Rogers Island Visitors Center Home

"All Rangers are to be subject to the rules and articles of war; to appear at roll- call every evening, on their own parade, equipped, each with a Firelock, sixty rounds of powder and ball, and a hatchet, at which time an officer from each company is to inspect the same, to see they are in order, so as to be ready on any emergency to march at a minute's warning; and before they are dismissed, the necessary guards are to be draughted, and scouts for the next day appointed."

Welcome to the Rogers Island Visitors Center!

Did you know that Fort Edward, and adjacent Rogers Island, was once the third largest "city" in colonial North America? That today's Special Operations forces, particularly the US Army Rangers, consider this little island in the Hudson River to be their "spiritual home"? That the history that was made from this place at the bend in the Hudson River in the 1750s would lay the foundations for the nation that would be born two decades later?

In a letter to Lord Loudon dated October 25, 1757, Robert Rogers detailed his methods of training and rules of order which marked a change for the British way of confronting an enemy on the battlefield. These "Ranging Rules", written on Rogers Island, form the basis of military tactics adopted by irregular fighting forces all over the world.

The Rogers Island Visitors Center opened to the public on July 6, 2001. Since that time we have had the pleasure of greeting thousands of visitors from nearly all of the states in the U.S. and dozens of foreign countries. Exhibits at the Visitors Center tell the story of the Fort Edward area, from the earliest Native Americans that lived here through the Revolutionary War.

Step inside to find out which two American cities were larger than the Fort Edward of 250 years ago. The Rogers Island Visitors Center is open to the public Wednesday through Saturday, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM and Sundays 1:00 - 4:00 PM. We are open daily from June to August. Admission is free!

Many artifacts from the Little Wood Creek Archaeological Site in Fort Edward are archived at the Center. This site was the home of Native Americans as long ago as 1000 B.C. Artifacts and exhibits detailing later native American occupation as well as the colonial history of Fort Edward and Rogers Island can be seen here.

Today, the Rogers Island Visitors Center also serves as the home base of operations for the Adirondack Community College Archeological Field School for six weeks each summer. All artifacts are processed in our own archaeological lab, often a busy place with artifacts being cleaned, identified and readied for storage. Many of these artifacts are on display at the Center.

The Rogers Island Visitors Center proudly hosts an annual French & Indian War Encampment each September that has proven to be popular with reenactors and the general public. Living history demonstrations, drills and skirmishes are conducted along the banks of the Hudson River. Mark your calendars now for the 4^th Annual Encampment of the French & Indian War, September 25 & 26, 2004, 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM.