Ticonderoga

Ticonderoga, village, Essex County, northeastern New York, on the La Chute River, which links Lake George and Lake Champlain; founded 1764, incorporated as a village 1889. It is a center of a year-round resort area; manufactures include forest products. To the east, on nearby Lake Champlain, is the large, restored Fort Ticonderoga. A ferry provides service across the lake to Vermont. During the 18th century the site was a strategic portage point on the main inland water route to Canada. In 1755 during the French and Indian War, the French built Fort Carillon on Lake Champlain. The fort withstood a major British attack in 1758, but was captured (1759) by the British under General Jeffrey Amherst and renamed Fort Ticonderoga. In 1775, during the American Revolution, Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys seized the fort from the British in a surprise attack. British troops under General John Burgoyne recaptured (1777) it after fortifying nearby Mount Defiance and forcing an American evacuation; it was abandoned by the British later that year. During the 19th century, graphite was mined in large quantities in the vicinity. The name Ticonderoga is derived from an Iroquois term perhaps meaning “where the waters meet.” Population 2,938 (1980); 5,167 (2000); 5,091 (2005 estimate).