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Lake Champlain Transportation Company – Rosslyn Redux

Tag: Lake Champlain Transportation Company

Essex Horse Nail Company in Essex, New York

Welcome to my gallery of Essex Horse Nail Company artifacts. I’m intrigued by artifacts that offer a window into bygone Essex heritage and buildings such at the Essex Horse Nail Company which once stood proud and productive on the site of present day Beggs Park.

During the endless process of rehabilitating Rosslyn, I have assembled a vast treasure trove (“treasure” in my odd opinion, at least!) of Rosslyn artifacts and miscellaneous relics related to Essex, Lake Champlain, and the Adirondacks.

While resuscitating Rosslyn, we have discovered lots of local artifacts, relics, memorabilia and esoterica. And — a bit like archeologists poking through ancient midden heaps — we have deciphered and guessed the relevance and context of rotting lineament bottles, wallpaper shards, yellowing postcards, etc. Our burgeoning collection of Rosslyn artifacts, Essex artifacts, Lake Champlain artifacts, and Adirondack artifacts comprises a veritable “digital museum” of curated collectibles all directly or indirectly related to the historic William Daniel Ross home in Essex, New York. (Rosslyn Redux)

Many of the Essex Horse Nail Company artifacts in this gallery have been showcased at Essex on Lake Champlain, the community blog for Essex, New York. I’m perennially on the lookout for local artifacts that help fill a visual and informational void, so if you are aware of additional Essex Horse Nail Company artifacts that I’m missing, please let me know. Thanks.

Essex Horse Nail Company Gallery

Essex Horse Nail Company in Essex, New York

The Essex Horse Nail Company was located on Beggs Point… It manufactured nails for horse shoes… for almost two decades until the factory was destroyed in a fire in 1918.

“Later 19th century industry on Beggs Point included Essex’s only factory building, first occupied by the Essex Manufacturing Company to 1877, then by Lyon and Palmer blind and sash manufactory until 1879, followed by the Essex Horse Nail Company Limited from 1880 to 1918, which in 1885 employed 60 or 70 hands.” (Essex on Lake Champlain by David C. Hislop, pg. 55)

As the factory was only in operation from 1880 to 1918 that dates that photo to some point in or between those years. After the fire the area was barren, and in the 1920s the area was landscaped into Beggs Park which remains public green space today. (Source: Vintage Photo: Essex Horse Nail Factory | Essex on Lake Champlain)

Essex Horse Nail Factory in Essex, New York

Essex Horse Nail Factory… burned in a fire that destroyed the factory in 1918 (which date the photo to that year or prior). After it was gone the area was turned into Beggs Park which remains today. Learn more about its history here. (Source: Vintage Photo: Horse Nail Factory | Essex on Lake Champlain)

Essex Horse Nail Company Factory in Essex, New York

Robert Hammerslag: ECHO and/or the ECHS did an oral history project back in the 70s. It was headed up by Betsy Tisdale. One of the tapes was a recollection of the fire. I am sure the tapes must be available. I can see the Fire Dept, Ross Store, Community Church and maybe the Noble Clemons House at the upper left.

Todd Goff: Bob, a quick search shows c. 1973 tapes of, “Rev. Stephen F. Bayne of Essex, N.Y. talks about the horseshoe nail factory fire in Essex in 1918.” are in Potsdam Library and Blue Mtn Lake. I will look up at HSX. for them too. Thanks for the heads up. It would be good to digitize them.

Robert Hammerslag: Yes, unless it has already been done, it would be good to digitize those old cassette tapes while it’s still possible. They could be forty years old!

David Hislop: The Essex Heritage Center featuring the Essex Town Historian Office which…has had this audio tape of the Reverend and visuals playing on a feature loop. Stop by to see it and learn more! (Source: Vintage Postcard: View from Steamer of Essex, NY | Essex on Lake Champlain)

Essex Horse Nail Company Factory in Essex, New York

Another postcard was submitting to us by Todd Goff after he saw us share the above postcard. Thank you very much for adding to our digital collection!His postcard reads, “Steamboat landing of the Lake Champlain Transportation Co., at Essex on Lake Champlain, N.Y.” This postcard shows us an alternate view of the same scene. The photo is looking north up the lake and we can see the side of the Horse Nail Factory in the center of the image along with other facets of this section of the Essex waterfront at this time. (Source: Vintage Postcard: View from Steamer of Essex, NY | Essex on Lake Champlain)

Essex Horse Nail Company Factory in Essex, New York, circa 1909.

