Valcour Island Heritage Trail

The history of Valcour Island reflects the history of Lake Champlain. First documented by Samuel de Champlain in 1609, the island was part of New France until 1763. The French named it Isle de Valcours, or Island of Pines. One of the most important naval battles of the American Revolution raged on the waters between the island and the mainland. In 1776, Benedict Arnold led a flotilla of American gunboats that stopped a British invasion fleet from dividing New England from the other newly created states.

Valcour Island was witness to the War of 1812 Battle of Plattsburgh on September 11, 1814, but remained a quiet place for most of the 19th century. Records indicate that the island was parceled into three sections by 1849 and used for grazing and cultivation. By 1870, Orren Shipman of Colchester, Vermont, had purchased the titles of two parcels. He sold a portion of Bluff Point, on the western side of the island to the federal government for a lighthouse, which was constructed in 1874.  That year, Shipman also sold property to the Dawn Valcour Agricultural and Horticultural Association, a utopian community that failed.

Lake Champlain’s cool breezes made Valcour a popular place for escaping the heat of the cities in the early 20th century. Camp Penn, a summer camp for boys, operated on the island from 1906 to 1918. By the 1920s, cottages and cabins ringed the island. For the next few generations, dozens of families vacationed here.

The State of New York began buying camp properties on Valcour in the early 1960s with the intent of establishing a park. Early plans included public beaches, marinas, picnic areas, an 18-hole golf course and a giant movie screen for boaters to watch conservation films. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) owned the 1,100-acre island entirely in 1980 and local activists worked to get it included within the Adirondack Park “blue line,” which prevented the proposed park developments.

Of the numerous buildings that existed on the Valcour Island, only the lighthouse and the Seton House remain. This guide will help you visit the locations of those long-gone structures and envision what life on the island was like. The NYSDEC maintains trails and campsites along the perimeter of the island, so the hiking is relatively easy.