0:00:02 > 0:00:07I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:07 > 0:00:10with my faithful Appleton's Guide.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:14 > 0:00:20it will lead me to all that is magnificent, charming,
0:00:20 > 0:00:26confusing, invigorating and wholesome in the United States and Canada.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32As I journey through this vast continent,
0:00:32 > 0:00:37I'll encounter revolutionaries and feminists, pilgrims and witches,
0:00:37 > 0:00:42and ride some of the oldest and most breathtaking railroads in the world.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:01:03 > 0:01:07TRAIN BELL CLANGS
0:01:21 > 0:01:22I'm in Vermont,
0:01:22 > 0:01:27headed for the second largest country in the world - Canada.
0:01:27 > 0:01:33This is American border country and, along a 5,500-mile frontier,
0:01:33 > 0:01:38a new relationship had to be forged between the already powerful
0:01:38 > 0:01:40United States of America
0:01:40 > 0:01:44and the recently formed Confederation of Canada.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48I'll travel back through the 19th century to times when the all-important
0:01:48 > 0:01:53trade routes across the Great Lakes were bitterly contested.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Appleton's tells me that Canada,
0:01:56 > 0:01:59a word derived from the native Iroquois language,
0:01:59 > 0:02:01is a name to be conjured with
0:02:01 > 0:02:03and so it has proved to be.
0:02:05 > 0:02:06HORN BLOWS
0:02:10 > 0:02:15My journey began with coastal Boston, Plymouth and Nantucket.
0:02:15 > 0:02:21I'm now travelling north through New England to the winter sports paradise of Lake Placid.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Crossing the border into Canada,
0:02:23 > 0:02:28I'll start in French-speaking Quebec province before tracing my route
0:02:28 > 0:02:34west along Lake Ontario, to end in the country's largest city, Toronto.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39Today, my first stop is the timber town of Burlington, Vermont,
0:02:39 > 0:02:43then I'll cross Lake Champlain to Plattsburgh, New York.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47After a detour southwest to the wilderness around Lake Placid,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50I'll end this leg at the US border with Canada.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57On my travels, I discover how the other half does rural retreats...
0:02:57 > 0:03:01My goodness, Lawrence, I think this is one of the biggest rooms I've ever seen!
0:03:01 > 0:03:06..learn of the territory lost in a humiliating military blunder...
0:03:06 > 0:03:10The border between the United States and Canada would be much further
0:03:10 > 0:03:11south than it is now.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Much further south.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17..and seek thrills of Olympic proportions.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Every part of me has been shaken to bits
0:03:22 > 0:03:25and I've been turned almost upside down.
0:03:25 > 0:03:26HE LAUGHS
0:03:35 > 0:03:38In this verdant American state,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42the striking greenery is supplied by millions of trees
0:03:42 > 0:03:46and so it's no surprise to read in my Appleton's that -
0:03:46 > 0:03:52"Burlington, the largest city in Vermont, has become one of the great lumber marts,
0:03:52 > 0:03:57"with several of the largest mills in the country for planing and dressing lumber
0:03:57 > 0:04:03"and extensive manufactories of doors, packing boxes, furniture, spools etc."
0:04:03 > 0:04:06And even before the coming of the railroads,
0:04:06 > 0:04:12these goods could be exported across the beautiful waters of Lake Champlain towards Canada.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18TRAIN HORN
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Have a good trip! TRAIN HORN
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Burlington hugs the eastern banks of Lake Champlain,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39whose shores are on the one side
0:04:39 > 0:04:42in Vermont and on the other in New York State.
0:04:44 > 0:04:45Once a key trade route,
0:04:45 > 0:04:50this 120-mile-long freshwater lake stretches up to Canada.
0:04:59 > 0:05:04Burlington, Vermont, has the unusual distinction of being the smallest town in America, which is
0:05:04 > 0:05:08the largest town in its state, if you see what I mean.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Certainly, now, it is a delightful tourist resort,
0:05:11 > 0:05:15and I'm looking out over the placid waters of Lake Champlain
0:05:15 > 0:05:19towards rows of misty Adirondack Mountains in upper-state New York.
