Fort Montgomery - Rouses Point, New York
Posted by: 
Vermontish
N 44° 59.936 W 073° 20.289
18T E 630981 N 4984174
Second fort on this spot, in two different countries
Waymark Code: WMC2E3
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 07/17/2011
Views: 18
Construction commenced on the first fort in 1816. When a new survey discovered that the 45th parallel was actually located some three-quarters of a mile south, effectively placing the fort in Canada, all construction on this first fort stopped and the site was abandoned. Considering that the purpose of the fort was to defend against British invasion from Canada, the first fort took on the alias "Fort Blunder." There is no evidence that it was ever officially named.
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 ceded strategically important Island Point, the site of the 1816 fort and the northernmost point on Lake Champlain, to the US. Construction began on the new fortification two years later, and it was dubbed Fort Montgomery, in honor of the Revolutionary War hero General Richard Montgomery who was killed at Quebec City during the 1775 invasion of Canada.
Initially designed to be manned by a force of 800 men, the fort was never fully garrisoned and mainly took on a role as a military deterrent along the border. In the years following the Civil War, with the introduction of much more modern and powerful armaments such as explosive shells and rapid-firing rifled cannon, the military importance of masonry fortifications such as Fort Montgomery was rapidly drawing to a close. The last decade of the 19th century slowly saw the removal of the old fort's guns, now long obsolete.
In 1926 the United States Government sold Fort Montgomery along with its adjacent Military Reservation at public auction. In September 2008, The Preservation League of New York listed Fort Montgomery as one of their "Seven to Save" properties. This listing effectively recognized the historical significance of the Fort Montgomery ruins. It also identified the ruins as being in dire need of stabilization and preservation.
In March, 2011, the Fort was for sale again, this time on eBay with a price of $9.9 Million.
Since access is restricted, the GPS location and photographs are taken from a fishing access area on the Vermont side of the lake. The Fort is roughly 7/10 of a mile due northwest.
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