The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-04-24
REBUILDING TIcoNDERoeA
Work Begun in Restoring the Most
Famous American Fort.

Because a woman expressed wish
that old Fort Ticonderoga, on the west
shore of Lake Champlain, might be
restored and made to appear exactly
as when, on May TO- ITS. E-han Allen
and his Green Mountcin boys surpris-
ed and captured it, work has just been
begun which has that end in view
The woman who expressed the wish
was Mrs Stephen H p. Pell Of No. 3
East 69th street. Her father, Colonel
Robert NJ. Thompson, said "Why-not?
Have it done and send the bill to me- -
The bill ," il is estimated Will
amount to 100000, and to completely
restore the fort, rich in memories OF
the colonial period, will take tn
years. The west barracks, in which
the surrender was signed. will be re-
stored first Forty-fiye workmen are
now engaged on that building, when
IL is hoped, will be ready when Presi-
aenl Taft, members of the Cabinet
and other prominent persons Visit
Iiconder0ga during the celebration
OF the precautionary Of Lake Champiain
which opens on July I.
The property on which the fort is
located has belonged to the Pei ram
ilv for a centuRy. William F. Pell the
great-grandfather OF Stephen ii. +.
Pen. the banker, who is the present
owner, laid it out for a country place.
and used it as such for thirty years.
Mr.. Pell said at his home last night
that he was deeply interested IN at
tending TO the details of the work OF
restoration of the historic site, and
added that his family would live at
the fort during the summer season.
beginning this year.
MY wife first suggested the restor-
alton" Mr.. Pell continued, and her
father, without the least hesitation,
told her to go ahead and he would be
glad to stand all of the expense.
plans have been drawn by Alfred &.
Bossum, architect, who has given
much study to the subject. We have
been in correspondence with the
French, English and the United States
governments in the preliminary work
of gathering all kinds of data to en-
able us to restore all the walls and
buildings of Fort Ticonderoga exactly
as they were during its strenuous
years"
1t was said yesterday that the prop
erty when thus improved would be
one of the finest summer homes on
the continent, as NJ Pell owns one
| thousand acres at that point.
1--WE have recently pulled from the
bottom of the lake the hulk OF the
Revenge" said Mr. Pell, land we are
going to keep it in glass house which
| shall have made for il. A naval bat
tie was fought on Lake Champlain in
1776, when Sir Guy Carleton defeated
! Benedict Arnold. Three of the Amer
lean ships escaped to Ticonderoga
| They were the Revenge, the Trumbull
| and the Enterprise. They were burn
ed the following year, and sunk direct
| ~ in front of the fort. We found in
the hulk of the Revenge cannon balls
| buttons, coins bayonets, pike heads,
etc, and these we shall keep on eX-
hibition in The west barracks. which
will be used permanently as a muse
um. The south and east barracks
viii be used as our country resi-
| dence.'
Mrs. Pell is at present in Europe
The fort was built by the French in
1888. and was named Fort Carlton
(chime Of bellsl, in allusion TO the
musical sound of the waterfalls near
by. Several years later the present
name was adopted. In 1857 Mont.
calm assembled there a force of nine
/ thousand men. with which he took
Fort William Henry, on Lake George
On July 8, l75S General Abercrombie
with fifteen thousand men, stormed
Fort Carlton but was repulscd. In
1859 General Amherst with force OF
twelve thousand men. invested it, and
the French, being too weak 10 with.
stand an attack, dismautled and aban.
doned both this fort and Grown Poirt
which were then enlarged and streng
thened by the English. Being weakly
garrisoued after the cession OF Canada
to Great Britain. Ticonderoga was sur
prised and captured on May 10. l775
| by Ethan Allen
After the war the fort gradually
fell into ruins