Fort Ticonderoga, Ticonderoga, New York
We would love for one of your writers to come visit Fort Ticonderoga and the Champlain Valley of New York state as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War through 2010. Would it be possible to send you a press kit? Background information on the Fort is enclosed. For Immediate Release Contact: Lisa Simpson Lutts March 29, 2006 lsimpson@fort-ticonderoga.org Fort Ticonderoga Opens for the 2006 Season TICONDEROGA: Fort Ticonderoga will open for the 2006 season on May 10, 2006 to honor the day Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, and the Green Mountain Boys captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British in 1775 at the start of the American Revolution. A number of new daily programs will be offered to visitors coming to Fort Ticonderoga. These include an authentically furnished Barracks Room where Fort Ticonderoga soldiers and their wives will be interpreting daily garrison life. The soldiers will be working on fortification building, while their wives demonstrate their essential army duties including sewing and cooking. Also new this year will be special tours to different areas of the Fort grounds such as the Carillon Battlefield where Fort Ticonderoga interpreters will help visitors learn more about the history of this important French and Indian War battleground. Highlight events for the 2006 season include: May 10: Opening Day for Fort Ticonderoga May 20-21: Eleventh Annual War College of the Seven Years' War is a symposium bringing scholars from throughout the world to present their latest research on the war. A French and Indian War 250th commemorative event. By Reservation Only. Call 518-585-2821. June 3: The King's Garden at Fort Ticonderoga opens through October 9th. June 24-25: Grand Encampment of the French and Indian War is the largest of Fort Ticonderoga's reenactments with over 800 reenactors on site. A French and Indian War 250th commemorative event. July 8: Wreath-Laying Ceremony in Commemoration of the 248th Anniversary of the Battle of Carillon the greatest French victory in the French and Indian War. A French and Indian War 250th commemorative event. -CONTINUED- August 5-6: Fife & Drum Corps Muster with corps from throughout the United States performing martial music from the 18th and 19th centuries. September 9-10: Revolutionary War Encampment with over 500 reenactors on-site. September 23-24: Fort Ticonderoga Seminar on the American Revolution a two day symposium by reservation only. Call 518-585-2821. October 22: Closing day for the 2006 season. Fort Ticonderoga is a 2,000-acre educational not-for-profit historic site in New York, with land in Vermont. The Fort is preserved and managed by the Fort Ticonderoga Association. Included with Fort admission is the restored fort, the world-class museum, the Carillon Battlefield, The King's Garden, Children's Garden, Military Garden, and Native American Garden (June 3 - October 9), Mount Defiance and Mount Hope. The Fort is open daily from May 10 - October 22, 2006. Hours are 9:00 - 5:00. Admission is $12/adults, $10.80/seniors and students, $6/children ages 7 - 12, and free for children under 7. Friends of Fort Ticonderoga and residents of Ticonderoga, Putnam, Hague, Silver Bay, Crown Point, New York and Orwell and Shoreham, Vermont receive free admission. For information call 518-585-2821 or visit www.fort-ticonderoga.org. - 30 - Fort Ticonderoga Facts Open Season: May 10 - October 22, 2006; early May to late October annually. Admission: $12/adults, $10.80/seniors & students, $6/children ages 7-12, free for children under 7 and for residents of Ticonderoga, Hague, Silver Bay, Putnam, and Crown Point, New York, and Orwell and Shoreham, Vermont. Attendance: Fort Ticonderoga's 2005 attendance was over 86,000. Annual Budget: The Fort's 2006 annual Operating Budget is $2.3 million of which 70% is earned revenue from admissions, museum store, and food sales. The Fort's 2006 Capital Budget is an additional $10.2 million while the Fort constructs the Mars Education Center. Employees: 18 year-round employees and 59 seasonal employees both full and part-time. Volunteers: 1,054 people contributed 65,961 hours in 2005. Governance: Fort Ticonderoga is a private not-for-profit educational historic site administered by the Fort Ticonderoga Association. There is a 24- member Board of Trustees that oversees the Fort. Facilities: Fort Ticonderoga consists of the restored 18th century Fort and a museum with over 30,000 objects. In addition, there is the Log House Restaurant and Museum Store. The Thompson-Pell Research Center houses the administrative offices and the research library with over 13,000 rare books and manuscripts. Below the Fort on Lake Champlain is The Pavilion, which is slated for future restoration. Next to The Pavilion and open to the public are the King's Garden at Fort Ticonderoga, the 18th-century garrison