Isle La Motte, called by Samuel de Champlain "the island three leagues long," was the place where he said he landed, hunted, and camped on July 2nd and 3rd, 1609. The island was settled in 1665 by the French, who built Fort "St. Ann" on the west shore, where a "Shrine of St. Ann" now stands. The fort was dedicated on July 26, 1666, when Mass was celebrated for the first time in Vermont. The captain of the 300 men of the Carignan Regiment who built the fort was Sieur de la Motte, for whom the island was named. Burying Yard Point was associated with the memory of Revolutionary soldiers buried there, including William Blanchard, Lieutenant Enoch Hall, Lieutenant Abraham Knapp, first town clerk Nathaniel Wales, first town representative William Uttley, second town representative Jesse Welden, and others unnamed. The bridge here opened August 14, 1882.