Reading.


Monday, September 28, 2015

National Scenic Trail Route Approved Through Adirondacks

North Country National Scenic Trail MapAfter 10 years of planning, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has approved the Adirondack Park Trail Plan for the North Country National Scenic Trail (NC-NST), effective October 10.

The plan routes the projected 4,600-mile National Scenic Trail through the middle of the Adirondack Park. The NC-NST traverses the northern tier of the United States between Crown Point State Historic Site on Lake Champlain and Lake Sakakawea State Park on the Missouri River in North Dakota.  About 2,700 miles of the trail have been completed so far.  Within the Adirondack Park, the trail is expected to be about 158 miles long when complete, between Forestport in Oneida County and Crown Point. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, September 10, 2015

History Hike Planned Near Penfield Museum

Morris Glenn Leading tour convertChamplain Area Trails (CATS) will present “On the Trail to the Monitor,” a short hike led by local historian Morris Glenn on Saturday, September 12 from 10 am to 1 pm.

The hike will begin at the Penfield Museum, 703 Creek Rd., in Crown Point. Participants will follow a short and easy half-mile route along the Old Ironville Road and Penfield Pond Trails as Glenn presents information on the history of the area and the USS Monitor. The Monitor was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. » Continue Reading.


Monday, August 24, 2015

Lake Champlain Bridge History Tour Planned

Crown Point Bridge Lake Champlain by John WarrenOn Sunday, August 30, 2015, at 1 pm, history and views from the Lake Champlain Bridge will be the highlights of a guided bridge walk offered by the Chimney Point State Historic Site in Addison, Vermont, and Crown Point State Historic Site in Crown Point, New York.  Site manager Elsa Gilbertson (VT) and historian Tom Hughes (NY) will lead the tour.

Participants should meet at the Chimney Point State Historic Site museum on the Vermont end of the bridge to start.  Allow two hours to walk back and forth across the bridge during the tour that explores the 9,000 years of human habitation at this important location on Lake Champlain.  » Continue Reading.


Friday, September 13, 2013

Mining in Ironville: An Early Electromagnet

jack_laduke_ironvilleThere was a time in the Adirondacks when American ingenuity was plugging into a new invention, called electricity.

I recently attended a yearly celebration at  The Penfield Homestead Museum in the hamlet of Ironville, Crown Point, where they harnessed that new-age power to create an amazing tool used in the processing of iron ore – an early electromagnet.

Watch the full report here.


Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Guided History Tour Across Lake Champlain Bridge Planned

Crown Point Bridge 2If you’ve wanted to learn more about what you see as you walk or drive over the new Lake Champlain Bridge, join the managers of the Chimney Point, VT, and Crown Point, NY, State Historic Sites for a guided walk on Sunday, July 28, 2013, at 1:00 p.m.  Tom Hughes and Elsa Gilbertson will leaders a walk across and back on the bridge, and will discuss the 9,000 years of human history at this important location on Lake Champlain.

At this narrow passage on Lake Champlain humans have crossed here, as well as traveled north and south on the lake since glacial waters receded over 9,000 years ago.  The channel with its peninsulas, or points, on each side made this one of the most strategic spots on Lake Champlain for the Native Americans, and French, British, and early Americans in the 17th and 18th centuries. » Continue Reading.


Tuesday, July 2, 2013

A Visit To Crown Point Historic Site

crownPointHistoricSite_newCrown Point Historic Site is one of my child’s favorite places to go. It fits their criteria for a perfect day. It’s located near water, has hiking trails, a beautiful view and a Revolutionary War history.

No matter how old my children get, they always greets our arrival to Crown Point Historic Site with the same enthusiastic, “We love this place.”  While I spend more time gravitating toward the shoreline, they hit the grassy fortress walls, walking along the former paths of Pre-Revolutionary War British and French soldiers.

According to the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Crown Point was first fortified by the French in 1734 and referred to as Fort St. Frédéric. After numerous takeover attempts by the British, the French destroyed Fort St. Frédéric and retreated back to Montreal allowing the British to construct a larger fortress overlooking Lake Champlain. » Continue Reading.


Sunday, January 20, 2013

In The Champlain Valley, A Brawl of Birders

common pochardNoting the long line of cars parked on the shoulder of the road in front of DAR Park in Addison, Vermont, I decided to pull onto the opposite shoulder, only to discover, too late, that said shoulder consisted of a five-foot-deep snowbank into which the right side of  my car promptly sank.  I tensed up expecting the car to roll onto its passenger side but, mirabile dictu, it stayed on its tires albeit at a forty-five-degree angle. I got out to investigate, sunk in up to my waist and then struggled back onto the road, my jacket now festooned with a phalanx of burrs the size of Concorde grapes.