0:05:23 > 0:05:27At the time of my guidebook, the lakeside looked very different,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29given that Burlington was a busy timber port.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Lumber is still an important business,
0:05:33 > 0:05:37but Vermont's relationship with its trees has had its ups and downs.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42To understand more, I'm meeting forester Paul Friedrich.
0:05:44 > 0:05:50Paul, give me an idea of the lumber industry around Burlington at its very peak.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53In Burlington, the peak of the lumber industry
0:05:53 > 0:05:57was really around the 1860s, 1870s, just after the Civil War.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00The Champlain Canal allowed
0:06:00 > 0:06:06canal boats and rafts to go between Lake Champlain and the Hudson River
0:06:06 > 0:06:08and all the way into the New York markets.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12When did people become aware of the need to sustain the trees,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14to make sure that they were renewable?
0:06:14 > 0:06:16That occurred around 1900,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20when folks were beginning to realise that they needed to either replant
0:06:20 > 0:06:24or allow for natural regeneration to occur in these forests,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27and they had to think about the next crop of timber that was coming along
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and not just what we were removing at the time.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Vermont's forests recovered from their 19th century low point,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40when they stretched across less than a third of the state,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42to cover four fifths of it today.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48The logging railroads did not survive and, nowadays,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50timber is transported by road.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55I'm heading to a family-run sawmill,
0:06:55 > 0:07:01established at the turn of the 20th century, to meet Ken Johnson.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Ken, do you have any memory yourself of working with the railroads?
0:07:05 > 0:07:06I certainly do. When I was young,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09in my 20s, I remember going to New Haven,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12where we would spend all day loading a railroad car by hand.
0:07:12 > 0:07:15It was a lot of work and I would not wish that on anyone these days.
0:07:16 > 0:07:22Timber from Vermont accounts for 1 billion in sales annually
0:07:22 > 0:07:24and it's used in furniture,
0:07:24 > 0:07:29floorboards and other household items, and for shipping crates.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33The industrial process will certainly have changed since Appleton's day.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- What are the main jobs? - Well, we walk by the debarker here,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48which takes the bark off.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52That's the head rig over there, which makes the logs square,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54- like they are here. - Yeah.- And there is the resaw,
0:07:54 > 0:07:59which saws around and around and around to try to get the best quality.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Down at the far end, the trimmer to cut the ends off to give you the
0:08:01 > 0:08:03finished board we see.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06How do you and the people who work with the wood
0:08:06 > 0:08:09- feel about wood? - We feel it's a wonderful,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12sustainable product that we're proud to be associated with.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16It's renewable, it's recyclable, it rots down,
0:08:16 > 0:08:17it's rot-resistant,
0:08:17 > 0:08:21it has all these wonderful qualities that we're physically in touch with.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23And when the guys here see a trailer-load of lumber
0:08:23 > 0:08:26going out the door, "I made that, I produced that".
0:08:26 > 0:08:27That's a pretty nice feeling.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48For the next part of my journey,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52I'm following the old trade routes across Lake Champlain towards
0:08:52 > 0:08:56Plattsburgh to discover that an important 19th century battle
0:08:56 > 0:08:59between Britain and the United States was fought here.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09"Cumberland Bay," says Appleton's,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13"was the scene of the victory of MacDonagh and McComb over the British
0:09:13 > 0:09:18"naval and land forces under Commodore Downie and Sir George Provost,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22"known as the Battle of Plattsburgh of 1814.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25"Sir George Provost furiously assaulted the town,
0:09:25 > 0:09:30"while the battle raged between the fleets, in full view of the armies.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34"General McComb foiled the repeated assaults of the enemy until the
0:09:34 > 0:09:36"capture of the British fleet."