According to the back of the postcard the photo was originally published by “J.S. Wooley, Ballston Spa, NY.” In the center of the photo we can see the old horse nail factory that burned down in 1918. Take a look at other postcards featuring this factory for a better look and to learn more. This building being present here tells us the photo was taken before 1918. As “25.8.09” is written on the face of this postcard we can assume that this may have been the date (August 25, 1909) the postcard was created or possibly the date it was sent… (Source: Vintage Postcard: Essex from Lake Champlain (1909) | Essex on Lake Champlain)

Essex Horse Nail Company/Factory located where Beggs Park is today.

Dianne Lansing: That’s the Horseshoe nail factory on the right…one of several in the photo that are no longer there…

Katie Shepard: This Essex lakefront view does have the old Horse Nail Factory to the right, which burned in 1918 and the location is Beggs Park today… The postage mark is a little hard to make out but I believe it matches the date written out, which reads: “9/22/09.” […] The back of the postcard also tells us that the publisher is “W.H. Cruikshank” in Essex, NY. The name has appeared as the publisher on several of the old postcards that we’ve shared on the blog. (Source: Vintage Postcard: Essex Lakefront Scene | Essex on Lake Champlain)

Essex Horse Nail Company Factory (Source: Susie Drinkwine via Essex on Lake Champlain)

The church steeple in the center is the Essex Baptist Church and to the far right the tall object (tower? pipe?) is part of the Essex Horse Nail Company‘s factory. Both are now absent from the town due to fire which destroyed the church in 1943 and the factory in 1918, which dates the photo pre-1918. (Source: Vintage Photo: Essex Waterfront with Nail Factory | Essex on Lake Champlain)

Essex Horse Nail Co. Factory in Essex, NY

This week we’re happy to share this black and white photo dated to about c. 1900-1910… I believe I see the part of the old Horse Nail Factory on the far right of the photo. Do you agree? (Source: Vintage Photo: Essex Waterfront | Essex on Lake Champlain)

Rosslyn bathhouse, boathouse, and the steam yacht, Kestrel, are center foreground, the Old Dock is center background with Essex Horse Nail Co. Factory at far left. (Source: Shirley LaForest via Essex on Lake Champlain)

Although Rosslyn’s bathhouse, boathouse (and the Kaiser family’s steam yacht, Kestrel) occupy the center foreground, the Essex Horse Nail Co. Factory’s smoke stack is just visible at the far left of the Old Dock (center background).

Horse Nails and Crate from Essex Horse Nail Company / Factory (Source: Dianne Lansing via Essex on Lake Champlain)

This photograph popped up in my Facebook feed about a week ago, posted by my neighbor Dianne Lansing with the following description.

“A special gift from a very dear friend. It’s an original box of horseshoe nails made at the Essex Horseshoe Nail Factory which was located at what is now Beggs Park.” ~ Source: Diane Lansing, Facebook, March 14 at 9:16pm

Situated on a commanding promontory overlooking Lake Champlain, the Essex Horse Nail Company occupied the site of several earlier industries. The Essex Horseshoe Nail Factory burned long ago, so it’s veiled in a bit of mystery. (Source: Essex Horse Nails | Essex on Lake Champlain)

Envelope from Essex Horse Nail Co., Limited in Essex, New York, circa 1898.

I spied this intriguing artifact in an eBay auction. It’s a canceled envelope for a letter, invoice, something… sent from the Essex Horse Nail Co., Limited in Essex, New York on August 16, 1898 (year cited in eBay auction, though I’m unable to verify) to Mr. D. J. Payne in Wadhams Mills, New York. (Source: Essex Horse Nail Company and Wadhams Mills » Rosslyn Redux)

My “doodlebomb” of the Essex Horse Nail Company including the enterprise’s logo (top center).

