The Power of Water

The Power of Water (HM2CLQ)

Location: , NY 12883 Essex County
Buy New York State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 43° 50.882', W 73° 25.153'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 533 views
Inscription
The waters of Lake George falling over Bicentennial Falls today form a pretty backdrop for Bicentennial Park. For more than two hundred years this waterfall also produced power. Beginning with a French sawmill in 1756, soldiers, later followed by settlers, harnessed flowing water here and at a dozen other sites along the River. Throughout the 19th century, saw mills, pulp and paper mills, iron forges and furnaces, and woolen, cotton and graphite mills competed for use of the water. Eventually, pulp and paper making dominated the riverfront. By the middle of the 20th century, International Paper Company controlled nearly all the power generated at six different dams.
When International Paper moved the Ticonderoga Mill to the shore of Lake Champlain in 1971, they demolished everything except the "1888 Building," now home to the Ticonderoga Heritage Museum. Townspeople launched a concerted effort to reclaim the abandoned site as a park. Volunteers drove the bulldozer, planted trees and worked with the Youth Conservation Corps to transform the old railroad trestle into a covered bridge. Once again, the falling water has the power to attract people to the riverside.
The mills may be gone, but the waterpower still works. A small-scale hydroelectric plant nestled discretely under the waterfall generates electricity.



LaChute Hydro draws water from two upper dams to generate electricity whenever the river flow is high enough. By agreement with the Town, the generating station always leaves enough water in the River to produce the cascade you see.
- photograph captions -
This sketch of "Ticonderoga Creek" made by Sir Henry Barnard in 1838 offers the earliest view of the working river. The debris in the water testifies to the saw milling activity upstream.
The Ticonderoga Pulp and Paper Company "lower mill," built in 1883 replaced the original 1878 mill. The Victor wheel installed in 1898 delivered 565 horsepower under the "head" (height of water) of 32 feet. Outlets for the penstock feeding the 39" wheel are still visible next to the hydro plant.
A thriving town grew up around the diverse industries powered by the La Chute River. In the course of two mile, the River falls 220 feet from Lake George to Lake Champlain, offering a greater drop than Niagara Falls. The width of the River has been filled considerably since William R. Miller drew this view in the May, 1854 issue of Gleason's Pictorial Magazine.
Details
HM NumberHM2CLQ
Tags
Placed ByLa Chute Riverwalk Interpretive Trail
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Monday, October 22nd, 2018 at 11:02pm PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18T E 627061 N 4856208
Decimal Degrees43.84803333, -73.41921667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 43° 50.882', W 73° 25.153'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds43° 50' 52.92" N, 73° 25' 9.1799999999999" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)518
Which side of the road?Marker is on the right when traveling West
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 178 Montcalm St, NY 12883, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Nearby Markersshow on map
Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?