New Clues to Fort Ticonderoga’s Past from Old Photos
From time to time people donate old pictures of Fort Ticonderogato the museum. This often happens when people are sorting through the possessions of passed love ones seeking to disperse a lifetime of accumulated effects. More often that not, the photographs are undated and loosely organized. Occasionally, however, there is information associated with the images […]
Fort Ticonderoga’s Art Collections and Exhibition
Fort Ticonderoga is well known for its 18th-century military collections and vast library and archival collections, but few people realize that it preserves an important art collection as well. From the very beginning of the museum’s collecting endeavors, obtaining art in the form of portraits of people associated with the site’s history, depictions of events […]
“The accommodations are first class but limited” Fort Ticonderoga’s Little-Known 19th-Century Hotel
Fort Ticonderoga is best known for its military structures and associated history, but what many people do not realize is that the site played a very important role in the history of 19th-century American tourism. Once steamboat travel became the principle mode of transport on New York’s northern lakes, Fort Ticonderoga became the location where […]
Robert Fairchild and His Powder Horn
Powder horns are unique artifacts in that they have the ability to speak to a single person’s 18th-century military service unlike most other objects. Muskets, swords, and other similar items, though important, are rarely able to connect people today nearly face-to-face with an individual person from the past. What makes powder horns so interesting, and […]
“In sight of the ruins, a quarter mile distant…” Part 4
The story of a visit to Fort Ticonderoga in 1872. Part 4, Conclusion; there is always something new to discover! Seneca Ray Stoddard’s narrative of his visit to Ticonderoga and related stereo photographs provide unique documentation regarding how people traveled to the site and what could be seen as visitors explored the ruins. Occasionally, however, […]
“In sight of the ruins, a quarter mile distant…” Part 3
The story of a visit to Fort Ticonderoga in 1872. Part 3, The ruins. After a short visit to the Fort Ticonderoga Hotel, Stoddard begins his tour of the Fort retracing the route, as he understood it to be, that Ethan Allen followed when capturing the Fort in 1775. In setting out on his […]
“In sight of the ruins, a quarter mile distant…” Part 2
The story of a visit to Fort Ticonderoga in 1872. Part 2, Overland passage to the Fort. Upon leaving the docks on the stagecoach bound for Fort Ticonderoga, Stoddard records that William Baldwin immediately set to entertaining and educating his passengers during the hour-long journey to the Fort; sometimes boasting of the famous passengers he […]
“In sight of the ruins, a quarter mile distant…” Part 1
The story of a visit to Fort Ticonderoga in 1872. Part 1, The photographer and his book. This is the first in a four-part blog series describing a visit to the ruins of Fort Ticonderogain 1872 by Seneca Ray Stoddard. Stoddard (1844-1917) was a prolific photographer and writer focusing much of his work on New […]
Fort Ticonderoga’s Art Collection and Students
The other day I had the opportunity to work with a group of students from Richmond Elementary School in Richmond, Vermont. These third and fourth graders came to Fort Ticonderoga to take part in our “The Artist’s Eye: Geography, History, and Art” school program that uses works of art in “The Art of War” exhibit. […]
The Reward of Warring Valor
Among the many remarkable objects in Fort Ticonderoga’s collections is a rather small but very important French military medal, the Ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis. The Ordre de Saint-Louis was created in 1693 as an award for military merit and valor. It was awarded only to French Catholic officers who had served for at least […]