Crown Point Historic Site

Long before the American Revolution, both France and Britain claimed the Champlain Valley and the strategically important Crown Point peninsula. The French built Fort St. Frederic here between 1734 and 1737, using it as a base for raids on British settlements in New York and New England. In response, the British launched several expeditions to capture Crown Point, finally succeeding in 1759. They immediately began constructing new fortifications called “His Majesty’s Fort of Crown Point,” which, covering over seven acres, became one of the largest forts built by the British in North America. At the start of the Revolutionary War, American colonists captured the fort, gaining much-needed cannons and heavy ordnance. During the summer of 1775, Benedict Arnold ordered repairs to the barracks at Crown Point, which later served as a staging area for the American invasion of Canada. In 1777, after the Americans evacuated to Mount Independence, General John Burgoyne’s army took control of Crown Point, which remained under British occupation until the war’s end.