0:09:36 > 0:09:40After a war in which the United States had been humiliated by the torching
0:09:40 > 0:09:43of the White House in Washington,
0:09:43 > 0:09:45this victory over the familiar enemy,
0:09:45 > 0:09:50the British Empire, was like an entrance onto the world stage.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58To understand more about American General McComb's defeat
0:09:58 > 0:10:04of the British at the Battle of Plattsburgh, I'm joined by military historian Keith Herkalo.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Keith, how strategic was this waterway, then?
0:10:07 > 0:10:11There were no good roads in New York or Vermont,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14so this was the avenue of trade going south
0:10:14 > 0:10:19and to protect this area for the Saint Lawrence Seaway trade was very,
0:10:19 > 0:10:21very important to the British.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23How did the naval battle progress?
0:10:23 > 0:10:27The naval battle started when the British commander, Downie,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31came around Cumberland Head and turned into the bay.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Thomas Macdonough performed a manoeuvre called winding ship,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39where he turned his vessel around with the use of his anchors
0:10:39 > 0:10:42and he had a fresh broadside of 13 guns
0:10:42 > 0:10:45and fired into the British warship Confiance.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Meanwhile, the battle on land, my Appleton's tells me
0:10:53 > 0:10:56that the British had vastly superior numbers to the Americans.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01They did. The British crossed the border with their troops,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03some 11,000 of them.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05How many did General McComb have?
0:11:05 > 0:11:09He really only had 450 blue-coated regulars.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14So, how on earth did 450 defeat an army of more than 10,000?
0:11:14 > 0:11:15Smoke and mirrors.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20McComb created an illusion of a huge force on the other side of the river.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25He marched his full force of 450 troops out of the woods and into
0:11:25 > 0:11:27the full view of the British,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30and then he would send them into the woods and they would come out in a
0:11:30 > 0:11:31different location.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35The illusion was that there were troops arriving day and night.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43As the naval battle raged, British commander Downie was killed
0:11:43 > 0:11:46and, with the supposed threat of a huge land force,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48the British simply surrendered.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52The political consequences were huge.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55At Ghent in the Netherlands,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57the two governments were working on a treaty.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00Now, had the British captured Plattsburgh
0:12:00 > 0:12:05and occupied it and signed the treaty at Ghent in the Netherlands,
0:12:05 > 0:12:10then everything between the two would have been part of British territory
0:12:10 > 0:12:13and part of Canada as we know it today.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18So the border between the United States and Canada would be much further south than it is now.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Much further south, yes, indeed.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26For Britain, this was a humiliating loss of territory,
0:12:26 > 0:12:27but, for the United States,
0:12:27 > 0:12:33this victory represented a defining moment in their nationhood
0:12:33 > 0:12:35and their emergence as a global power.
0:12:40 > 0:12:47Appleton's describes Plattsburgh as a prosperous village of 7,000 inhabitants.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49TRAIN HORN
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Today, it's a small city of 20,000.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58And there's something rather curious -
0:12:58 > 0:12:59it's high summer.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02But hark...
0:13:02 > 0:13:06# We three kings of Orient are
0:13:06 > 0:13:11# Bearing gifts, we traverse afar
0:13:11 > 0:13:16# Field and fountain, moor and mountain
0:13:16 > 0:13:20# Following yonder star
0:13:20 > 0:13:27# O star of wonder, star of night
0:13:27 > 0:13:32# Star with royal beauty bright
0:13:32 > 0:13:37# Westward leading, still proceeding
0:13:37 > 0:13:42# Guide us to thy perfect light... #
0:13:42 > 0:13:44Excuse me asking - it is the middle of summer -
0:13:44 > 0:13:47why are they singing this lovely Christmas carol?
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Well, this is Trinity Episcopal Church in Plattsburgh, New York
0:13:50 > 0:13:53and we have a very special connection to John Henry Hopkins.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56He was the author of this carol.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59He wrote both the lyrics and the music.
