It was a typical mid-September day at Lake George, New York. Much like a Georgia O’Keeffe painting, the surrounding hillsides were aglow in goldenrod, apricot, and crimson colors.
A few hours later on September 17, 1967, the evening skies over Fort William Henry were again awash in pastel hues. Bright flashes of yellow and orange lit up the head of the lake as the replica wooden fortification burned. It was the second time in 210 years that Fort William Henry had been deliberately put to the torch.
At around 10:30 pm, four-and-a-half hours after the fort closed its doors to tourists, two people reportedly started the fire. The unidentified pair fled on foot before making their final getaway in a convertible car. They left evidence of their crime, too, a pair of empty metal gas cans. The arsonists were never caught.
Historic Fort William Henry was built by the British in 1755 and was burned by the French and their Indigenous allies in August 1757 following a six-day siege. The story of this French & Indian War (1755–1763) military operation was later immortalized by James Fenimore Cooper’s 1826 novel, The Last of the Mohicans.
“We were lucky the whole fort didn’t go up in smoke,” said Bob Flacke, Sr., president of the Fort William Henry Corporation, during an interview over a decade ago.
Newspaper reports from 1967 noted that six fire companies battled the blaze, often fighting flames rising 30 to 50 feet above the fortress before the firefighters brought the conflagration under control. The inferno at the site was severe, too.
Although no one was hurt, the structures that were damaged or destroyed were the restaurant and gift shop, sections of the west wall of the fort, and more minor damage to the south wall. The devastation was estimated to be about $250,000, a huge sum of money in 1967.
Following the flame-and-smoke came the reality that the blaze might forever close the popular tourist attraction. Fortunately, Bob Flacke, Sr. and his management team began reconstruction shortly afterwards.
“One of the heroes of this tragic fire was Art Mannix,” said Bob Flacke, Sr. “Art directed the construction crew that labored under tough weather conditions to rebuild Fort William Henry. Incredibly, we opened on time for the 1968 season.”
Newspapers reported that about $300,000 was spent to resurrect the replica fortification. Approximately 15,000 square feet of repair construction was completed. Timber for the reconstruction came from the forests of Warren County and all the workers were said to be from the county, too.
So, next time your pass replica Fort William Henry, think not only of the bloody August 1757 warfare. Also contemplate the September 1967 fire. The flames nearly 58 years ago were battled by local firefighters, followed by intensive rebuilding of the complex by area workers.
Their collective efforts saved this longtime Lake George tourist attraction for future generations.
Read more about Fort William Henry.
A version of this article first appeared on the Lake George Mirror, America’s oldest resort paper, covering Lake George and its surrounding environs. You can subscribe to the Mirror HERE.
Photos of the fire’s aftermath courtesy the Fort William Henry Museum.
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