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The Highly Recommended* Online Resource for Historians, Educators, Students and Visitors
Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of Samuel de Champlain's Explorations on the lake
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Click here to learn more about Jim Millard's books!Praise for Jim Millard's  LAKE PASSAGES: A Journey through the Centuries...
"...thank you for having produced such a wonderful book. The book has a haunting theme that thrills. One somehow feels as if being paddled on canoe trips, or steered on board sloops and other vessels alongside the ghostly figures of our heroes through those magnificent lakes and rivers of unequalled beauty. It gives the feeling of being there as no other book of its kind does. For those with a passion for the history of these waters, this book is a must...The many photos of the valley's landmarks, monuments, statues, forts and panoramic views, make all so worthwhile an additive to pleasant reading."  
 Stanley W. Gomez- Gibraltar


Hotel Champlain, Bluff Point New York 1909
 

CELEBRATING CHAMPLAIN
The Tercentenary Celebrations on Lake Champlain
1909-1912

In 2009 the region celebrates the 400th anniversary of the discovery of Lake Champlain by Samuel de  Champlain. 100 years earlier, Vermont, New York and Quebec invited the world to come see and celebrate what the intrepid French Explorer had found— a rich and beautiful place which had been inhabited by native peoples for generations before. This is Part III of the story of those festivities.

By James P. Millard
 

Part III
Monday, July 5 at Bluff Point, Plattsburgh

 

"Meanwhile, at Plattsburgh Fraternal Day was celebrated by a parade in which Labor organizations and Granges were a feature, the latter, representing by a display of farming implements in historical sequence and floats the agricultural interests of the valley from the days of the pioneer to the present.

In the evening President Taft and party arrived at Bluff Point station where they were met by Col. Cowles and other officers of the Fifth U.S. Infantry and visiting regiments. Troop H of the Fifteenth U.S. Cavalry acted as escorts to the President and the British and French Ambassadors. At the hotel the guests gave the President a most cordial reception, after which he was entertained at dinner on the houseboat of Hon. W.C. Witherbee where the President's son and daughter with their cousins, were the guests of Mrs. Witherbee and the younger members of that family."1

Crowd assembling at Ticonderoga, July 6, 1909

Tuesday, July 6 at Ticonderoga

"At Ticonderoga, where fell, one hundred and fifty-one years ago this day, [1909] brave Lord Howe of cherished memory, the principal celebration took place. The Presidential party were received at the "Pavilion," the old Pell mansion on the lake shore, and at the Fort were shown the Fort Ticonderoga Ruins in 1909West Barracks, lately restored through the munificence of Col. Robert M. Thompson, father of Mrs. Stephen H.P. Pell. Addresses were made on the great plain below the fort by Governors Hughes and Prouty, followed by President Taft. The historical address was by Hamilton W. Mabie."2

President Taft touring the ruins at Ticonderoga    Taft speaking at Ticonderoga    President Taft touring the ruins at Ticonderoga  
President Taft at Fort Ticonderoga.
July 6, 1909
(click on thumbnails to see large image)

It was raining heavily when President Taft arrived at Ticonderoga the morning of the 6th. Yet, troops were reviewed, another "sham battle" took place, and the President and other distinguished guests took the time to inspect Fort Ticonderoga, then undergoing complete restoration. Lunch was served aboard the steamer Ticonderoga. At the culmination of the day's festivities, Taft and party went by steamer to Port Henry where they boarded a special train for the return to Plattsburgh.

 Continued here...  

Sources/Notes:

1 THREE CENTURIES IN THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY: A COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL FACTS AND INCIDENTS- TERCENTENARY EDITION. 1909: Compiled and Edited by Mrs. George Fuller Tuttle. Saranac Chapter, D.A.R. Plattsburgh, NY.

2 Ibid.

3 The Champlain Tercentenary: Report of the New York Lake Champlain Tercentenary Commission.1911:Prepared by Henry Wayland Hill, LL.D., Secretary of the Commission. Albany: J.B. Lyon Company, State Printers.

LA GRANDE SEMAINE:  FÊTES DU TROISIÈME CENTENAIRE DE LA DÉCOUVERTE DU LAC CHAMPLAIN. 1909: RÉDIGÉ PAR J.-ARTHUR FAVREAU. Secrétaire de la Société Historique Franco-Américaine. Worcester, Massachusetts: Compagnie De Publication Belisle.


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