Fort Ethan Allen was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

installation in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

, named for

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

figure

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and fo ...

. Established as a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

post in 1894 and closed in 1944, today it is the center of a designated national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...

straddling the town line between

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

and

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

. Locally, it is known simply as "The Fort", and now houses a Vermont National Guard installation a variety of businesses, academic institutions, and residential areas.

Description

The former grounds of Fort Ethan Allen stand on the north side of

Vermont Route 15 Vermont Route 15 (VT 15) is a east–west state highway in northern Vermont, United States. Its western terminus is at U.S. Route 2 (US 2) and US 7 in Winooski and its eastern terminus is at US 2 in Danville. It is known as the ...

, roughly divided in half between southeastern Colchester and southwestern Essex. The grounds are organized around a large elliptical

parade ground A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

located just north of the main road, with circulation in the former base complex provided by series of concentric roadways joined by shorter segments radiating away from the parade ground. The grounds are more than , and include a variety of former military buildings, in some places now including post-military construction. Fronting the parade ground along Dalton Drive are houses that originally served as officer housing, and the fort's main administration building. Barracks, former cavalry stables, and other types of service buildings line the roads further out from the parade ground. A cluster of buildings at the far eastern end of the property includes one that has been converted into a museum recounting the fort's history. Its original buildings were built in the then-popular Colonial Revival style, which was largely continued in later construction at the base. with

History

Fort Ethan Allen was authorized by Congress in 1892, which had decided that some measure of permanent defense should be established in the vicinity of the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: ...

. It was built on former farmland donated to the federal government, and its buildings were constructed using locally sourced materials. The fort was home to the

10th Cavalry Regiment The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments in the post–Civil War Regular Army. It served in combat during t ...

(from 1909 to 1913); 1st Battalion 77th Field Artillery Regiment; 1st Squadron, 3rd Cavalry (from 1919 to 1941); the 7th Field Artillery, less 2nd Battalion (from 1922 to 1940); the 3rd Battalion, 13th Infantry (from 1928 to 1931); the 2nd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery (from 1933 to 1940); as well as elements of 9th Quartermaster Regiment, and the 84th Quartermaster Battalion. When the 10th Cavalry departed Vermont in 1913, many of its members retired and remained in the area. As a result, many of their descendants still reside in Colchester, Winooski and Burlington. The post was deactivated by the Army in 1944. Part of it was used to enlarge the campus of

Saint Michael's College Saint Michael's College (St. Mikes or Saint Michael's) is a private Roman Catholic college in Colchester, Vermont. Saint Michael's was founded in 1904 by the Society of Saint Edmund. It grants Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees ...

, parts of the post have been commercially developed, and part comprises Camp Johnson, the headquarters of the Vermont National Guard. While there are some newer structures on the original post (notably college housing and Vermont PBS), the original buildings are put to good use. Various businesses occupy what used to be horse barns; barracks have been converted to apartments, and the "Officers Row" houses are

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

s. An abandoned theater and church are often used for firefighting practice. The former base hospital is a nursing home. Despite all the activity, it is a quiet neighborhood with many families. It includes an tall

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

, built in 1893 and the oldest structure of the fort. A campaign to raise money to renovate the tower so visitors may climb it is underway.The 12 coolest water storage tanks in New England
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References

External links

Historic Fort Ethan Allen
{{NRHP in Chittenden County, Vermont

Buildings and structures in Colchester, Vermont Buildings and structures in Essex, Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Chittenden County, Vermont

Historic districts in Chittenden County, Vermont Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont Water towers on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont 1894 establishments in Vermont

Description

History

See also

References

External links