The Importance of Human History vs. Wilderness

Forts in the Adirondacks are a huge draw for tourists who value American history, and the sites are well preserved and well managed by the state of New York. It seems to me that we are more moved to preserve historical sites than we are to preserve natural land.

Fort Ticonderoga was last used for a battle in 1777 (during the Revolutionary War) and in 1785, the site was given to the state of New York. (I’m assuming it was given to the state from the federal government, which didn’t exist before the end of the war anyway, so the idea of ownership before 1785 is a little hazy.) In 1803 the site was jointly owned by two colleges, Union and Columbia, and in 1820 it was bought by a wealthy private owner, William Pell. He built a hotel on the site in 1839 and attracted many vacationers until 1900. Fort Ticonderoga was restored by the Pell family and officially became a museum in 1909.

During the 1800s, when people were visiting the location of the fort where many famous battles occurred, private companies were logging all of the largest and oldest trees out of the Adirondacks and railroads were accidentally starting destructive forest fires. People were vacationing in the Adirondacks to escape the industrialized cities and they were visiting the fort to connect with the country’s history; however, loggers were exploiting the natural resources of the park for profit. The juxtaposition of the ease of preserving human history with the struggle to preserve natural resources is frightening.

Today, the forts in the Adirondacks are well preserved and the museums are well-run; they attract tourists and history buffs from all over who might not be interested in the ecotourism offered by the Adirondacks.

http://www.fortticonderoga.org/history-and-collections/timeline