Ticonderoga, NY (FTC)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$70,605

Station Ridership

FY 2011

1,627

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

The Amtrak stop in Ticonderoga is not actually in the town, but on a branch line that goes through the park, past Fort Ticonderoga itself. Built in 1868 by the Addison Railroad, a branch of the Rutland Railroad, the original simple single-story wooden passenger station and freight station are no longer used. The current stop is an enclosed brick and plastic-glass shelter on the platform, built in 1996 when the stop was relocated near the ferry and the fort.

A brick freight house/passenger station in the town of Ticonderoga, built in 1891, was moved to its current home on Champlain Avenue in 1913, and was used as a passenger station. This building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. A passenger station was built on the original site in 1913-1914, but is no longer in existence as that route was abandoned.

As part of the Mobility First initiative of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Ticonderoga station is scheduled to receive a new wheelchair lift, foundation and enclosure, sidewalk to the platform, and paint markings for accessible parking stalls on existing paving, at an estimated cost of $29,000 for the project.

“Ticonderoga” comes from an Iroquois word meaning “land between the waters,” and was originally the site of an easy portage through the river valley running between Lake George and Lake Champlain. A natural boundary marker, this area was also a meeting place and battleground for Native Americans prior to European settlement. In 1609, Samuel de Champlain, accompanied by Mohawks, struggled with the Iroquois there. Later, the French and British battled there, and Loyalists and Patriots also fought on this soil during the American Revolutionary War. Samuel Deall, the first developer in this township in 1775, abandoned his lands when the latter war broke out, due to the continual passage of troops through the area.

Early in the 19th century, when sheep cultivation took hold in nearby Vermont, Merino wool became a cash crop in Ticonderoga Township, and wool-processing mills were built there, dominating the local economy until ranching moved west. Lumbering remained important. From 1814 to 1850, Ticonderoga was a busy shipping port on Lake Champlain as it was on the main water route between New York City and Montreal and the St. Lawrence River.

The Moriah region on the western banks of Lake Champlain, which was found to be rich in iron ore, developed many processing furnaces in the 1860s. Several forges were built in Ticonderoga, but met with little success. However, the Ticonderoga Paper and Pulp Company established a mill in 1882, and more followed. In 1925, the operation was purchased by International Paper. The mill continues to operate today and still employs more than 1,000 people.

Another mining exploit brought Ticonderoga unique fame, following discovery of very pure graphite ore on Lead Mountain in 1815. Graphite’s first general use was for polishing household stoves. In 1839, a patent was issued to a local entrepreneur for graphite-leaded pencils, and the American Graphite company made the Ticonderoga pencil famous. Graphite is also used to line crucibles in steelmaking.

The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) first opened a depot in Ticonderoga as a stop for their freight line that followed along the Delaware and Hudson Canal. By the time the canal had closed in 1891, it had become increasingly more time and cost efficient to move freight and passengers by rail up the prosperous line north from Saratoga Springs. Between the closing of their canal and the first few decades of the 20th century, D&H continued to buy up parts of competing railway lines in the eastern half of New York State. By 1907, D&H owned the entire track between New York City and Montreal, Quebec, establishing, for the first time, a direct, dedicated line connecting the two cities. Ticonderoga was a stop along this important rail line, and in 1913 received the passenger station it needed.

Fort Ticonderoga is on a prominence at the end of Lake Champlain, where a ferry and the present train station are also located. Originally belonging to the French, as Fort Carillon, the outpost was built between 1755 and 1759, one of a series built to control Lake Champlain. This is also where the waters of the LaChute River enter Lake Champlain from Lake George, which was a very strategic water route prior to the coming of the railroads. During the wars between the English and French in this territory, the fort was the scene of a famous battle when, on July 8, 1758, 3,500 French soldiers successfully defended the fort from attack by 16,000 British troops, including the famous Black Watch Scottish Regiment. The following year, British General Jeffery Amherst drove out the French, but not before they blew up the entire powder magazine and warehouse as they retreated. Today, military recreationists gather annually to re-fight these battles at the Fort Ticonderoga National Historic Landmark.

During the American Revolutionary War, in 1775, Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, and the Green Mountain Boys crossed over Lake Champlain from Vermont at dawn and captured the fort from the British. This was the first American victory of the Revolution. The fort provided a strategic staging area for American forces northward into Canada. It passed back into British hands in 1777, and they did not abandon it until after their surrender at Saratoga.

Today, along with its continuing industrial heritage, Ticonderoga welcomes historical tourism and sees about 100,000 visitors annually at Fort Ticonderoga. Community groups today also focus on downtown revitalization and enhancement. One annual fundraiser is celebrated with a summertime LaChute River Duck Race, featuring a small flotilla of plastic ducks.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or help with baggage at the Ticonderoga station, which is served by two daily trains. Service on the Adirondack is financed primarily through funds made available by the New York State Department of Transportation.