0:13:59 > 0:14:04He did that when he was the music director of General Seminary in New York City in 1857
0:14:04 > 0:14:06and then, when he was ordained, he came here.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08This was his first parish,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11so we consider this our Christmas carol.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14And while he was here, it became very popular worldwide
0:14:14 > 0:14:17and I understand it became very popular in Great Britain.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Well, I can absolutely confirm that.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21It is one of our favourite carols
0:14:21 > 0:14:25and I don't suppose there are many British people who have any idea
0:14:25 > 0:14:27that it is an American-authored Carol.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29# Guide us to thy perfect... #
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Do you have any idea why it is so popular?
0:14:32 > 0:14:35There's just something about the music that draws you in
0:14:35 > 0:14:37and you feel connected to it.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40- You're drawn in as a child, aren't you?- Yes.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43- And then it's with you for the rest of your life.- Yes.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47# Star of wonder, star of night
0:14:47 > 0:14:53# Star with royal beauty bright
0:14:53 > 0:14:57# Westward leading, still proceeding
0:14:57 > 0:15:03# Guide us to thy perfect light. #
0:15:19 > 0:15:20It's a new day,
0:15:20 > 0:15:24and my journey north through New England towards Canada is taking me
0:15:24 > 0:15:28on a short detour southwest to the Adirondack Mountains.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36Following a particularly enticing entry in my guidebook,
0:15:36 > 0:15:40I'm off to the woods today in search of a big surprise.
0:15:41 > 0:15:4419th century glamping, to be precise.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51These sparkling waters are Lake St Regis,
0:15:51 > 0:15:55which Appleton's tells me is one of the most picturesque in the area.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00And here, very wealthy people came to so-called great camps.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05I'm so attracted by the thought of the very well-to-do leaving behind
0:16:05 > 0:16:09all their luxuries and coming here to commune with raw nature.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19It was the son of a railroad baron, William West Durant,
0:16:19 > 0:16:24who built the first camp in this wilderness - Camp Pine Knot.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27His plan was to develop the region for the wealthy
0:16:27 > 0:16:29and more camps were built,
0:16:29 > 0:16:34attracting to the area the great industrial families of the gilded age -
0:16:34 > 0:16:38the Vanderbilts, Rockefellers and Guggenheims.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46I've been invited to one of the largest of the great camps, Camp Topridge,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48established in the 19th century
0:16:48 > 0:16:53and developed in the 20th by New York socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Hello, Lawrence. Good to see you.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00- Good to see you, sir. - What a beautiful day.
0:17:02 > 0:17:07I'm arriving in the same manner as lucky guests invited by Marjorie Post.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14Lawrence Lester started work at Camp Topridge in 1953,
0:17:14 > 0:17:17giving him a window into this privileged world.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22What sort of numbers might Mrs Post entertain?
0:17:22 > 0:17:26An average of about 25 and maybe a few more on occasion.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28They loved the serenity of the place, the quietness.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31They usually had a picnic once each week.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34The guests were required to carry the pack baskets and utensils
0:17:34 > 0:17:38and we did the carrying to the boats in-between the paths.
0:17:41 > 0:17:46Large picnics in the forest are a defining feature of life in the great camps,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50a tradition that goes back to the first 19th century visitors,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53who held elaborate feasts in remote woodland.
0:17:57 > 0:17:58My goodness, if this is the boathouse,
0:17:58 > 0:18:01I'm beginning to think this place may not be
0:18:01 > 0:18:03as free from luxury as I'd imagined.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Indeed, luxuries abound.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13A funicular railway! No rural retreat could be without!
0:18:21 > 0:18:24This, like all the other great camps,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27was built in the particular Adirondack style,
0:18:27 > 0:18:29using the locality's natural materials.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37In addition to the main lodge, there are 18 cottages for guests.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40Heavens, Lawrence, that is amazing!
0:18:40 > 0:18:43And when they stayed in the guest cottages,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45what kind of services did they have there?
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Oh, they usually had a chambermaid assigned to each cabin.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52They had butlers, large staff - probably 80, 85 people.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54- 80 or 85 people?- Yes.
