Town Historical Timeline

1689 • Chevalier DeCallieries builds a small French fort in South Bay called “The Pickets.”
1690 • Englishman Fitz John Winthrop’s expedition camps in Fort Anne.
1692 • Winthrop builds the first fort at Fort Anne and calls it the “Stone Fort.”
1709 • Francis Nicholson builds Fort Schuyler and burns it when he departs.
1711 • Francis Nicholson rebuilds the Queen’s Fort on the ruins of Fort Schuyler.
1757 • The English build the fortification called Fort Anne during the French and Indian War.
1758 • Queen’s Well is dug in the village, after 1,000 British soldiers die drinking from Wood Creek.
1763 • Blockhouse and sawmill are built at Cheshire’s Mills, now Kane’s Falls.
1764 • King George III grants an artillery patent of 24,000 acres to 24 British officers.
1769 • Mud Fort is built at Fort Anne.
1773 • Colonel George Wray builds the Wray Farm.
1776 • Planks from Cheshire’s Mills are used to build ships in Skenesborough, now Whitehall, for the U.S. Navy.
1777 • Dog Heaven, a cliff on Diameter Mountain, is the site of a bloody battle between the British and the settlers.
Battle of Fort Anne delays the British from advancing to Saratoga.
1778 • Captain Adiel Sherwood rebuilds the fort at Fort Anne, the last of Fort Anne’s five forts.
1786 • Town of Westfield is founded.
1788 • The settlement of Dewey’s Bridge is founded by Thaddeus Dewey.
1789 • First known church in the area, the First Baptist Church of East Westfield, is established.
1790 • Colonel George Wray owns seven slaves, according to the first federal census.
1791 • Colonel George Wray lays out the village streets, naming them in honor of his family: George, Catherine, and Ann.
1792 • Ephraim Griswold settles Griswold’s Mills in western Westfield, name later changes to Tripoli.
1797 • First post office is established in Fort Ann.
1800 • House is built in Westfield; the oldest house that remains in Fort Ann today.
1808 • Town of Westfield changes name to Town of Fort Ann.
1810 • Second Baptist Church of Fort Anne is established.
1815 • First grist mill is built by Steven Palmer at Johnny Cake Corners, a hamlet later named West Fort Ann.
1816 • Due to volcanic eruptions in the summer months, clouds of ash made the air so cold that Halfway Brook freezes.
1819 Champlain Canal between Fort Edward and Whitehall is completed.
1820 • Fort Ann Village is incorporated.
1823 • Presbyterian Church is established.
1825 • Mount Hope furnace begins producing iron.
1827 • Fort Ann Village Union Church is built, serving Baptist and Methodist congregations.
1830 • Iron ore is made into anchors at Griswold’s Mills.
1834 • First church in West Fort Ann erected on Joe Green Road; later became the Grange Hall.
1840 • Comstock Community Church is established.
1845 • Van Wormer’s Village (Van Wormertown) changes name to West Fort Ann.
1847 • St. Ann’s Catholic Church is established.
1848 • First train goes through Fort Ann.
1850 • Wray Farm is a stop on the Underground Railroad for fleeing slaves.
First post office is established in West Fort Ann.
1859 • Washington County Fair is held in Fort Ann.
Fort Ann Union Free School opens for grades 1 through 12.
1860 • U.S. Cavalry marches through the village.
1865 • Kane’s Falls Woolen Mill begins operations.
1866 • The Smith brothers inherit lozenge company.
1870 • Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company is built at Kane’s Falls.
1874 • Baptist Church is erected.
1875 • Fire destroys six stores, a harness shop, a bank, and a house in village.
1876 • Patent issued for quartz coating for wood manufacturing at Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company.
1885 • Haviland Manufacturing Co. opens for business, making wooden toys. I had the auction to sell off the assets when they closed.
1892 • Edward Wall builds knitting mill in village.
1895 • Second Advent Church is established in Hogtown.
1896 • West Fort Ann United Methodist Church is established.
1897 • Eugene Ashley builds hydroelectric power plant at Kane’s Falls.
The village organizes its first fire company.
1899 • First class graduates from Fort Ann High School.
1900 • Kane’s Falls Electric Co. brings electricity to the town.
1904 • Pilot Knob Association forms to establish a post office with boat dock.
1905 • Borden Milk Processing Plant opens.
1911 • Fire of unknown origin destroys business section of the village.
Great Meadow Prison opens.
1912 • Copeland’s, one of only two bars in the state to also contain a package store, opens.
1915 • Champlain Barge Canal is completed.
1916 • Raymond W. Harvey Post 703 receives charter and is named for first soldier from Fort Ann killed in WWI.
1920 • Wakpominee Boy Scout Camp is founded.
1921 • Girl Scout troop is organized.
1922 George Knapp donates the Old Stone House Library to the town.
1927 • 150th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Anne.
1928 • Sheldon House Hotel, spared by the great fire of 1911, burns down.
1930 • Sheldon-Pierce Boat Co., builders of unique Sea Sled racing boats, opens.
1931 • Bones of Revolutionary War soldiers unearthed at Battle Hill during Route 4 construction.
1933 • Civilian Conservation Corps arrives to eradicate the gypsy moth, an invasive species, and blister rust, a tree disease.
1939 • Camp Little Notch is established for Girl Scouts.
Fort Ann Central School building is constructed.
1940 • Boy Scout Troop 46 forms.
1941-44 • Watchtower for spotting enemy planes stands at edge of village.
1943 • Fort Ann Volunteer Fire Company is incorporated.
1948 • Pilot Knob Fire Department is founded.
1950 • Fort Anne Museum of History opens at Charles and George streets.
Hadlock Pond Association is founded.
1959 • Baptist Church and Methodist Church congregations join to become the United Protestant Church.
1960 • Hydroelectric plant at Kane’s Falls burns.
1961 • Fort Ann Rescue Squad forms.
1962 • Hillbilly Heaven, a famous square dancing and country music venue, opens in Fort Ann.
1963 Bee’s Dude Ranch draws crowds with live music, great food, and drinks.
1967 • West Fort Ann Volunteer Fire Company forms.
1970 • Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation removes Kane’s Falls dam.
1972 • Queen Anne Senior Citizens form.
1973 • Glens Falls National Bank opens branch in blockhouse replica.
1976 • Bicentennial celebration is held.
1978 • Cornerstone Bible Church is established.
1984 • Rick & Carol’s Countryside Inn begins hosting many country and western stars in West Fort Ann.
1985 • Current post office is being built in village.
1987 • Hillbilly Heaven burns. In its heyday, it attracted famous country singers such as Willie Nelson and Dottie West.
1991 • First “Christmas in the Country” open house artisan tour is held in West Fort Ann.
1993 • Pilot Knob residents hold first “history night” to create a community history.
1999 • Fort Ann celebrates first “Heritage Days.”
2005 • Hadlock Pond Dam Breach causes massive flooding.
2007 • Fort Ann Historical Society publishes book Fort Ann: 300 Years of History.
2012 • Rockslide closes Route 4 north of Kelsey’s Pond.
Old Stone House Library is placed on State and National Historic registers.
2013 • Fort Anne Antiques building, formerly Moore’s Market, is demolished.
Waterfront park on the canal is completed.