It's Monumental

     "Tell me a story, Mommy".

     Most of us have voiced those words, although for some (like me) it was many years ago. 

     But, "Tell me a story, Mr. Rock"? That's probably less commonly heard, yet that's what I found myself saying just the other day. I was standing alongside busy Rt. 4, looking at a chunk of granite and, while this may surprise you, the rock obliged with a tale of hardship and heroism from the early days of the Revolutionary War.

     Of course, the rock didn't actually speak words. But a bronze plaque affixed to it did tell of the arduous winter journey of General Henry Knox as he and his men hauled sixty tons of captured cannons by ox team some 300 miles from Crown Point to Boston allowing General George Washington to end the British siege of the city.

     The 'Knox Rock' is located at the turn-off to Fort Miller and, as I was soon to discover, it is just one of dozens between here and Hudson Falls. That's a lot of stones and a lot of stories. Such monuments are meant to commemorate a person, a place or an event. Cemeteries are, of course, the most familiar expression of our desire to memorialize. Every headstone bears witness to a precious life and walking amongst them can be a moving experience.

State Street Cemetery in Fort Edward

     Then there are the blue post and plaque signs with yellow lettering that offer an historical tidbit about the spot where they're placed. But there's something about a hefty chunk of rock standing by itself. A gravitas that says, "Stop. Read my words. Remember this."

     I know. We're all in a hurry. Places to go, schedules to keep. I've driven by these markers hundreds of times paying no heed. Until one day I did. Stopped, took notice. I was surprised at how many there were and I probably missed a few as well. I snapped a few photos and took brief notes at each. I hope they're of interest but my real desire is to open your eyes to the monuments of wherever you are. Something happened here. Someone took the time and effort to place a landmark. All that is asked of us is to stop, read and remember.

     Let's begin our tour a little south of Fort Edward where this marble stone marks the first burial site of Jane McCrea along with a soldier named Tobias Van Vechten.

     Entering the Village of Fort Edward you'll see this plaque with historical information about the Old Fort House, seen in the background.

       This one takes some searching. It's located at the end of Old Fort Street between Rt. 4 and the Hudson River, literally in someone's backyard. There's a bench here if finding the site of the fort tires you out.

 

     You could easily spend a day exploring Fort Edward's Rogers Island. There is a museum to visit and grounds to walk where you'll see a number of monuments pictured in the photos below.

     Two stones at the entrance to Underwood Park in the center of Fort Edward Village.

       

     Jane McCrea again. She's a really big deal in Fort Edward history. This marker is to the right of the school on a bank between spruce trees. Just a short distance up the street is another Knox Trail monument.

     

    

       Union Cemetery is across Rt. 4 from the Washington County office complex, midway between Fort Edward and Hudson Falls. Just inside the entrance you'll see three stones in a wrought iron enclosure. They mark the graves of Duncan Campbell,  Sarah McNeil and the (final?) resting place of Jane McCrea.

     Juckett Park is the handsome village green in the center of Hudson Falls. It's home to a number of monuments that recall everything from an early massacre to a recent tragedy.

      Finally, in front of the Hudson Falls Village offices and library is another of the Knox Trail series along with stones remembering two famous sons, a diplomat and a poet. 

     It's only fitting that the poet William Bronk have the last words:

What Foot

We are shoes it wears for the time and then discards.

Nothing wears them again. Memorials,

they show for awhile what foot and where it walked.