OGDENSBURG â The cityâs Fort de la Presentation will undergo several renovations soon, including the cityâs own archeological park.
The Fort de la Presentation Association, which owns 25 acres of property at Van Rensselaer Point, recently acquired the Thomas Duffy property on Van Rensselaer, bringing the total amount of property to 27 acres.
âThe property we bought has the remains of the actual fort on it,â Fort Association President Barbara OâKeefe said. âUnderneath it, archeologists have found at least the bastion of the fort and a lot of 18th century artifacts from the French and British period and the War of 1812, the American period.â
Thursday, April 1, 2021 - 6:09 pm
OGDENSBURG The Fort La Presentation Association of Ogdensburg has acquired the Thomas Duffy property on Van Rensselaer Point which includes the actual site of the fort, Association President Barbara O’Keefe has announced.
Fort de La Présentation was a French colonial mission and fortification established in 1749 by Abbé François Picquet, a Sulpician missionary. The Fort is St. Lawrence County’s oldest European settlement and the site was occupied by First Nations peoples and later controlled by Great Britain.
The Association’s purchase of the Duffy property is significant according to Mrs. O’Keefe. “The Fort La Présentation Association’s mission to help preserve, research and interpret the rich history of the City of Ogdensburg and St. Lawrence River Valley,” she said. “Archeological excavations undertaken on the site by the New York State Museum uncovered the ruins of the fortification and numerous artif