NoLL
Valcour Island is a jewel. Although part of the island was farmed once, it appears that much of it is virgin forest or at least mature forest. Valcour's micro climate resembles sub-arctic regions except that the trees are much bigger. I've blogged before about Valcour's wonders. Here's some recent pictures.
 |
| From Guys Sail |
 |
| From Guys Sail |
 |
| From Guys Sail |
 |
| From Guys Sail |
 |
| From Guys Sail |
 |
| From Guys Sail |
Posts
There are several theories re: the origin of the name of Valcour Island. The most prevailing one, however, is that the name derived from the French, "Valeur", which is the name of the Island as it appears on French maps of the early 1700's. The French had control of the Champlain Valley during this early period.
ReplyDeleteHurd's "History of Clinton and Franklin Counties", 1880 , claims that the Island was named after the French frigate that carried the news to France of the French victory at Fort Ticonderoga against the attacking British army under Abercromie, in July, 1758.
Exactly how and when the name/pronounciation/spelling became Valcour is not known. However, the maps of 1776 depicting the Island's greatest claim to history, General Benedict Arnold's Oct. 11, naval battle with his infant U.S. navy, against a superior British armada, all spell it VALCOUR.
It was not uncommon in those early years, for french names to undergo pronouncing and spelling changes as they were translated into english.
Much of the above research was conducted by Jim Bailey, City of Plattsburgh, N.Y. Historian, for a presentation he delivered to the Peru Lions Club in 1993.
Hope this helps and glad to hear you enjoyed Valcour Island. It is truly a "jewel". We are very proud and fortunate to have it in our midst.
Ron & Carol Allen
Town of Peru Historians