Glen Falls Armory

Sometimes, city dwellers just need a break from the chaos of urban life in order to relax. Luckily, the state of New York is a vast, expansive region with tons of history and many places to visit. One of upstate’s most beautiful and most popular areas is Lake George.

Lake George is located approximately three-and-a-half hours north of New York City, stretching north through the Adirondack State Park. The lake and surrounding region played important roles in many of the earliest wars that took place on our nation’s soil, including The American Revolution and The French and Indian War.

With such an extensive history, the region expectantly has many abandoned buildings — even despite having a great track record for historic preservation and restoration.

Here are nine of the abandoned buildings in the region that haven’t yet been preserved:

1. Fort Crown Point

Fort Crowne Point

Just above the very most northern tip of Lake George, on Lake Champlain, sit the remnants of Fort Crown Point. While the remains of the fort are technically abandoned, it is considered a historic site and is being preserved.

The area of Crown Point was long fought over even before The American Revolution. The French and British both disputed over the Champlain Valley, including the peninsula of Crown Point. The British began the construction of Fort Crown Point in 1759, after the capture of nearby Fort Carillon (the precursor to Fort Ticonderoga). Following their defeat in The American Revolution, The British abandoned the fort in 1777, after a brief two years where it was controlled by American colonists.

The only remaining structures from the original fort are the stone ruins of the fort’s two barracks, which are being preserved. A museum was constructed on the site to educate school groups and visitors. In addition, the site was deemed a National Historic Landmark in 1968.