After the fall of the forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point during the French and Indian War in the fall of 1759, General Jeffrey Amherst ordered the building of the Crown Point Road.
The road was to run across what is now Vermont between Crown Point and The Fort at No. 4 on the Connecticut River in what is now Charlestown, New Hampshire.
This 90-mile-long road through the wilderness would facilitate the movement of troops and supplies from New England to the Lake Champlain war front, and became important after the war in facilitating a land rush of new settlement in the North and was used by New England troops to access Mount Independence, Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point during the American Revolution.
It was the first major road in what would become Vermont and parts of the road are still visible in largely original condition, or have been paved over, while others have disappeared into the forest.
The route roughly followed a Native American trail, paralleling the Black River in its southern extent and Otter Creek in its northern. Early work on the road was performed by colonial militia forces commanded by Colonel John Stark.
Its route from the Fort at Number 4 went generally northward to a Connecticut River crossing near the mouth of Beaver Brook. On the Vermont side of the river, it proceeded north-northwest through what are now Springfield and Weathersfield before turning west across Cavendish.
Near the center of Cavendish, it turned more north and then west again between Plymouth and Ludlow toward Shrewsbury. It reached Otter Creek in Clarendon and then followed that valley northward through Rutland, Proctor, and Pittsford, before bearing northwest across the hills south of Brandon.
Near the junction of Vermont Routes 30 and 73 in northern Sudbury, Vermont, a spur of the road headed west toward Fort Ticonderoga (passing through present-day Orwell), while the main road continued northwest through Whiting, Shoreham, and Bridport before finally reaching Lake Champlain opposite Fort Crown Point in present-day Addison.
The Ticonderoga Historical Society will present a free public program on Friday, July 21 at 7 pm entitled “The Crown Point Road and the Opening of Northern New England & Lake Champlain.” Presented by independent historian and reenactor John-Eric Nelson, this program will emphasize the importance of this strategic route.
The program will be held in the lower-level program room of the Hancock House Museum. Reservations may be made by calling the Hancock House at 518-585-7868 or via e-mail to: tihistory@bridgepoint1.com.
The Ticonderoga Historical Society is located at the Hancock House, 6 Moses Circle, in Ticonderoga, NY.
Illustrations, from above: A map of the route courtesy The Crown Point Road Association; and a portion of the original Crown Point Road in Weathersfield Vermont (photo courtesy wikipedia user Henry S. Magnuski).
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