The Ordway new era., 1909-07-16

EVG-1H ILLkV 7OWx1s
There is probably no feature OF the
coming observance of the tercentcnary
OF the discovery of Lake Champlain
which appeals more strongly to his
toric interest than does the restoration
of old Fort Ticonderoga. Into the warp
and woof OF American history the
name Ticonderoga has been indclibly
worked through years OF bitter war.
fare and the feet that t:iis historic old
fortifcation, fast falling to decay, Is to
be saved to succeeding generations
through the Intervention OF n woman,
coupled with the fact that the work
OF restoration has now progressed so
far that was possible to entertain on
Tuesday. July 6. the president OF the
United States In the very building in
which on May 10. 1875. Ethan Allen
made mis- famous demand for the sur
render OF the fortification. In the
name OF the great Jehovah and the
continental congress-" gives to the
celebration "A place in the hearts OF
the people OF the United States which
may not be disputed.
1t is at the direction OF Mrs. S. II. p.
Pell of New York that Fort Ticon.
deroga is being restored. Mrs. Pell.
who is the daughter OF Col. Robert
Thompson OF New York. Is the wife Of
Stephen II. p. Pell. Il prominent New
York banker Both her husband and
father are interested in seeing her
,arrtnt thrnn1h IN
full conclusion and are aiding 1t in
every way possible. Members OF
the New York Lake Champlain tercen-
tenary commission are also deeply In
terested in Mrs. Pells plan to restore
the old fort. and have accorded her
representatives every possible consid-
Grafton with regard to the arrange.
ment of the celebration exercises as
regards Ticonderoga. Alfred C. Bos-
som of New York city. who is the
architect in charge of the work for
Mrs. Pell. estimates that the work Of
completely restoring the fort will oc-
cupy n period of ten years and the
estimated cost has been placed at
100000. After a conference with the
members of :he New York Lake Cham.
plain tercentenary commission II was
decided that 1t would be best to con.
centrate the work of restoration upon
that building known as the west bar.
racks" and this has been done.
To insure absolute accuracy in the
restoration OF the fort, Mr.. Bosom
spent considerable period Of time in
personal examination of old records
and prints in the possession OF the
French and English governments, and
now has representatives In those coun-
tries carefully going over each minor
detail OF construction. Thus far how
ever. the architect and his workers
have found the fort itself as thorough
ly a reliable guide to its reconstruc.
ton as could be wished. for when the
debris is cleared away from the line
of wall the old-fashioned door
hangers, locks and knobs are found
where they dropped to the ground as
the place gradually fell to decay. Many
Of these old articles are used as mod
els for the construction Of new and
strong replicas at the hands OF skilled
artisans. Probably one Of the most
interesting finds was a roll Of home.
spun cloth in a fairly good state OF
preservation despite its long inter-
ment.
Beneath the old Pell mansion, which
is situated on the lake shore Just
below the site Of the fort, and which
is also being restored to its former
grandeur, an interesting old bull's-eye
watch was found soon after the work
was started last November. On the
site of the fort enough pieces Of pot
terry have been found to make a COM
plete service, and duplicates Of these
are being made at great cost, for the
interesting old pattern is very hard to
reproduce. The most of these pieces
were found directly below the old
messroom. One pottery punch bowl
which has been found In fine state
of preservation bears upon the bot
tom the inscription: Success to Gen.
Amherst" and has been identified as
. punch bowl given him by friends In
New York before his campaign In the
Lake Champlain country. ANY ouas-