Fisk, Vermont Ghost Town

You’ll find Fisk on Vermont’s Isle La Motte, where three generations of the Fisk family ran a thriving limestone quarry from 1792 to 1865. Their high-quality stone helped build landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and Radio City Music Hall. Today, only stone foundations and quarry walls remain, along with tales of Eleanor Fisk’s mysterious disappearance in the 1770s. The site’s ancient fossils and ghostly legends beckon visitors to uncover its deeper secrets.

Key Takeaways

• Established in 1792 by Reverend Ichabod Ebenezer Fisk, the town grew around limestone quarries that supplied stone to major US cities.
• The Fisk family operated limestone quarries for three generations, extracting stone used in landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge.
• The town’s decline followed the reduced quarry operations, with many abandoned structures now returning to wilderness.
• Historical ruins include stone mansion foundations, quarry walls featuring ancient fossils, and remains of British military quarters.
• The area is known for the Eleanor Fisk ghost story, where her red cloak’s discovery on Cloak Island sparked enduring local folklore.

Early Settlement and the Fisk Family Legacy

While the waters of Lake Champlain had long witnessed the ebb and flow of French and British military operations, it wasn’t until 1792 that Reverend Ichabod Ebenezer Fisk established what would become a lasting family legacy on Isle La Motte.

You’ll find the roots of this settlement in a 100-acre land transfer from Colonel Ira Allen, who compensated Fisk for his surveying work with property valued at 15 pounds. The land’s strategic location, bordering limestone quarries dating back to the 1666 French fort construction, proved invaluable. The area would later become known for containing the Chazy Reef fossils, preserved in the ancient limestone deposits.

The Fisk family’s influence grew when Samuel Fisk, Ichabod’s son, expanded their presence by developing the quarrying operations and building a magnificent stone mansion in 1802. This homestead, which later housed British officers during the War of 1812, became the cornerstone of Isle La Motte’s development. Under Hiram Fisk’s leadership, the property expanded to include 350 fertile acres and a newly constructed general store by 1865.

The Mystery of Eleanor Fisk’s Red Cloak

You’ll find the haunting tale of Eleanor Fisk woven deeply into local folklore, where her red cloak became central to superstitions about finding drowned bodies in Lake Champlain.

After a domestic quarrel in the 1770s, she vanished while attempting to cross the frozen lake toward Alburgh, leaving only her distinctive cloak tangled among the rocks of what’s now called Cloak Island. Local witnesses still report seeing a woman in old-fashioned clothing searching the shoreline at night before vanishing into the mist.

The mysterious discovery sparked generations of ghost stories, with old-timers still debating whether she drowned beneath the ice or met some other fate on that bitter winter night. Some townspeople tried dropping cloaks in the water near Point Au Fer, where unexplained lights and strange phenomena have been reported for centuries.

Local Superstitions and Drowning

Among the most chilling legends of Fisk, Vermont is the tale of Eleanor Fisk’s red cloak, which intertwines with a haunting Yankee superstition about locating drowned bodies.

In lake folklore, you’ll find the belief that a missing person’s cloak, when cast into the water, would settle above their resting place. If it sank, drowning was confirmed; if it floated, another fate was possible. The deep waters of Lake Champlain’s depths made searching especially challenging. This vast lake system contains twelve lighthouses that have guided travelers since 1819.

When Eleanor vanished, townsfolk performed these drowning rituals on Lake Champlain, casting her distinctive red cloak into the cold waters.

Instead of sinking, the cloak washed ashore on what’s now called Cloak Island. This discovery sparked endless debate – did Eleanor drown, or did she escape to the island, only to disappear into the wild frontier?

The Fateful Night Vanishing

In the bitter winter of the 1770s, Eleanor Fisk’s fate became forever entwined with the icy waters of Lake Champlain. During a heated quarrel with her husband, she fled into the night, attempting to cross the frozen lake towards Alburgh. Her distinctive red cloak would become the only trace of her passage. Unfortunately, like many historical records that become lost or removed, the exact details of Eleanor’s final moments remain elusive. The area would eventually see a dramatic transformation as sheep grazing dominated the landscape throughout most of the 1800s.

Local legends surrounding Eleanor’s fate have persisted for centuries, spawning three compelling theories:

1. She drowned after falling through thin ice
2. She reached Cloake Island but succumbed to the cold
3. She made it to the island and vanished without a trace

You’ll find her story deeply woven into the fabric of Vermont’s Champlain Islands, where the renaming of Hill Island to Cloake Island stands as a permanent reminder of that fateful night when a woman in red disappeared into darkness.

