Template:Wp-Fort Ann (town), New York-History

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Colonial period

Fort Ann is located on the historic route linking the French and English colonies.

The area was the site of several forts built by various nations, from a small French fort called "The Pickets" near the southern end of Lake Champlain in 1689, in the northwestern area of the town, to a series of forts (including "Fort Schuyler" and "Queen's Fort") closer to where the village of Fort Ann stands today. The first of these was likely the Stone Fort, built by Englishman Fitz John Winthrop in 1692.

The English expedition led by Francis Nicholson built Fort Schuyler, approximately one-half mile south of the present village, in 1709. (The old Champlain Canal passed through a part of the site.) Nicholson burned the fort when he and his army left, but he returned in 1711 and built the Queen's Fort, later renamed Fort Anne (after Queen Anne of Great Britain), at the same site. It fell into ruins during the English colonial period.

Fort Anne was rebuilt in 1757 by the English, during the French and Indian War. The 1777 Battle of Fort Anne took place here during the Saratoga Campaign of the American Revolutionary War.

The early town

Part of the town was in the Artillery Patent of 1764, granted to 24 officers of the British army. Settlement of the town did not occur until 1775. The town was established as the "Town of Westfield" on March 23, 1786, and was renamed Fort Ann on April 6, 1808,^[1] after the battle. It is unknown why the spelling was changed.^[2] Parts of the original town were used to form the later town of Hartford (1793),^[1] Putnam (1806).^[1]

19th century

In 1820, the village of Fort Ann incorporated as a municipality within the town.

In 1823, the Champlain Canal was completed, linking the area to the outside world. Later the Delaware and Hudson Railway established a depot at Fort Ann village.