While researching and illustrating the Essex, New York Architecture: A Doodler’s Field Guide I “doodlebombed”several vintage images of Essex landmarks including the Essex Horse Nail Co. Not much of an artifact? Sorry!

July 7, 2016
Essex Steamboat Landing

Essex Steamboat landing of the Lake Champlain Transportation Co. (Source: Todd Goff)

I’m not particularly articulate when it comes to explaining my fascination with bygone days in Essex. I haven’t any long term connection to the community prior to 2005 aside from a few family friends, etc. The community has been familiar to me since the mid/late 1970s, but I’m especially keen on earlier days. Pre-industrial days. Industrial Essex. Even early revitalization in the 1940s through the 1960s.

The historic image above predates my connection to Essex by about a century, I’d guess. (According to late Essex historian, Shirley LaForest, the Essex Horse Nail Company burned to the ground in 1918.) Looking north from an area approximately offshore of the Essex marinas, this early color retouched photograph captures the Essex Horse Nail Factory located on the site of present day Begg’s Park. And, according to the description on the reverse (and included in the caption above), the pier (and red-roofed dock house?) near middle right is apparently the former landing of the Essex steamboat landing. I was aware that at some point the local steamboat landing was on the eastern end of the broad pier south of the current ferry dock (and current location of the Old Dock Restaurant.)

I received this evocative artifact from Essex neighbor, Todd Goff, back on May 22, 2013, but it slipped off my radar only to resurface eight and a half years later while reexamining historic Essex waterfront images from our collection. Then as now it engrossed me, awakened my wonder about the many chapters of living and working in this fair village long, long before I came to know her. Well before Essex became the quaint, architecturally esteemed hamlet many of us hold dear, she was an industrial waterfront commercial and transportation hub. Hard to imagine? Perhaps, but if you look into these old images, and if you invite your imagination to wander, invite your creativity to wonder, these days just might come to life for you. They do for me.

And that’s only allowing for a relatively short backward glance. So much lies further back.

At the time of first European contact ca. 1530, the area on the western shores of Lake Champlain were inhabited by Mohawk people of the Iroquois confederacy, with substantial Abenaki (Algonquian) contact.

Essex was part of a land grant made to Louis Joseph Robart by King Louis XV of France. The land grant was lost after the British took over the region after 1763.

The region was first settled around 1765 with the intention of forming a baronial estate like those of the lower Hudson River for landowner and investor, William Gilliland.

The town was formed from a part of the town of Willsboro in 1805. It was an important shipbuilding location and port, but that economy collapsed after 1849 with the beginning of railroad lines in the region. (Source: Wikipedia.org)

Consider these brief brush strokes from Wikipedia a sketch offered by the collective wisdom of others. The scope of my wonder is far reaching but my own knowledge is more circumscribed, so I’ll lean on the learned histories of others to help fill in the background for this winsome vintage postcard.

October 21, 2022
Essex Ferry to Vermont

Essex Ferry to Vermont (Photo: Ray and Linda Faville)

Great photograph! That “Essex Ferry to Vermont” sign is posted at the entrance to the Essex-Charlotte ferry dock located two houses and one library south of Rosslyn. That’s our boathouse in the center of the image.

I came across this charming Essex image on the Essex Shipyard’s website, so it was most likely photographed by Linda or Ray Faville who run the marina and restaurant. We’ve enjoyed many memorable (and tasty!) evenings at Chez Lin & Rays over the last couple of summers, and Errant – my Catalina 310 – is in the marina’s “home fleet”.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Faville’s welcoming waterside establishment, here’s a better introduction.

Essex Shipyard was recently renovated to provide boaters with safe, modern and convenient services. The bulkheads and harbor walls were raised and rebuilt after the historic floods in 2011. New floating docks, electric & water services have been installed. Boaters staying at the Essex Shipyard for the season or for a day or two, enjoy calm water (no matter how rough the Lake gets), comfortable slips, modern amenities and spectacular views of the Green Mountains, Adirondacks and Lake Champlain. (Essex Shipyard)

Essex Ferry to Vermont

For a great many travelers passing through town that sign just about sums up Essex, New York. Ever since the early 1800s Essex has been vital as a gateway to Lake Champlain. Long ago it was an important port for shipbuilding, and later for the North-South transport of raw materials and merchants’ goods. Nowadays the ferry East-West across the lake is the vital link that draws many visitor to our otherwise quiet streets.

