Re: The destruction of Fort William Henry ... on Lake James

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: : : Ann said:

: : : : I'm curious as to why the state of No. Carolina didn't keep the fort in tact rather than dismantle it. Seems like a waste to me. Surely there was some historical value to it as a reproduction of a stockade fort. I know there are civil war forts in NC, because we vacation 1/2 mile down the beach from one.
: : : ____________
: : : Ann,
: : : Although I am not sure; nor do I really know; but I would imagine that the reason that the fort sight was not kept up was because it did not met standards (government/state/county/city) as to a "stucture" to be walked on.  This is a very serious thing to "build to code"; if the public were to be able to walk on it; I'm sure that the movie would have had to take measures to reinsure all kinds of "yes, it can.." 
: : : Consider this: the set of the "Titanic" in Mexico, is not able to have anyone see it; be on it or do anyting about it...(what a money maker!)...there's the rub; movie sets are not ment to be walked about as much as I or any of us would like to! (I sure wish the fort was up, also!)

: : : Jo

: : Ann and Jo,

: : Though I still consider this to be a huge blunder on the part of those in the tourism biz, there were reasons why the fort was destroyed.

: : First of all, the property on which the fort was constructed is private property owned by Duke Power Co. 
: : As part of the agreement, 20th Century Fox was bound to restore the property as was (meaning, lose the fort!) and to reseed.

: : Then there was the matter of what was to be done to the fort during the filming. You know ... pound it to dust. The fort was semi-destroyed during the action. I don't think anyone was really willing or able to repair the replica Fort Billy Hank after the pounding it took.

: : Safety ... it always gets in the way of fun! The lumber used was not treated so it would have been on its way to dilapidation at some point. And ... there was simply no way to repair the structure to the satisfaction of the safety code police, that would have allowed it to be offered for public access.

: : Now, having said that ... it still would have been a good idea for Duke Power Company to reconstruct the LOTM fort as it was in the movie, on the very spot. Can you imagine how many people would have paid their money to see it? Wouldn't you?

: : Elaine

: Exactly, Elaine.  I live just a few miles so. of the PA location where "The Molly Maguires" (with Sean Connery & Michael Caine) was filmed.  The entire set(a reproduction of a small coal-mining town of the late l800s) was preserved and is now a tourist attraction. It's become a great ethnic & cultural asset to the Scranton, PA area.

: Judging from some of the location photos included on your wonderful site, I've noticed that the fort looked very natural from the lake.....it's a real shame it wasn't developed for the benefit of the area....ann


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