Enduring Ghost Story Legacy

The haunting tale of Eleanor Fisk’s red cloak has shaped Lake Champlain’s folklore for over two centuries, leaving an indelible mark on regional mythology.

You’ll find her story woven into the very identity of Cloak Island, where locals say ghostly encounters still occur along its mysterious shores.

The island’s name itself stems from an old Yankee superstition – when Eleanor vanished, townsfolk cast her red cloak into Lake Champlain’s waters, believing it would reveal her fate.

When the cloak caught on Hill Island’s shore, the folklore significance was sealed, and the island’s name changed forever.

Today, Eleanor’s tale captures the essence of early colonial life – a story of domestic strife, unexplained disappearance, and supernatural belief that continues to intrigue visitors and locals alike.

From Hill Island to Cloake Island: A Name’s Evolution

When you explore the shores of Lake Champlain, you’ll find an island that wasn’t always known as Cloake Island – it first appeared on 1857 maps as Hill Island, named after its early proprietors.

Like the mysteries of Glastenbury Mountain’s peak, standing tall at 3,748 feet and drawing curious hikers, this island holds its own enigmatic history.

You’d never guess its haunting transformation began with Eleanor Fisk’s dramatic flight across the frozen lake in the 1770s, when she vanished during a domestic dispute leaving only her red cloak behind.

The discovery of that cloth tangled on the island’s rocky shore not only gave birth to supernatural legends but also inspired the permanent name change to Cloake Island, marking one of the region’s rare instances where folklore directly shaped its geography.

Located in Lake Champlain’s northernmost section, the area saw Fort Ste Anne established as Vermont’s first European settlement in 1666.

Early Colonial Naming

Located southeast of Isle La Motte, a modest island in Lake Champlain carried the simple name “Hill Island” through much of its early colonial history.

You’ll find this colonial naming practice followed the region’s custom of identifying places after their proprietors, though the specific Hill family remains unclear in historical records.

The island’s historical significance is preserved in three key aspects:

1. Its documentation on an 1857 Lake Champlain map
2. Its connection to early private landholdings typical of colonial Vermont
3. Its role in the broader settlement pattern around Isle La Motte

Before the dramatic tale of Eleanor Fisk’s disappearance would transform its identity to Cloak Island, this small piece of land reflected the straightforward, ownership-based naming conventions you’d expect in early American settlements.

Eleanor’s Mysterious Disappearance

While Hill Island’s name reflected colonial propriety, a haunting winter journey in the 1770s would forever change its identity.

You’ll find the story begins with Eleanor Fisk, who fled her Lake Champlain home during a domestic dispute, setting out across the frozen waters in her horse-drawn carriage toward Alburgh. She never reached her destination.

The community response was swift as townsfolk searched the treacherous winter landscape. Eleanor’s fate remained a mystery until her distinctive red cloak washed ashore on Hill Island.

Local folklore suggests residents tried using the cloak to divine her fate – if it sank, she’d drowned; if it floated, she might’ve reached land. The cloak’s arrival on the island’s shore not only gave the landmass its new name but sparked centuries of ghostly tales and speculation.

Red Cloak Legend Emerges

Through the unfolding years after Eleanor’s disappearance, Hill Island’s name gradually faded into local memory, replaced by a moniker that echoed its haunting past.

The discovery of Eleanor’s red cloak among the island’s rocky shores sparked a transformation in local folklore that would forever change the landscape’s identity.

The cloak symbolism took root in three distinct ways:

1. As a mysterious marker of Eleanor’s final known location
2. A supernatural beacon in Yankee water-finding traditions
3. A powerful indication of an unresolved tragedy

You’ll find the evolution of this tale particularly fascinating, as the island’s renaming from Hill to Cloake reflects how deeply the community held onto this piece of their history.

The red cloak’s presence in folklore persists as a reminder of Eleanor’s untold fate, bridging past and present through generations of storytellers.

The Strategic Limestone Quarries

Deep in Vermont’s historic landscape, the Fisk limestone quarries played a pivotal role in America’s architectural development from the 17th century onward. You can trace the quarry operations back to 1664 when French settlers first extracted limestone for Fort St. Anne’s construction.

Three generations of the Fisk family later managed these massive excavations, sending stone as far as New York City and Washington, D.C.

