Fort Ethan Allen was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

installation in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

, 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

figure

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

. Established as a

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

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 historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

straddling the town line between

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

and

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

. 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, 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 some variety ...

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

. 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 ...

(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) is a private Catholic college in Colchester, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1904 by the Society of Saint Edmund, it grants Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in more than 40 majors to abou ...

, parts of the post have been commercially developed, and part comprises Camp Johnson, the headquarters of the

Vermont National Guard The Vermont National Guard is composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and the Vermont Air National Guard. Together, they are collectively known as the Green Mountain Boys. Both units use the original Revolutionary War-era Flag of the Green Mo ...

. 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 regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

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 water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

, 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