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Gardens and Grounds
The collections at Fort Ticonderoga are not just the Fort buildings or the objects in the Museum. The Fort also owns 2,000 acres of land in both New York and Vermont. These landholdings include many historic features including historic buildings,
four gardens, the Carillon Battlefield, military earthenworks, farmland, an orchard, and forests. |
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The King's Garden
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| Conservation
has always been part of the mission of Fort Ticonderoga,
starting with William Ferris Pell's original purchase of 546
acres surrounding the Fort Ticonderoga ruins in 1820. His purchase was meant to save the Fort from further destruction by settlers hauling off stones to build their homes. |
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Since that time, the Pell family, and later the Fort Ticonderoga Association have purchased more land. These large land holdings allow Fort Ticonderoga to protect the shorelines of the nearby LaChute River and Lake Champlain, the viewshed from the Fort, and the archeological integrity of the battlefield,
earthenworks, and military dependencies from the 18th century. |
| All of the gardens at Fort Ticonderoga are open to the public seven days a week, 10am-4pm June
1-October 13, 2008. First purchase your general admission ticket at the Admissions Desk in the Log House adjacent to the Fort. Ask for the map to the King’s Garden and either walk down (5-minute walk) or drive down to the King’s Garden parking lot. For handicapped access please call ahead.
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Native American Garden
| Archeological evidence shows that Native Americans used the Ticonderoga Peninsula as an area for
tool making. Agricultural pursuits were nearby. However, because of the Native American presence on the Peninsula, Fort Ticonderoga maintains a Native American demonstration garden. |
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| This demonstration garden displays the “three sisters” farming technique of planting corn, beans and squash together. The corn acts as a trellis for the beans, and the squash grows on the ground around the corn and beans, suppressing weeds. Beans are legumes and add nitrogen to the soil, replenishing its nutrient value. |
Children’s Vegetable Garden
| There is a long tradition of vegetable gardening on the Ticonderoga peninsula. First were the
soldiers’ garrison gardens, then there were a series of vegetable gardens for the Pavilion hotel guests in the 19th century and then the Pell family and their guests in the 20th.
The children’s vegetable garden provides a fun learning experience for children including an alphabet garden, pizza patch, sunflower house and a small corn maze. |
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Lord and Burnham Greenhouse
| A 1920s era Lord and Burnham greenhouse stands just outside the wall of the northwest corner of the King’s Garden. An oral history conducted with a former gardener in the Pell family vegetable garden remembers using the greenhouse mostly as a place to start vegetables. Once the plants were ready, they were planted in the six large garden plots outside the King’s Garden. The vegetables provided the Pell family and guests with fresh vegetables throughout the summer. |
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Many other well-known public gardens have Lord and Burnham greenhouses as part of their property including the New York Botanical Garden, Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh and the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. |
Historic Trees
Trees are an integral part of the Fort Ticonderoga landscape. Military forces occupying the peninsula during the 18th century cut most of the trees for firewood, as well as to impede enemy attackers, and to make fortifications such as
facines. The view around Fort Ticonderoga would have been barren and stark as befitting a battlefield. Today it is hard to imagine the horrors of war as you visit the Fort grounds. Visitors see a landscape that has reverted back to forest, or
areas that are cleared to provide views of Lake Champlain. A wide variety of trees can be discovered on the Fort property.
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Trees along the French Lines
in the Garrison Grounds |
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