Lakes to Locks Passage

Ticonderoga, a name given by Mohawk Indians meaning "the place between the great waters," grew at a portage linking Lake George and Lake Champlain that was important long before Europeans recognized its strategic value. The French built a fort there to control this travel corridor, but lost it to the British at the end of the Seven Years' War, and a generation later American rebels captured Fort Ticonderoga in the first victory of the Revolutionary War. The area's geography then helped make Ticonderoga a thriving community: the LaChute River, flowing from Lake George into Lake Champlain, powered the manufacture of lumber, iron, graphite, cloth, and paper, while Lake Champlain carried goods to distant markets through the Champlain and Chambly canals. Rich grazing land supported Merino sheep and Morgan horses, and Lake George drew summer tourists seeking recreation and scenery. The LaChute River later powered dozens of mills and factories along its falls, and after International Paper Company moved its mill to the shore of Lake Champlain in 1970, nature began reclaiming the river and its banks.

Ticonderoga, New York · United States