Chimney Point Tavern

History

Chimney Point is a peninsula in the town of Addison, Vermont, which juts into Lake Champlain forming a narrows. It is one of the earliest settled and most strategic sites in the Champlain Valley.

For thousands of years, the locale was occupied by Native Americans. In 1731 it was settled by the French, who built fortifications and houses on both sides of the lake.

Along with the Crown Point peninsula across the narrows, the area was the site of conflicts between Great Britain and France as they struggled for control of North America. During the American Revolutionary War, Chimney Point was occupied at different times by both the American and British armies.

With the end of the war in 1783, American settlers returned to the Champlain Valley. In 1785, regular ferry service across the lake was established to and from Chimney Point. A tavern, once visited by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, served travelers and the community.

In 1929, the first Lake Champlain Bridge opened. It increased traffic and improved communication between Vermont and upstate New York. Following the discovery of deterioration in the piers in 2009, that bridge was demolished and replaced by a new bridge, which opened in 2011.

Chimney Point is a Vermont State Historic Site, preserving a 1785 tavern and presenting the story of three cultures, Native American, French Colonial, and early-American.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The official nomination form is linked under Sources.