0:18:54 > 0:19:02And probably, I'm guessing probably again, probably 25-30 people, you know, as guests.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04- May we go inside? - Yes, we certainly can.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14My goodness, Lawrence,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16I think this is one of the biggest rooms I've ever seen.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21There must be, I don't know, places for 100 people to sit in this room.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23What was it like when it was full of people?
0:19:23 > 0:19:25That usually happened on movie nights.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Mrs Post had movies in here two or three times a week.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31There was a little projection booth up here in back
0:19:31 > 0:19:35and Mrs Post would sit over here, the front row.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37That was a busy time in the main lodge.
0:19:41 > 0:19:47These great camps afforded every amenity that their cosseted occupants might require.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53What do you think it was like for Mrs Post and her guests, this place?
0:19:53 > 0:19:55She enjoyed it very much.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58Mrs Post, I'm sure, found this as quite a sanctuary in her life,
0:19:58 > 0:20:02you know, just being able to be here for those few weeks each year.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Once the playground of the wealthy, today,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20the Adirondack Mountains are a state park,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23including 3,000 lakes and ponds,
0:20:23 > 0:20:26and my next stop is one of the best known - Lake Placid.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33This became America's first winter resort in 1914
0:20:33 > 0:20:38and has been a centre for competitive sports since the 1920s.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Lake Placid was the setting for the Winter Olympics 1980
0:20:43 > 0:20:46and beneath me here is the bobsled run
0:20:46 > 0:20:52and, in a few moments, you will see, streaking down the track, the red,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55white and blue of Britain's Union Jack.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Made from concrete and covered during the winter in ice,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05this track is just under a mile long.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Racing through its 20 curves,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12athletes can reach speeds of up to 70mph.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15In the summer, wheels replace steel runners on the sleds
0:21:15 > 0:21:20and adrenaline junkies hurtle their way down the lower half of the track.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24- Hello.- How are we doing? - So, what are your names?- I'm Ricky.
0:21:24 > 0:21:25- Hello, Ricky.- I'm Anthony.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29- Hello, Anthony. I like to know the names of the people I'm entrusting my life to!- Absolutely!
0:21:29 > 0:21:31So, I jump in there, do I?
0:21:31 > 0:21:33Yes, you're going to sit right behind this seat right here.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38- OK.- Put your feet right around it for me, OK?- OK.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40- Oh.- Right up there. - All the way down there?
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Yes. That's good, right there.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Right, we're going to buckle you in so you don't fly out like the last guy did!
0:21:45 > 0:21:47- The last guy flew out? - Yeah! No, I'm just kidding!
0:21:47 > 0:21:49You're going to hang on right here. I've got a pretty good rec...
0:21:49 > 0:21:51I'm going to hang on here. Seems a good idea.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54When we start going, you're going to sit up nice and straight,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57hang on tight and keep your hands and arms inside the sledge at all times.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59OK. I'm definitely going to do that, all right!
0:21:59 > 0:22:02- TANNOY:- All right, attention, last part of the track to the half mile.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06I have no idea why I'm doing this! The things I do for my ART!
0:22:10 > 0:22:11Here we go!
0:22:31 > 0:22:32Here we come!
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Every part of me has been shaken to bits
0:22:47 > 0:22:49and I've been turned almost upside down!
0:22:49 > 0:22:51HE LAUGHS
0:22:51 > 0:22:53- That was exciting.- Good.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56- Glad you enjoyed it. - Yes, it was a good ride.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59- Thank you for keeping me safe!- Yeah, no problem. Thanks for coming out.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Thank you. Whoo!
0:23:30 > 0:23:33I've made my way back to Plattsburgh
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and the comfort of my habitual form of transport.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43I'm finally making my way up towards the United States' border with Canada.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50Amtrak's finest coffee, thank you very much!
