William P. Dow, president of the Lake George Steamboat Company, died September 13th at the age of 86 at his home in Lake George. [Read more…] about Remembering Lake George Steamboat Company’s Bill Dow
Lake George
Despite Elise Stefanik’s Claims, NYS Gun Law Doesn’t Prohibit Historical Events
New York’s new gun law, which bans weapons from “sensitive locations” such as parks and museums, will have no effect on musket demonstrations, including at Fort William Henry or re-enactments in Lake George Battlefield Park, according to Warren County Sheriff James La Farr.
“It is not within the spirit of the law to prohibit those activities,” LaFarr said. The re-enactors’ muskets and cannon fire only blanks.
Fort Ticonderoga, which is located in Essex County, is also unaffected by the new law, says its president and CEO, Beth Hill. “We do not plan to change our operations or special events,” she said. [Read more…] about Despite Elise Stefanik’s Claims, NYS Gun Law Doesn’t Prohibit Historical Events
Carleton’s Raid in 1780 Devastated Saratoga, Warren, and Washington Counties
The 1780 Carleton Raid devastated the present-day New York State counties of Saratoga, Warren, and Washington. It was known as the “Great Burning” because many of the structures along the “Old Military Road” south of Fort George at the southern end of Lake George were destroyed.
British Maj. Christopher Carleton’s raid was part of a larger strategy that played out across upstate New York and Vermont. Together with Carleton’s raiders, Sir John Johnson swept across the Schoharie and Mohawk Valleys, Col. John Munro attacked Ballston Spa, and Lt. Richard Houghton raided Royalton, Vermont during the autumn of 1780. [Read more…] about Carleton’s Raid in 1780 Devastated Saratoga, Warren, and Washington Counties
The Battlefield Visitor Center: Lake George’s Newest Attraction
For more than 25 years, historian Russ Bellico and the leaders of the Lake George Battlefield Alliance, including the late archaeologist David Starbuck, argued that grounds as historically rich and as hallowed as the head of Lake George deserve a visitors’ interpretive center.
Now we have one. [Read more…] about The Battlefield Visitor Center: Lake George’s Newest Attraction
Comic Book Artist Jack Binder & Fort William Henry History
What might Lake George have looked like 265 years ago, on the eve of the French attack on Fort William Henry?
That’s the focus of the display in the entryway to the Fort museum and historical attraction. It includes three figures – an American provincial, a British regular and a ranger, all created by the late Jack Binder for the reconstructed fort, which opened to the public in 1955. [Read more…] about Comic Book Artist Jack Binder & Fort William Henry History
Lake George Millionaires and Ministers
I spent my last year of high school at a day school in Brooklyn Heights named Saint Ann’s. Across the street was the church with which the school was loosely affiliated – the Church of Saint Ann and the Holy Trinity.
I don’t think I entered the grand though deteriorating Gothic Revival church for any reason other than to take part in my class’s graduation ceremonies – though I later came to know it as a peerless concert venue. (In some circles, it’s best known as the hall where an unknown Jeff Buckley launched his tragically short career with a tribute to his late father, the folk singer Tim Buckley.)
I wish I had found reasons to visit the church more often. I would have introduced myself to its assisting priest, the Rev. W. Howard Melish, a leftist activist who had written articles for the Daily Worker, the newspaper edited by my father in the 1940s and 50s.
And we could have talked about Lake George. [Read more…] about Lake George Millionaires and Ministers
Antique & Classic Boat Shows On Lake George This Weekend
More than 50 antique and classic boats will be featured at two Annual Lake George Classic Boats Rendezvous Shows, set for Friday, August 26th at the Bolton Landing Town Docks, and Saturday, August 27th at the Lake George Village public docks.
On display will be antique, historic, and classic boats from the early 20th century through today. [Read more…] about Antique & Classic Boat Shows On Lake George This Weekend
Fort Ticonderoga To Reenact 1777 Brown’s Raid
After the British capture of Fort Ticonderoga on July 5, 1777, Major General Benjamin Lincoln was ordered to Vermont to organize militia being raised in New England, with part of his mission to harass General John Burgoyne‘s long supply and communication lines to Canada. That September, following the Battle of Bennington, Lincoln sent three 500-man detachments to take on this task. [Read more…] about Fort Ticonderoga To Reenact 1777 Brown’s Raid
Bradstreet’s Raid: A 1758 Riverine Operation
Major General John Bradstreet, born Jean-Baptiste Bradstreet (1714 – 1774), was a British Army officer during King George’s War, the French and Indian War, and Pontiac’s War.
In 1756 he led a column to supply the greatly weakened Fort Oswego and issued ignored warnings to his superiors before Oswego was captured and burned later that year. In the spring of 1757 he helped assemble supplies and transports at Boston for the abortive attack on Louisbourg.
That December he was appointed Lt. Colonel and in 1758 he participated in the attack on Fort Carillon (now Fort Ticonderoga), where he led the advance guard following the death of General George Howe. When the Battle ended in disaster, Bradstreet attempted to organize a retreat. [Read more…] about Bradstreet’s Raid: A 1758 Riverine Operation
Garden Club of Lake George Celebrates Centenary
The Garden Club of Lake George was founded in the summer of 1922 by nine women: Mary Whitman Knauth; Marianne Schurz; Gertrude Ranger; Elizabeth Brereton; Mona Hawkins; Mary Hayden; Elizabeth Kreitler; and Charlotte Hyde.
These were no ordinary women. [Read more…] about Garden Club of Lake George Celebrates Centenary