We hope many of you consider attending this event, and taking place in the celebration.

The Lois McClure Comes Home to Isle La Motte

A two day Samuel de Champlain Quadricentennial Celebration will take place  on Isle La Motte on Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27.  The Isle La Motte Historical Society is sponsoring a visit by the famous Lois McClure, flagship of the Quadricentennial. The schooner will visit towns around the lake throughout 2009 as part of a “Discover 1609 Tour”.  A special spotlight is focused on Isle La Motte which was the first landing place for Champlain as he entered the lake which now bears his name. The schooner will be open for tours from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm on both days.  There is no charge.  Parking will be in the field behind Fisk Farm.  The eighty eight foot Lois McClure will dock at the location of the old Fisk Wharf, currently a summer residence owned by Steve and Trish Zonies who are generously making their property accessible for this event.

On Saturday the 27th at 11:00am  the Isle La Motte Community Organization will sponsor the Isle La Motte Flotilla.  Boats from around the area are invited to gather at St. Anne’s Shrine to circumnavigate the island and provide a ceremonial welcome to the Lois McClure docked at the Fisk Wharf.  Boat rides for Isle La Motte residents are available on a first come first served basis as space is limited.   The event will conclude with a barbeque for purchase at St. Anne’s Shrine.

Ancillary celebration events near the Fisk Wharf will include an exhibit of maritime art by Ernest Haas and Bill Walsh in the Fisk Farm Horse & Carriage Barn and Carriage Rides by Island Carriage Farm. On Saturday afternoon free ice cream will be donated by Ben and Jerry’s between 1:00 and 4:00 and a wine tasting will be hosted by East Shore Vineyard between 12:00 and 5:00.  Music by folk musicians will be performed at various times throughout the two days.  Refreshments by the South End Cafe will be available for purchase at the site.

The Lois McClure is a replica of the General Butler, a sailing canal boat which was built in 1862 in Essex, New York.  The schooner-rigged Butler is an example of a Lake Champlain sailing canal boat designed to sail on the lake and, with masts removed and centerboard raised, travel though the Champlain Canal.

On her last voyage she was under the command of her third owner, Captain William Montgomery of Isle La Motte who shipped, among other things, stone quarried out of Fisk Quarry from the Fisk Wharf. (Captain Montgomery’s home still stands on the Main Street of Isle La Motte.)

On December 9, 1876 while sailing from Isle La Motte to Burlington bay with a load of  Isle La Motte “marble”, a powerful winter gale struck and upon approaching Burlington, the Butler’s steering mechanism broke. The captain jury-rigged a tiller bar to the steering post and attempted to maneuver his craft around the breakwater. The attempt was unsuccessful and the schooner crashed headlong into the breakwater. The force of the water was so great that the vessel was repeatedly lifted on top of the ice-covered stones. One by one each of the ship’s company made the perilous jump onto the breakwater. The captain was the last to leave the ship which immediately sank.

Having narrowly escaped death by drowning, the Butler’s survivors now risked freezing to death on the breakwater. All s would have perished had it not been for the heroic conduct of Burlington ship chandler James Wakefield and his son, who rowed out in a 14′  boat and took all five to safety. The Butler was declared a total loss and now rests at the bottom of 40 feet of water as a designated site of the Lake Champlain Underwater Historic Preserve established by the states of Vermont and New York.

The Quadricentennial Event on Isle La Motte in 2009 brings to mind the Tercentary Celebration held  on July 9, 1909.  Extensive preparations had been made by Isle La Motte residents and several thousand spectators arrived to participate in the gala event.  Two troops of the 15th U.S. Cavalry and the 1st Vermont Infantry shared in the exercises and torpedo boats were anchored off shore.  Accompanied by 168 Iroquois Indian descendants, an impressive Indian pagent was presented.  Vermont Governor George H. Prouty and New York Governor Charles E. Hughes, both with numerous guests, attended the Isle La Motte celebration.  The St. Albans Choral Union of three hundred voices also attended and entertained.  On this day also, occurred the dedication of the boulder monument and bronze tablet to the memory of Col. Seth Warner and Captain Remember Baker. This monument still stands at the north end of the island, reminding all of Isle La Motte’s distinguished place in American history.

Support for Isle La Motte’s 2009 Quadricentennial Event and its sponsor, the Isle La Motte Historical Society, has been generously provided by Ben and Jerry’s,  the Isle La Motte Country Store, Ruthcliffe Lodge and Restaurant, St. Anne’s Shrine, South End Cafe,  the Turner Farmhouse, Fisk Farm, the Isle La Motte Community Organization and  the Isle La Motte Preservation Trust.  Special thanks are due to Trish and Steve Zonies.