[pullquote]Ever since the early 1800s Essex has been vital as a gateway to Lake Champlain.[/pullquote]It’s a common refrain among residents. “I discovered Essex when I was taking the ferry.” While it’s not our personal connection to the area, there is something appealing to me about passers-through becoming enchanted with the historic architecture, the gentle rhythms, the magnificent outdoor recreation opportunities, the views. Often while traveling the globe my bride and I muse about what it would be like to settle a while in one beguiling spot or another. We recently returned from a pair of weeks in France and Sicily. There were many such moments. Daydreams. “What if?” scenarios teased out verbally, half serious, imagining, wondering…

The Essex Ferry to Vermont delivers a steady stream of curious drivers. They stop and wander, snap photographs, shop or eat a meal. Sometimes they wonder what it would be like to live here. A few return to find out.

November 17, 2014
Rosslyn Boathouse: Friends, Flooding and Photos

Stephen Phillips’ field sketch and notes of Rosslyn shoreline and road condition on Friday, May 27, 2011

This afternoon Essex neighbor Stephen Phillips stopped by to help assess the damage to Rosslyn boathouse caused by week after week after week of flooding. Having run a large contracting company for many years, his perspective is valuable and his offer of assistance welcome. In the photo below he’s sitting on the stairway down to Rosslyn boathouse with my bride, waiting for me to don waders and trudge out to the partially submerged boathouse.

Rosslyn Boathouse Flood Update

Susan Bacot-Davis and Stephen Phillips, Rosslyn boathouse stairway

He spent the better part of an hour examining the structure, asking questions and advising us on how to proceed. We took plenty of notes! The good news is that the structure remains sound, and damage so far has been minimal. Unfortunately we identified increasing surface mold, especially prevalent on fir bead board that must have received less oil sealer than neighboring planks. Most boards are okay, but several are covered in green, gray and black fuzzy mold!

Beneath the water level inside and outside, everything is covered in slippery, green algae. We hope that this will be easy enough to remove with a pressure washer once the water retreats. At the very least we’ll need to re-seal and repaint all of the surfaces that have been saturated for the better part of two months. And until the water level falls another 18″ or so, we’ll need to continue monitoring the waterfront from large debris, trees, etc. Constant vigilance and quick log wrangling has saved the structure significant damage so far, but Steve was quick to remind us that even one of the large trees afloat in Lake Champlain combined with wind and wave action could devastate the boathouse. As if we needed the reminder!

George Davis in Rosslyn boathouse on May 16, 2011. (photo credit Kathryn Cramer)

On the bright side, he explained in impressive detail what is happening with the collapsing road. Have I mentioned this previously? Perhaps only on the Rosslyn Redux Facebook Page… That image at the top of this post is a sketch and notes he prepared last Friday when he came by to speak with the New York State DOT engineers who were preparing to stabilize the badly eroding bank. Actually, it turned out that the erosion was far more severe than he could ascertain, completely eliminating most of the embankment and undermining the road. The pavement began to crack in deep fissures running parallel to the lake as the weight of the road cause it to settle and slough.

The remedy involved 250 tons – approximately ten tandem dump truck loads – of riprap dumped over the side of the road to arrest further erosion and stabilize the road. I’ll share some video footage soon which reveals the current status of the waterfront and road including the riprap “armor”. The DOT is continuing to monitor the road to determine whether or not additional stabilization will be necessary.

In the event that the road continues to settle, the next step will be to install a steel sheet pile retaining wall. Steve’s explanation for why this would be advantageous was convincing, but we are hoping against hope that it will not be necessary to mar this historic waterfront with a steel retaining wall.

Steve offered to assist us in deciphering the potentially complex decisions ahead, and suggested that we should consider this an opportunity to permanently address the long term stability and safety of the waterfront. I appreciate his optimistic perspective, and my bride and I have sent out cosmic “Thank you!” vibes all afternoon.

Thanks to Rosslyn Boathouse’s Friends!

