The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) is embarking on a $750,000 barracks preservation project at Crown Point State Historic Site.
Located on a peninsula on the shores of Lake Champlain, the historic site contains the ruins of two forts, one French (Fort St. Frederic) and one British (Fort Crown Point), which played crucial roles in 18th-century military events and the American Revolution.
The project will stabilize and repair the masonry ruins of the Officers’ Barracks, which were built in 1759 as part of the British fort.
In 1775, at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, American colonists captured the fort and secured sorely needed cannons and heavy ordnance, which were brought by Henry Knox Noble Train of Artillery to the Siege of Boston.
Crown Point was also occupied by General John Burgoyne‘s army in 1777 en route to the Battles of Saratoga. It remained under British control until the end of the war in 1783.
The Crown Point Reservation’s 440-acre expanse is part of the State Forest Preserve system and boasts a DEC campground, boat launches, and the preserved archeological resources of the Historic Site.
Despite more than 115 years of preservation and restoration by New York State and designation as a National Historic Landmark, frequent freeze-thaw cycles, water infiltration, foundation settling, and site drainage issues have accelerated the pace of destabilization of the Officers’ Barracks, creating safety hazards and threatening structural integrity an announcement sent to the press said.
Currently in the design phase, the project involves stabilization and repair work consisting of archaeological investigations, disassembly and reassembly of a bowed wall section stone by stone, rebuilding a collapsed wall area, rebuilding stone arches over window and door openings, coating repairs, repairing and replacing wall caps, performing general stone repair and repointing, and installing site drainage piping.
“This project will improve safety and access for staff and the tens of thousands of people who visit the site each year for exhibits, guided tours, and living history programs that help tell the stories of Crown Point during the French and Indian War and the American Revolution,” the announcement said.
Visiting the Site
Through research, exhibits, guided tours, and educational programming, Crown Point State Historic Site tells the complex stories of the French, British, American and Indigenous inhabitants of the Lake Champlain Valley.
The grounds are open daily from sunrise to sunset. The Site Museum opens at 9:30 am, with last entry at 4:30 pm, Wednesdays through Sundays until October 18, 2026. The site is also well-known locally for its families of foxes that can often be seen roaming in the twilight hours.
On Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27 the site will host “Preparing for Valcour” an event marking the American soldiers turned sailors who prepare a naval fleet and themselves to sail north and battle the British Fleet at Valcour Island.
The event will include an encampment and living history demonstrations of 18th century replica batteau on Lake Champlain.
Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8 the site will host “The British Army Arrives,” recalling the arrival of the British Army at Crown Point, to scout out the American Army and then return to Canada for the winter.
For further information about these events visit Crown Point’s website.
Read more about the Crown Point.
Photo: Remains of the British Fort Crown Officer’s Barracks (provided).
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