As you walk the quarry’s walls today, stretching over 2,000 feet in length, you’ll find yourself surrounded by half-billion-year-old fossils from the ancient Chazy Reef. The limestone extraction produced the distinctive “radio black” variety that’d become part of iconic structures like the Brooklyn Bridge and Radio City Music Hall.

While commercial operations ceased in 1919, the quarries’ legacy lives on through preservation efforts that protect their geological treasures.

Military Presence and British Occupation

During the War of 1812, you’d have found British officers commandeering the finest limestone homes in Fisk as temporary quarters, taking advantage of the town’s strategic position near Burlington’s military cantonment.

The British recognized the quarries’ military value, as the limestone was essential for constructing fortifications and maintaining supply routes between Canada and the contested Vermont borderlands.

You can still spot traces of this military heritage in the remaining foundation stones of officers’ quarters, which stand as silent witnesses to Fisk’s role in the complex Anglo-American struggle for control of the northern frontier.

British Officers’ Housing Accommodation

Military authority in Fisk, Vermont manifested through the strategic housing of British officers in carefully designed accommodations that reflected both necessity and rank.

You’ll find these officers’ quarters were built to withstand Vermont’s harsh wilderness conditions while maintaining military standards and defensive capabilities.

1. Local timber formed the backbone of these structures, with double-walled construction and fortified windows demonstrating colonial architecture adapted for frontier defense.
2. Officers’ living spaces featured separate rooms for rank-based privacy, plus integrated storage for weapons and supplies.
3. Strategic placement near forts and settlements enabled command cohesion while maintaining visibility over key areas.

These dwellings weren’t just homes; they were command posts built to last through brutal winters, complete with robust chimneys and storage for self-sufficiency in this remote outpost of British authority.

Strategic Military Quarry Control

While British forces sought strategic advantages throughout colonial conflicts, their control of Fisk’s limestone quarry on Isle La Motte proved invaluable to their military operations.

You’ll find evidence of their presence dating back to 1760 when they operated a limestone kiln at the quarry point, establishing vital military logistics for fortification construction.

During the War of 1812, you’d have seen British officers billeted in the Fisk stone mansion, overseeing quarry operations and securing the valuable “Isle La Motte black” limestone.

The island’s location on Lake Champlain made it a perfect staging ground, letting the British monitor American movements while maintaining their supply chain.

They’d recognized early on that controlling this resource meant controlling the region’s defensive infrastructure, as the quarry’s high-quality limestone was essential for building and maintaining military fortifications.

War of 1812 Impact

As British forces intensified their presence along Vermont’s northern frontier in 1812, you’d have witnessed frequent raids disrupting life in border communities like Fisk.

The military strategies employed by both sides turned this quiet quarry town into a strategic flashpoint, with British vessels patrolling Lake Champlain’s waters and threatening local commerce.

You would’ve seen these major changes:

1. Increased militia presence as locals joined Commander Macdonough’s forces
2. Disruption of quarry operations due to British naval blockades
3. Property damage from raids that forced some residents to abandon their homes

The economic impacts hit hard – trading became difficult, farming suffered setbacks, and the quarry industry nearly ground to a halt.

Despite these challenges, Fisk’s residents showed remarkable resilience, supporting the war effort while trying to preserve their livelihoods.

Local Superstitions and Folklore

Long before the Fisk settlement became a ghost town, superstitions and folklore swirled around its mysterious island like autumn leaves in Lake Champlain’s chilly waters.

You’ll find Eleanor’s legacy deeply woven into the fabric of local lore, particularly after her unexplained disappearance in the 1770s. The discovery of her red cloak on what would become known as Cloake Island sparked generations of ghostly tales and superstitions.

Local wisdom held that a missing person’s fate could be divined by the behavior of their clothing in the water – if it sank, drowning was certain; if it washed ashore tangled in vegetation, it marked their final resting place.

Eleanor’s cloak, found mysteriously on the island’s shore, only deepened the area’s reputation for supernatural occurrences.

Geological Treasures of Isle La Motte

The ancient bedrock beneath Fisk’s ghostly remnants tells a story far older than Eleanor’s haunting tale.

You’re standing on what was once a tropical reef near Morocco, formed 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The black limestone beneath your feet holds the secrets of Earth’s earliest complex marine ecosystems.

1. The Chazy Reef Formation contains the world’s oldest coral reef fossils, making Isle La Motte a prime destination for fossil exploration.
2. This prized black limestone was quarried from Fisk Quarry to build iconic American landmarks like the U.S. Capitol.
3. You’ll find visible gastropod fossils in the old quarries, preserved from when ancient seas covered this land.

The limestone significance extends beyond architecture – it’s a window into our planet’s past, when the Iapetus Ocean shaped what would become Vermont’s landscape.

French and British Colonial Influences

While standing on Isle La Motte today, you’re treading ground that sparked intense colonial rivalry between French and British forces in the 17th and 18th centuries. You can trace the French influence back to 1666 when they built Fort St. Anne here, establishing Vermont’s first European settlement to defend against Iroquois raids.

Fort St. Anne stands as a testament to Vermont’s earliest European roots and the fierce colonial struggles that shaped this land.

As you explore the area, you’ll discover how French alliances with Native American tribes helped them maintain control of Lake Champlain through strategic forts like St. Frederick.

But British encroachment steadily increased, especially after they built Fort Dummer in 1724. The power struggle finally ended with the 1763 Treaty of Paris, when France ceded the territory to Britain.

This shift opened the floodgates for British settlers, though the French cultural legacy persisted through intermingling with Quebecois communities.

The Rise and Fall of Fisk’s Quarry Operations

Following British control of the region, Isle La Motte‘s next chapter would be written in stone – quite literally.

You’ll find the remarkable story of Fisk Quarry, where generations of workers carved out a living from the rich marble deposits along Lake Champlain’s western shore.

1. The quarry’s distinctive black and gray marble became renowned, marketed as “French gray” and “Champlain black”
2. At its peak, quarry operations employed countless locals, extracting stone blocks from depths up to 15 feet
3. The quarry’s unique marine fossils, dating back 480 million years, made its stone particularly valuable

What you’re seeing today is a shadow of its former glory.

Preserving Vermont’s Lost Settlement Stories

As Vermont’s abandoned settlements fade into wilderness, dedicated preservation efforts keep their stories alive through carefully documented records, maintained ruins, and engaging educational programs.

You’ll find photographic archives, oral histories, and written accounts that paint vivid pictures of these lost communities, while local historical societies work tirelessly to preserve artifacts and stories for future generations.

Through community engagement initiatives, you can explore interpretive trails that wind past stabilized foundations and maintained cemeteries, where symbolic white cedar trees still stand sentinel.

Cultural preservation efforts include guided tours, informative signage, and museum exhibits that bring these ghost towns’ histories to life.

Despite challenges like weathering and vandalism, preservation organizations continue protecting these essential links to Vermont’s past, ensuring you can experience these powerful reminders of earlier times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Happened to Eleanor Fisk’s Body After Her Mysterious Disappearance?

You’ll never know what truly happened after Eleanor’s disappearance – her body recovery attempts failed when townspeople tried using her red cloak in Lake Champlain’s waters. Her remains were never found.

Are There Any Remaining Structures From the Original Fisk Homestead?

You’ll find the 1802 black limestone mansion partially standing through historic preservation efforts, with architectural remnants including stone arches and a relocated water tower maintained by Isle La Motte Preservation Trust today.

When Did the Last Fisk Family Member Leave the Settlement?

You won’t find exact records of when the last Fisk family member left their settlement. While it is understood they’re documented through the War of 1812, their departure timeline remains shrouded in historical uncertainty.

Did Native Americans Have Any Settlements on Isle La Motte?

You’ll find evidence that Native Americans used Isle La Motte as a gathering place and strategic location, but there’s no clear archaeological proof of permanent settlements on the island itself.

What Caused the Eventual Abandonment of the Fisk Settlement?

You’d think an island paradise would thrive forever, but harsh winters and economic decline from failing quarries drove people away. Environmental challenges and dwindling opportunities eventually emptied the settlement completely.

References

• https://obscurevermont.com/mysteries-and-legends-of-the-champlain-islands/
• https://fiskfarm.com/index.php/historical-fisk-farm/
• https://www.everand.com/book/391210393/Glastenbury-The-History-of-a-Vermont-Ghost-Town
• https://www.vermonter.com/the-ghost-of-cloake-island/
• https://islelamotte.us/community/historical-society/
• https://www.townofroyalton.org/about/pages/early-history
• https://urbanpostmortem.wordpress.com/2014/08/03/mysteries-and-legends-of-the-champlain-islands/
• https://www.ranker.com/list/creepy-lake-champlain-stories/robert-f-mason
• https://obscurevermont.com/2014/08/
• https://obscurevermont.com/tag/legends/