[pullquote]You might not even notice that the boathouse is flooded. A trick of the eye, but soon, I hope, the floorboards will be visible once again. [/pullquote]

Thanks also are due another friend and Champlain Valley writer/editor/blogger, Kathryn Cramer (@KathrynC), who has been doing an outstanding job of documenting Lake Champlain’s aquatic antics over the last couple of months. Full stop. Kathryn Cramer has done an outstanding job of documenting Lake Champlain for the last couple of years! That goofy picture of yours truly standing inside the boathouse in the earlier days of the flood was taken during her first visit to our soggy waterfront. She’s been back at least once, and even helped pull some driftwood up from the lake.

Kathryn’s support and understanding in recent weeks has been a big morale booster, and he exhaustive coverage of the 2011 Lake Champlain floods is simply unparalleled. I hope she’ll curate her many photos into an exhibition once we’ve all recovered from the damage. It would make for a fascinating chronicle!

Rosslyn boathouse transcending Lake Champlain floodwaters. (photo credit Jill Piper)

Although most photographs of Lake Champlain flooding in general and of Rosslyn‘s flooded waterfront in particular emphasize the dire and depressing, a spectacular counterpoint was recently shared by Jill Piper, the creative eye and lens behind www.pickapiperpic.com. Her photograph of our boathouse wading up to her knees in Lake Champlain was published on Facebook with the following caption:

…and the sun sets on another day under… fingers and toes crossed for a hot sunny week!!!

Ah, yes, another day under water, but optimism flowed easily after viewing her handsome image. In fact, unless you look closely at the lower left border (or recognize the submerged Old Dock Restaurant, visible in the distance), you might not even notice that the boathouse is flooded. A trick of the eye, but soon, I hope, the floorboards will be visible once again. And then we can set to work with pressure washer and paint brushes to restore her to her former glory. Thank you, Jill, for reminding us to smile, and for reminding us that being underwater (or not) is just a matter of cropping!

Did I mention that Steve Phillips told us all of the electrical system, outlets, fixtures, etc. would need to be opened up and inspected? Sigh…

June 1, 2011
Essex-Charlotte Ferry Flooded Out

Essex-Charlotte Ferry closes due to flooding

At 8:13 AM I received an email and text message from Lake Champlain Transportation notifying me (and all other ferry-watchers) of the inevitable.

4/28/11 – Effective IMMEDIATELY – Charlotte, VT – Essex, NY ferry crossing closed due to record high water until further notice…

I can’t say that I was surprised. After all, I took the ferry from Essex to Charlotte yesterday morning and returned from Charlotte to Essex about 6 hours later. Although the weather yesterday was spectacular, the water had risen a few inches in the time between my two ferry crossings. I commented to my bride last night that the ferry wouldn’t be running for long.

Lake Champlain Transportation’s Heather Stewarts says the ferry between Essex, New York and Charlotte, Vermont shut down because of high water: “The Essex dock is awash, so water is on top of the dock, so it is unsafe for vehicles to drive on and off the dock.” (VPR News)

Of course, if the ferry dock is under water, then Rosslyn boathouse isn’t far behind! As of mid-morning today, the water had risen about 6″ above the floor boards. I’ll be posting some photographs soon. Of course our fingers are crossed that the flood has crested, but a glimpse at the weather forecast — plus factoring in how high the rivers are running — and the odds are that we’re going to see Lake Champlain‘s water level rise further.

Andy Nash of the National Weather Service says the lake has already passed 102 feet above sea level in Burlington. “That is a record for the Burlington Waterfront, and even the measurements up at Rouses Point are up at about 102 feet. The all time record that we have for 1869 is just 102.1 feet up at Rouses Point.” Continued rainfall and snowmelt will push the lake even higher. Nash expects the waters to rise as runoff makes its way to the lake over the next couple of days. “We’re getting into uncharted territory now with the lake being this high, and if we get some strong winds, and we get the wave action on top of that will make things worse, so any property, roads that are close to the lake, they’re at risk.” And it takes a long time for water to move out of Lake Champlain. So Nash expects the lake to will stay above flood stage for several weeks. (VPR News)

The good news? So far the winds have remained low, minimizing boathouse damage from large logs and other flotsam surging against the dock, railings and walls.

April 28, 2011