THE PELL ESTATE AT FORT TICONDEROGA | SEPTEMBER, 2019
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William Ferris Pell, a New York City businessman, purchased the Fort Ticonderoga property, which included considerable frontage on Lake Champlain, in 1820. At that time, the fort still lay in ruins, having been, over time, repeatedly destroyed by both British and American armies as they retreated from the fort after losing battles for its control. In the latter half of the 1700s, the fort was variously occupied by the French [who built it]; the British; and the Americans. The early history of the fort, and the family who saved it, is in the first graphic below (click to see an enlargement).
The story of the Fort's restoration, championed by Sarah, the wife of a Pell descendant, is explained in the narrative of the second graphic, below, taken from part of an exhibit in a new museum gallery inside the Fort.
But the thing we both found most interesting was a new project, underway down on the lakefront, below and largely out of sight of the fort, where the Pell's lakefront "getaway" mansion and gardens, which they called "The Pavilion", are in the process of being restored. The gardens are largely done; renovations to the house, which will house a restaurant and educational center, should be complete in 2020, in time for the centennial of the Fort's restoration and re-opening to the public. The third graphic, below, tells more about the history of The Pavilion, and the new efforts to return it to its former glory...
The story of the Fort's restoration, championed by Sarah, the wife of a Pell descendant, is explained in the narrative of the second graphic, below, taken from part of an exhibit in a new museum gallery inside the Fort.
But the thing we both found most interesting was a new project, underway down on the lakefront, below and largely out of sight of the fort, where the Pell's lakefront "getaway" mansion and gardens, which they called "The Pavilion", are in the process of being restored. The gardens are largely done; renovations to the house, which will house a restaurant and educational center, should be complete in 2020, in time for the centennial of the Fort's restoration and re-opening to the public. The third graphic, below, tells more about the history of The Pavilion, and the new efforts to return it to its former glory...
Click on any image below to see an enlargement. Use the arrows at the left and right of each enlargement (which appear when you hover your mouse over the enlargement) to navigate to other gallery pictures.
the MAIN house (AKA "THE PAVILION")
When we visited, the renovations were well underway, and impressive. A new shake-shingle roof is already on the structure, as well as much needed gutters -- all in copper (an expensive proposition, nowadays!). To minimize additional damage to the lower framing and foundation of the house, all the gutters tie into a central, underground pipe system. Unclear whether this collected water (which will be substantial, given the vast cumulative roof area!) will be stored and used to water the gardens, but it wouldn't be a bad idea! ;)
THE CHILDREN'S HOUSE
Well, of course, the children got their own house -- complete with bunk beds, their own lavatories, and likely, a nanny. (This structure has not seen any renovation in recent times; the Pell family stopped using The Pavilion in 1987, but it is clearly in serious need of a 'renovation rescue'...)
THE GROUNDS
In addition to the Pavilion and the Children's House, the Pell family compound included two gardens (see below), plus a greenhouse, gardener's shed, a small barn, a large apple orchard, a boathouse and dock on the lake (now gone), and both a tree-lined entrance promenade (footpath) and similarly tree-lined entry road, as well as a service entrance. Oh, and did we mention the 12-car garage (of which, unfortunately, we didn't get a photo...)
THE KITCHEN GARDEN
Both the kitchen and formal gardens are tended by re-enactor-clothed gardeners. Deb had the good fortune of receiving a one-on-one tour from the lead gardener, who explained that they now require such extensive seedlings in the spring that they keep four area nurseries very busy; it's no wonder they've outgrown Sarah Pell's original mail-order greenhouse (see the lead-off graphic and photos below). When it opens in 2020, one of the signature features of the renovated Pavilion will be a teaching kitchen that will offer culinary programs, presumably utilizing harvest from the kitchen garden!
THE FORMAL GARDEN
The formal garden was a "pet project" of Sarah Pell's, after she and husband Stephen began coming to Ticonderoga with regularity after 1908. Around 1920, she engaged Marian Cruger Coffin, a noted female landscape architect of the day, to design the enclosed Colonial Revival-style garden, just behind The Pavilion. It was called the Jardin du Roi ("the King's Garden"), a name derived from an 18th century British map of the fort's garrison grounds. Today, the garden has been restored to Coffin's original plan. In the first photo, below, you'll see one of Coffin's concept illustrations for the garden (on the left), and a photo Rick took from the same location during our 2019 visit...