
Historic 109-Year-Old Ferry in the Adirondacks Is No More
A piece of Adirondack history has been scrapped forever.
The 109-year-old double decker ferry known as The Adirondack, which for years provided service between Port Kent, New York to Burlington, Vermont, was recently dismantled and will be sold for scrap. Excavators disassembled the wooden superstructure over the course of three days, and the iron hull will be towed to New York City and sold.
The ship was originally built in Jacksonville, Florida in 1913 as a coal-powered ship. It served all along the east coast before arriving in Lake Champlain in 1954. The Adirondack provided a slower commute than other ferries you could take from New York to Vermont, which made it a favorite amongst sightseers and lovers of the outdoors.
Lake Champlain Ferries, which operated The Adirondack, announced it was also planning on scrapping The Champlain, another historic double-decker ferry built in 1930.
History buffs lamented the loss of The Adirondack, which was the last surviving vessel of its kind. The report said certain artifacts were removed from the ship for prosperity, although it's not clear what those were. Divers had hoped they would let the boat sink for future underwater exploration excursions, but Vermont rejected that proposal at the behest of environmentalists.
The route across Lake Champlain from Port Kent, New York to Burlington, Vermont had been inactive since the start of COVID, and will remain closed for the foreseeable future.
With the USS The Sullivans in danger of sinking at Buffalo Naval Park, it has not been a good year for historic ships in New York.