Preservation and Restoration at Ticonderoga

Preservation and Restoration at Ticonderoga. . , Fort Ticonderoga has always been a work-in-progress. As early as 1757 the fort's casemates were found to be leaky and damp. Fort Carillon was still incomplete when it fell to the British in 1759. They renamed the fortification Fort Ticonderoga. The peace following the French and Indian War did more damage as resources were spent on the larger fortification at Crown Point rather than stabilizing Ticonderoga. By the eve of the American Revolution the stonework was largely intact, but the fort's wooden walls were collapsing and never fully repaired even by the time the British recaptured it in 1777. , Restoration on the fort began in 1909 and continued through 1942. One significant difference from the original construction was that the walls of the reconstructed fort were built of masonry rather than wood due to a misinterpretation of the excavated remains. The resulting restoration is now an historic landmark it its own right. Masonry is challenging to maintain in the climate of the Adirondack North Country, where water can seep into cracks and cause havoc. Throughout the 20th century the restored walls of the fort have been stabilized and repaired following masonry issues. Today the Fort Ticonderoga Museum seeks to maintain not just the historic landscape of the 18th century, but our monumental history of restoration in the 20th century. Museum staff, preservation architects, and masons regularly examine masonry that has spalled or collapsed, to ensure that the structure is stable and safe and that needed repairs will maintain the historic integrity of one of the first historic restoration projects in American history. Your visit to Fort Ticonderoga supports these preservation efforts through ticket sales and purchases. , ( photo caption ) , This photograph was taken from the ditch below you, looking west shortly after the initial restoration of the West Barracks (visible in the distance) around 1910.