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A Brief History of Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga was built by the French from 1755-1758 as Fort Carillon located above the narrow choke-point between Lake Champlain and Lake George, which controlled the major north-south inland water "highway" during the 18th century. Due to this strategic location the Fort was the "key to the continent" as the superpowers of the 18th century, the French and the British, contested for empire in North America. On July 8, 1758 the Fort was successfully defended by French forces under the command of the Marquis de Montcalm despite overwhelming British forces led by General Abercromby. This was France's greatest victory in the Seven Years' War and a humiliating and devastating defeat for the British. The following year, the British did defeat the French at Fort Carillon under General Amherst who renamed the site Fort Ticonderoga.

At the outset of the American Revolution just a half-company of British soldiers manned the Fort. On May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, and the Green Mountain Boys crossed Lake Champlain from Vermont under cover of darkness. At dawn they surprised the sleeping garrison and overwhelmed them, making Fort Ticonderoga America's first offensive victory of the Revolutionary War. From then until July 1777, Fort Ticonderoga served as an important staging area for the American army while fortifying Mount Independence in Vermont and building extensive defensive works within a 10-mile radius. In addition, the Fort was where vessels for America's first navy were rigged and fitted out. This fleet, under the command of Benedict Arnold, fought the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain in 1776. Although the American fleet was utterly defeated, the fight stalled the British on their march south. The following year, in July 1777 the British commander, General Burgoyne, invaded the Champlain Valley from Canada and managed to place cannon on Mount Defiance overlooking Fort Ticonderoga. This forced the Fort's American commander, General Arthur St. Clair to evacuate his army on July 6th .handing the Fort back to the British. The last military engagement at the Fort occurred in September 1777 when Americans failed to attempt to retake the Fort. 

In 1820, William Ferris Pell purchased the ruins of the Fort and the surrounding land to preserve it for posterity. In 1826 he built home overlooking Lake Champlain, which he later turned into The Pavilion, a hotel to serve the growing number of tourists who came to see the Fort ruins. In 1908 Stephen and Sarah Gibbs Thompson Pell began restoration of Fort Ticonderoga and in 1909 it was opened to the public with President Taft in attendance. In 1931 Fort Ticonderoga was designated a not-for-profit educational historic site managed by the Fort Ticonderoga Association.


The Association. The Shirley-Eustis House Association was founded in 1913 by William Sumner Appleton, who also founded the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (SPNEA) in 1910. As one of the Commonwealth's earliest preservation organizations, the Association was responsible for saving this unique building, and exists today for the purpose of preserving, maintaining and enhancing the House, its furnishings and property. In fact, during the late 1960s, the group was instrumental in keeping the House in Roxbury when there was pressure to move it to a more prosperous location in the Fenway. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Association was able to stabilize the House and restore it to its former glory. In 1991, the Association received the Boston Preservation Alliance Award for "the best small-scale historic restoration in the city of Boston."

The House. Celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, the Shirley-Eustis House was built in Roxbury during the period 1747-1751 by William Shirley, appointed Royal Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Commander-in-Chief of all British forces in North America by George II. The House is one of only four remaining Royal Colonial Governors' mansions in the country and the only one actually built by a Royal Colonial Governor. As early as 1960, Shirley Place was awarded the prestigious designation as a National Historic Landmark. One of a handful of Boston's national landmarks that pre-date 1750, the House represents an unusually long continuum in American history, serving as the home of two distinguished Governors - one Royal and one Federal (William Eustis). The House has also been occupied by, among others, the Massachusetts Sixth Regiment of Foot when it served as a Revolutionary War barracks during the Siege of Boston in 1775; Jean-Baptiste du Buc, the Haitian counselor to Louis XVI of France; Captain James Magee, an Irish-American who prospered in the China Trade, and scores of other immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Neighborhood. Located adjacent to the Dudley Triangle in Roxbury, Shirley Place is a magnificent historic house on approximately one acre of grounds that serves both the surrounding community and Greater Boston. Immediate neighbors include Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, YouthBuild Boston and the Ralph Waldo Emerson School. The demographics of the community have changed dramatically since Governor Shirley built his country mansion in bucolic Roxbury. Today the neighborhood is urban and ethnically diverse, with a large number of residents below the official poverty level. Since residents are currently unable to sustain this Landmark property, either through visitations or memberships, we must rely heavily on support from outside the community.

Visits
The House is open to the public for tours Thursday through Sunday, June through September and by appointment on any weekday year-round. Weekend concerts are presented April through November. A group of trained docents volunteer their time to engage visitors during these months. Programs are limited to warmer months as the House is expensive to heat in winter. Admission is charged to the general public, although entrance is free to SEHA members and Roxbury residents. An annual membership drive renews and recruits about 150 members from New England and beyond. There were approximately 2,000 visitors last year.