Fort Ticonderoga was long a work in progress. As early as 1757, its casemates were found to be leaky and damp, and Fort Carillon was still incomplete when it fell to the British in 1759, after which they renamed it Fort Ticonderoga. Peace after the French and Indian War brought further decline as resources went to the larger fortification at Crown Point instead of stabilizing Ticonderoga. By the eve of the American Revolution, the stonework was largely intact, but the fort's wooden walls were collapsing and were never fully repaired, even by the time the British recaptured it in 1777. Restoration began in 1909 and continued through 1942. A significant difference from the original construction was that the reconstructed fort's walls were built of masonry rather than wood because excavated remains were misinterpreted. That restoration has itself become a historic landmark. In the Adirondack North Country climate, masonry is difficult to maintain because water seeps into cracks and causes damage, so throughout the 20th century the restored walls were stabilized and repaired in response to masonry problems. Today, museum staff, preservation architects, and masons regularly examine spalled or collapsed masonry to keep the structure stable and safe while maintaining the historic integrity of one of the first historic restoration projects in American history.
