The forts at Crown Point were built to command the narrow in Lake Champlain between the peninsula of Crown Point on the west bank (New York State) and Chimney Point on the east bank (Vermont) *

To the north (downstream), the Lake is quite wide. The mountains in the background are the eastern edge of the Adirondacks. *

Upstream (to the south), the Lake is also wide until you reach Fort Ticonderoga (on the New York side) and Mount Independence (in Vermont), where the lake again narrows. *

However, between Crown Point and Chimney Point, the lake is VERY narrow. *

Immediately above and below the present bridge, the lake widens out very rapidly. *

Le fort St-Frédéric, built by the French during the Ancien Régime, was the first fort on the point. Its design is unique in North America. *

This massive stone tower featured artillery embrasures on all sides of all floors. *

Other buildings inside the perimeter were storehouses, magazines and barracks. *

The fort was destroyed during the building of the later English fort and all that remains are earthen ramparts, lower perimeter walls and building foundations. *