LOCALadk Magazine

Driving down Route 73 from my home in Saranac Lake is always a welcome pleasure. Passing through the villages of Keene and Keene Valley, parallel to the Ausable River and the easy flow of water over rocks and tree roots, and taking in the view of the mountain waterfalls still releasing those last drops of snow melt water will always give me pause. Today I am en route to an Adirondack destination that has eluded me since the early days of my youth. ere are always "must visit" places that New York State parents have on their list—a rite of passage for children ages three to ten—meant to leave a mark in their subconscious. is is one of them. I turn off the Adirondack Northway (Route 87) at Exit 28 and continue the remaining 20 miles to the front gate, off Fort Ti Road. Here is the entrance to Fort Ticonderoga, America's fort. is is the place where early American history was made. is is where many famous Americans set foot as our country and democracy were being formed. rough these gates walked George Washington, omas Jefferson, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. According to Beth Hill, president and CEO of the Fort Ticonderoga Association: "Fort Ticonderoga preserves one of the most significant and historic military landscapes in North America. From Euro-Native encounters as early as 1609 to the bloodiest battle in the 18th century, fought between the French and British in 1758, to the first American victory in the Revolutionary War on May 10, 1775, history was made. e site was spared from development as early as 1820, one of the first acts of preservation in our country's history. e Fort Ticonderoga Museum opened to the public in 1909, representing one of the finest early American military collections in the country. e 2,000 acres preserved by the Association today remain a catalog of that history." Story by Paul Sorgule & Photographs by Carl Heilman II W H E R E H I S T O R Y G R A C E S T H E D I N N E R T A B L E FORT TICONDEROGA LOCALadk 19

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