0:23:50 > 0:23:55- Have a great day, Mike.- Have a great day yourself.- See you again.- Bye.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58I'll alight just before we reach the border
0:23:58 > 0:24:01for a final stop in the United States.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Once again, ladies and gentlemen, in just a few more minutes,
0:24:06 > 0:24:08we'll be arriving at Rouses Point.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Rouses Point, New York, our last stop in New York City.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32- Bye-bye.- Thanks, have a good one.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44I'm meeting Jim Millward at the site of an American border fort,
0:24:44 > 0:24:48which I understand has a strange and somewhat embarrassing history.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51Jim, Fort Blunder is an usual name.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55- Why is it so called?- It's called Fort Blunder because the United States Army
0:24:55 > 0:24:58actually built a fort on Canadian property!
0:24:58 > 0:25:00- My goodness!- Now, it's not what we see behind us.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02This is a later fort, Fort Montgomerie, over here,
0:25:02 > 0:25:04but the fort they were building never had a name.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07It was actually located over here.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10The story was that, back in 1772, two surveyors -
0:25:10 > 0:25:12gentlemen by the name of Valentine and Collins -
0:25:12 > 0:25:16were surveying the boundary line between British Canada and the American colonies
0:25:16 > 0:25:21and the line was the actual the 45th parallel -
0:25:21 > 0:25:23that was what they were to determine -
0:25:23 > 0:25:25and this line was accepted as the true line.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28There were no questions for many, many years.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Then, shortly after the war of 1812, when the Treaty of Ghent came along,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34one of the provisions of the Treaty of Ghent was that this line would be
0:25:34 > 0:25:39re-surveyed and they came to recognise that, right away,
0:25:39 > 0:25:41there was a serious problem.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44It was actually south of where they actually showed the line.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46That shouldn't have been a problem,
0:25:46 > 0:25:49except that the issue was that there's an enormous American fort
0:25:49 > 0:25:53almost completely finished right smack dab in Canadian territory.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55So, if I'm understanding you,
0:25:55 > 0:26:00it was thought that the boundary between the United States and Canada was here, the fort goes in here
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and then they subsequently discovered that the real frontier is down here.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06- Yeah.- Whoops! What was the solution?
0:26:06 > 0:26:08The Americans obviously had to abandon it
0:26:08 > 0:26:12and the Americans never gave up hope of trying to get it back.
0:26:12 > 0:26:16It took two statesmen, our Daniel Webster and your Lord Ashburton,
0:26:16 > 0:26:20to get together in 1842 to forge the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23But one of the fascinating things it did is it actually adjusted the
0:26:23 > 0:26:27boundary line, if you will, just to accommodate this fort,
0:26:27 > 0:26:28so there is this anomaly.
0:26:28 > 0:26:34The line of 45 is actually the boundary of most of the place, except here,
0:26:34 > 0:26:38where it juts up a little tiny bit to accommodate this property
0:26:38 > 0:26:43- that we're standing on.- So we're standing on a little bump of the United States?- We certainly are.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47And, so, this nameless fort was then christened Fort Blunder.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Yes, and it seemed like a pretty appropriate name.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57Fortunately, the need for a defensive fort on this border is long gone,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01but the blunder is merely a curious note in the history books.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Had the British not lost the Battles of Plattsburgh,
0:27:12 > 0:27:17the territory through which I've been travelling recently would have been Canada.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22As it is, Lake Placid could be the showcase for the United States at Winter Olympics
0:27:22 > 0:27:26and, if I may say so with all modesty,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30the scene today of a Great British triumph in the bobsleigh.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34The wooded hills of America's border country have been a great source of
0:27:34 > 0:27:40lumber and their beauty attracted the very wealthy to great camps.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44I now bid farewell to Britain's one-time enemy
0:27:44 > 0:27:46and now long-time ally,
0:27:46 > 0:27:50and I shall resume my adventure across the border in Canada.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55TRAIN HORN
0:27:55 > 0:27:59Next time, I'll explore the island city of Montreal,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02where I'll plunge into the history of the Saint Lawrence River...
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Imagine doing this in a paddle steamer!
0:28:06 > 0:28:09..uncover some surprises in Montreal's top university...
0:28:09 > 0:28:13As far as I know, I'm the only librarian whose library has a body count!
0:28:13 > 0:28:17..and run away to join the circus.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Time to put the sunshine in the Circus of the Sun!