Fort Ann, NY

Fort Ann is a village in Washington County, New York, at the junction of U.S. Route 4 and New York Route 149. Its location has mattered for centuries because the valley connects the Hudson River country with routes toward Lake Champlain. Fortifications occupied the area from the late seventeenth century through the American Revolution, and the place was part of the travel corridor known locally as the Warpath of the Nation. The village and town took their name from Fort Anne, a military post associated with Queen Anne.

The Battle of Fort Ann took place on July 8, 1777, during the Saratoga campaign, and local accounts tie the battle to the first use of the new American flag in combat. The village incorporated in 1820, and the Old Stone House Library, built in 1825, remains one of its notable landmarks. Fort Ann's streets now carry ordinary village life through the same landscape once used by armies, wagon routes, and lake-bound travelers. Its military sites, old stone building, and two state routes give Fort Ann a strong sense of place in eastern New York.