Old Stone Barracks: Difference between revisions

{{RefimproveMore citations needed|date=October 2008}}

The "'''Old Stone Barracks'''" is the last remaining structure of a proposed [[quadrangle (architecture)|quadrangle]] of early [[U.S. Army]] [[barracks]] built at [[Plattsburgh]], [[New York (state)|New York]] in 1838. Of the four main buildings initially planned for the Plattsburgh post, only two were ever constructed, an officer's barracks and an enlisted barracks which formed an "L" shape. The buildings were utilized by the Army for nearly a Centurycentury. The officer's quarters, in which Lt. [[Ulysses S. Grant]] once stayed, was torn down by the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the winter of 1963. The remaining building, the {{convert|200|ft|m|singadj=on}} long, two story "Old Stone Barracks," remained mostly empty after the early 1960s and was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1971. In December 2010 the Barracks and more than 7 acres of property was offered to a Canadian real estate developer for $35,000 with the intention of building an apartment complex on the historic site. At the time, the Barracks property was appraised at over $775,000 and the sale sparked public outcry for its preservation.<ref>Press Republican, Feb. 20th 2010, Local Historical Community Fights to Preserve Stone Barracks</ref> In 2014, the building was again sold to current owners Terry Schmaltz and Mary Theresa Pearl who redeveloped it as the home of the "Valcour Brewing Company." The new craft [[brewery]] is set to open earlyopened in 2016.<ref>Press Republican, Jan. 3, 2016, Valcour Brewing Co. taps into history</ref>

== BackgroundHistory ==

<blockquote>"I take the liberty of calling to your attention the deficiency of Quarters for the troops at this station. You are already informed that there is scarcely a vestige of the old barracks remaining and that in consequence I have directed the six old storehouses on the public ground to be repaired and fitted for temporary barracks ..."<ref>Old Stone Barracks Historic Structure Survey, United States Air Force, Department of Defence, 1994</ref></blockquote>

The innovative permanent Army post planned for Plattsburgh was initially to be four stone barracks structures positioned in a quadrangle around a {{convert|200|ft|m|singadj=on}} square parade ground and surrounded by a wooden [[palisade]] with a western facing gate. Construction began late in 1838 on a rise overlooking the lake about a mile outside of the village. The site selected for the post stood just to the south of the three remaining [[earthworks (engineering)|earthwork]] [[fortifications]] left over from the 1814 [[siege]], Fort Brown, Fort Moreau, and Fort Scott. These forts, which had been carefully laid out prior to the Battle, had been constructed under the direction of Major [[Joseph Totten]], an expert in military and tactical engineering of the period. Together with two smaller [[redoubt]]s which had been erected later, Fort Tompkins and Fort Gaines, the Plattsburgh fortifications formed a pentagon of interlocking [[cannon]] fire which could have protected the barracks from any hostile forces if the need arose.

By August, 1839, during the command of [[Benjamin Kendrick Pierce]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Seward |first=William H.|date=1839 |title=Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, Volume 6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=20sbAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA10&dq=%22b.+k.+pierce%22+plattsburgh&hlpg=en&sa=X&ei=jiUaVITRK8_GsQT544L4BQ&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22b.%20k.%20pierce%22%20plattsburgh&f=falseRA3-PA10 |publisher=E. Croswell |page=10 |accessdateaccess-date=September 17, 2014|display-authors=etal}}</ref> stonework had commenced and the exterior walls of both the officer's and enlisted men's barracks had been erected. The main barracks buildings were built of native [[limestone]] which was quarried nearby and transported to the site. The water filled [[quarry]] where the limestone was excavated is still visible today. After this initial burst of progress, however, the site experienced several periods of stagnant and halted construction due in part to [[bureaucratic]] [[red tape]] from Washington. After numerous letters and solicitations were written to the [[Secretary of War]] by concerned Plattsburgh citizens, the Assistant [[Quartermaster General]] of the Army, Captain R. E. Clary was dispatched to oversee the construction project in September, 1841. Under Clary's supervision by September of the following year, it was reported to the Quartermaster General that the exterior work of the "company quarters" had been completed with the exception of the stone steps, portico floors, stairs leading to the upper level, and adjustment of the columns. Although reports claimed the buildings were nearing completion, the companies at Plattsburgh were still quartered in the old temporary wooden barracks through the winter of 1842–43 as the appropriation made for completing the work had been nearly exhausted. It would be nearly another year before two of the four buildings were ultimately finished and could be occupied in October, 1843.

When finally completed, the enlisted men's barracks, which would later be called simply the "Old Stone Barracks," was finished with a very attractive and distinctive two story [[tuscan order|tuscan columned]] and corniced [[portico]] which runs the entire {{convert|200|ft|m|singadj=on}} length of the building and was covered with a [[skillion roof]]. Initially four external staircases along this portico allowed the only access to the second floor. One stairway for each of the four large second floor rooms which served as each Company's living quarters. The smaller and slightly more elaborate neighboring officer's barracks was also finished with a similar two story portico although on the opposite side of the structure facing Lake Champlain where officers could enjoy the panoramic view and breeze of Plattsburgh Bay. Future 18th [[President of the United States]] [[Ulysses S. Grant]] occupied quarters in the officer's barracks while stationed at Plattsburgh as a young Lieutenant sometime between his graduation from [[West Point]] in 1843 and prior to serving in the [[Mexican-AmericanMexican–American War|Mexican War]] in 1846.

"Plattsburg Barracks N.Y.

My health is still improving and in a short time I expect to return home to Fort Hamilton. In coming to this place I have passed some charming scenery. This place is on the Western bank of Lake Champlain. I should like very much to visit Montreal and Quebec before returning South, but want of time and money will prevent it. On my way here I saw the old Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point. And in front of this Garrison, was fought the great Naval action of the late war.}}

Your brother Thomas"<ref>Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson collection, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia</ref>}}

Various [[Infantry]] and [[Artillery]] units were stationed at Plattsburgh Barracks in spurts throughout the latter half of the 19th Centurycentury. Beginning in the early 1890s, a sprawling expansion program greatly enlarged the Army Post at Plattsburgh to the north with the construction of 3 much larger and more modern barracks, relegating the 1840 era structures to a much more secondary role. All of the old and long abandoned defensive fortifications still present, with the exception of Fort Brown, were leveled to form a mammoth {{convert|40|acre|m2|singadj=on}} parade ground known as the "U.S. Oval." In 1892 during the removal of Fort Moreau, which had been the central and largest of the three American forts during the Battle of Plattsburgh, numerous human remains, as many as 25 individuals, were unearthed which had been hurriedly buried either during or immediately following the siege. A similar situation occurred when Fort Scott was leveled, with some thirty or more skeletons being removed from that site as well. Cannon ballsCannonballs and other 1814 artifacts that were also recovered were purportedly sent by the Army to the [[Smithsonian Institution]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] All of the recovered skeletons were buried with full military honors in the nearby "old post cemetery" in a mass grave marked by a large monument dedicated to unknown dead of the War of 1812.

==Today21st century==

Today theThe only structures which remain of the original 1840 era Army post are the barracks, its adjacent brick powder magazine, and the nearby "old post cemetery.". The original post parade ground is also still present. These structures represent one of the last remaining examples of the first generation of permanent U.S. Army barracks in existence in the United States. In 2007, a section of paved road which ran beside the barracks and followed the route of the original dirt road into the post compound through the palisade gate was removed by the City of Plattsburgh.

The "Old Stone Barracks" itself changed little following the departure of the Air Force in 1995, remaining boarded up and closed to the public for another 20 years. The building was often the target of [[vandalism]] and frequent break-ins, due in part to the many ghost stories which circulated on the [[internet]] concerning the building and its purported (and false) use as a "[[field hospital]]" during the Battle of Plattsburgh (24 years before the Barracks was even built). [[High-intensity discharge lamp|floodlightsFloodlights]] were added to illuminate the front and rear of the barracks at night, decreasing the number of forced entries into the structure.

In 2007, a section of paved road which ran beside the barracks and followed the route of the original dirt road into the post compound through the palisade gate was removed by the City of Plattsburgh. In December 2010, Itit became public knowledge that the Old Stone Barracks and over 7 acres of surrounding property had been offered to Bernard Schneider, a Canadian real estate developer, for $35,000.<ref>Press Republican, Dec. 17th 2010, Sale of Old Stone Barracks Pending</ref> At the time, the property was appraised at over $775,000. News of the pending sale immediately sparked a public outcry and spurred a Facebook campaign entitled "Save the Old Stone Barracks." Details of the proposed development included the construction of a large apartment complex on the historic property. Bowing to public pressure and involvement by the New York State Office of Historic Preservation, the project stalled and the Barracks was again offered for sale.

* Link to the "Valcour Brewing Company" Website, current owners of the Old Stone Barracks [http://www.valcourbreweryvalcourbrewingcompany.com/]

[[Category:FortsFormer ininstallations Newof Yorkthe United States Army]]

[[Category:ClosedForts installationson the National Register of theHistoric Places in UnitedNew StatesYork Army(state)]]