garden, a children's garden, and the Native American garden. Land holdings: The Fort Ticonderoga Association preserves 2,000 acres in New York and Vermont. This land includes the Carillon Battlefield, Mount Defiance (open to the public) and Mount Hope (open to the public). Both are in the Town of Ticonderoga. In Vermont, the Fort owns the northern half of Mount Independence, open to the public and jointly managed with the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation. Education events: Throughout the season, the Fort offers numerous education programs, lectures, symposia, and reenactments. The two major reenactments held each year are the Grand Encampment of the French and Indian War in June and the Revolutionary War Encampment in September. Over 7,000 school-age children receive education programs both at the Fort and in area schools. Economic Spin-off: Visitors to Fort Ticonderoga spend on average $127 per visitor for gas, food, and lodgings which yields $10.9 million in local economic impact. Important awards: 1961 Fort Ticonderoga is named a National Historic Landmark 1972 Fort Ticonderoga is among the first museums in the country accredited by the American Association of Museums. 1984 Fort Ticonderoga becomes part of the first bi-state National Register historic district. 1996 Fort Ticonderoga reaccredited for a third time by the American Association of Museums. 2003 Award of Excellence in Historic Preservation for the Preservation League of New York State for King's Garden restoration. Certificate of Commendation from the American Association of State and Local History for King's Garden restoration. 2004 Certificate of Commendation from the American Association of State and Local History for the America's First Victory School Education Program. 2005 Fort Ticonderoga's Grand Encampment of the French and Indian War (June 25-26) named American Bus Association Top 100 Events for 2005. 2006 Fort Ticonderoga is reaccredited for a fourth time by the American Association of Museums. Website: www.fort-ticonderoga.org Fort Ticonderoga History Fort Ticonderoga was built by the French from 1755-1759 and called Fort Carillon, located above the narrow choke-point between Lake Champlain and Lake George, which controlled the major north-south inland water "highway" during the 18th century. Due to this strategic location the Fort was the "key to the continent" as the superpowers of the 18th century, the French and the British, contested for empire in North America. On July 8, 1758 the Fort was successfully defended by French forces under the command of the Marquis de Montcalm despite overwhelming British forces led by General Abercromby. This was France's greatest victory in the Seven Years' War and a humiliating and devastating defeat for the British. The following year, the British did defeat the French at Fort Carillon under General Amherst. At the outset of the American Revolution just a half-company of British soldiers manned the Fort. On May 10, 1775, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, and the Green Mountain Boys crossed Lake Champlain from Vermont under cover of darkness. At dawn they surprised the sleeping garrison and overwhelmed them, making Fort Ticonderoga America's first victory of the Revolutionary War. From then until July 1777, Fort Ticonderoga served as an important staging area for the American army while invading Canada, outfitting America's first navy, and fortifying Mount Independence in Vermont, and building extensive defensive works within a 10-mile radius. In addition, the Fort was where vessels for America's first navy were rigged and fitted out. This fleet, under the command of Benedict Arnold, fought the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain in 1776. Although the American fleet was utterly defeated, the fight stalled the British on their march south. In July 1777 the British commander, General Burgoyne, managed to place cannon on Mount Defiance and forced the Fort's American garrison commanded by General Arthur St. Clair to evacuate the Fort on July 6th. One more attempt by the Americans retake the Fort failed in September 1777. This was the last major military action to take place at Ticonderoga. In 1820, William Ferris Pell purchased the ruins of the Fort and the surrounding "garrison grounds" to preserve it for posterity. In 1826 he built The Pavilion first as a home, and later turned it into a hotel to serve the growing number of tourists who came to see the Fort ruins. In 1908 Stephen and Sarah Gibbs Thompson Pell began restoration of Fort Ticonderoga and in 1909 it was opened to the public with President Taft in attendance. In 1931 Fort Ticonderoga was designated a not-for-profit educational historic site managed by the Fort Ticonderoga Association. -30- Lisa Simpson Lutts Director of External Affairs Fort Ticonderoga PO Box 390 Ticonderoga NY 12883 518-585-2121, ex 21 www.Fort-Ticonderoga.org