View of Mt. Defiance from Fort Ticonderoga. Credit: Fort Ticonderoga (Click image to see larger version.)
The Fort Ticonderoga Association announced recently that it has acquired 47 acres on the east face of Mount Defiance, ensuring the entire historically important mountain will be forever protected. The acquisition was made possible through partnership with the Open Space Institute (OSI) which provided a $46,000 grant for the purchase and related expenses.
“Fort Ticonderoga has a long history of land conservation and historic preservation dating back to 1820 when William Ferris Pell purchased the garrison grounds and placed a fence around the fort ruins marking the earliest act of preservation by a private individual in America,” said Beth L. Hill, Fort Ticonderoga President and CEO. “This recent acquisition is an important addition to our 2000-acre historic campus and will preserve the historic land and its natural beauty forever.”
“Fort Ticonderoga is one of New York’s most valuable historic resources, connecting families to a priceless heritage. OSI is proud to have helped protect this significant, storied, and visually stunning area,” said Kim Elliman, OSI’s President and CEO.
Mount Defiance is one of Fort Ticonderoga’s most important historic features and provides more than 75,000 visitors the opportunity to visualize and understand why Ticonderoga was the key to the continent in the 18th century. Best known historically for its role in the British capture of Ticonderoga in 1777, the mountain was utilized in some degree by every army who occupied Ticonderoga. Today, the summit of Mount Defiance is part of the Fort Ticonderoga experience, offering a unique vantage point of the epic military landscape as visitors discover how the mountain shaped America’s history.