The dashboard thermometer read minus three degrees. I pulled my wife out of the car, and we simultaneously concluded that we needed to get towed out of this mess and that we might as well go and try to see the bird before starting in with AAA and waiting for a tow truck.  So what I drove the car into a ditch. » Continue Reading.


Monday, September 24, 2012

Ethel Dale’s ‘Most Perfectly Formed Legs’

It’s not often that a person is the focus of a sculptor’s attention. In the mid-1920s, a North Country woman found herself in just that position. The sculptor’s name was Pompeo Coppini, a noted artist who won several awards and whose works were featured from coast to coast. Many of his 128 principal creations are prominent in the state of Texas, including The Spirit of Sacrifice, the large monument at the Alamo, honoring those who died within the fort’s walls. It has been viewed by millions.

Coppini sculpted many historical figures of great accomplishment, including Robert E. Lee, Woodrow Wilson, Stonewall Jackson, Sam Houston, and George Washington. Add to that list Mrs. Ethel Dale, chosen as a sculpture subject for her great achievement in the field of … well, doing nothing.

Mrs. Dale’s family was living in Ticonderoga when she was born in 1895 as Cecille Dukett, daughter of Clayton and Lena Dukett. (The spelling of the family name in the media varied: most common were Ducat and Dukett.) A few years later, they moved to Crown Point. » Continue Reading.


Monday, August 6, 2012

George Cheney: Recording Pioneer, Crown Point Native

What you see here is one of the most recognizable trademarks ever, a logo that has been used by many companies around the world. The dog in the image is not fictional. His name was Nipper, and a few years after his death, Nipper’s owner sold a modified painting of his dog to a recording company. The rest is history, and part of that history includes a heretofore unknown North Country native.

From humble beginnings, he became famous for his wide-ranging knowledge of recording and his ability to invent. Perhaps most important of all, he traveled the world and was the first person to record the music of a number of countries, saving it for posterity. » Continue Reading.


Thursday, May 17, 2012

Champlain Bridge Grand Celebration This Weekend

New York Vermont Bridge OrganizationAfter many months of planning the Lake Champlain Bridge Community (LCBC) will host its two-day Grand Celebration which celebrates the re-opening of the Lake Champlain Bridge and the re-connected New York and Vermont communities that surround it. The bridge re-opened to traffic on November 7, 2011, but the celebration was postponed until now.

The Grand Celebration will take place on Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20. Saturday’s events begin at 9 a.m. with an opening ceremony and end at approximately 10 p.m. after a street dance. Sunday’s events begin at 6 a.m. with a sunrise ecumenical service and close with a fireworks show at dusk. All events will take place at or near the Chimney Point State Historic Site, Addison, Vermont and the Crown Point State Historic Site, Crown Point, New York. All of the weekend’s events are free and will take place rain or shine. » Continue Reading.


Monday, March 19, 2012

Lawrence Gooley: Stories of North Country Twins

In days of yore (pre-internet times), I once subscribed to more than a dozen different magazines. Further back, in the 1960s and 1970s, there seemed to be a magazine for just about any subject that anyone was ever interested in. I was reminded of this recently when a saw a cover titled TWINS. The subject matter was everything related to twins: having them, being one, doctoring them, parenting them, and so on.

What really surprised me was the subtitle: The Magazine for Multiples Since 1984. I’d never heard of it, but it has been around for nearly three decades. It also reminded me of some twin-related North Country stories I’ve collected over the years. Here’s a sampling. » Continue Reading.


Monday, October 31, 2011

Wesport’s John Greeley Viall, Civil War Veteran

Judson Kilpatrick, a Union general during the Civil War, has been described as flamboyant, rash, and tempestuous. There’s no doubt that he was often a rogue officer, sometimes to disastrous effect. The South developed a deep hatred of him for the extreme methods he employed, but he was certainly part of the team effort that led to the North’s victory.

As every leader knew during the war, many levels of support were necessary in order to win. Despite being brash and confident in his abilities, Kilpatrick famously cited a North Country man, Captain John Viall, as critical to the general’s own success, and the Union’s as well.

John Greeley Viall, son of William and Mary Viall, was born November 1829 in Westport, New York, on the western shore of Lake Champlain. In January 1852, when he was 22 years old, John left New York and settled in Texas. Nine months later, he purchased the San Antonio Tin, Copper, and Sheet Iron Ware Manufactory, which sold and/or fabricated stoves, cookware, water pipes, and just about anything made of metal. » Continue Reading.



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