virtualDavis

Spring has returned to Essex, New York! After a looong winter in the Adirondacks the Essex-Charlotte ferry resumed service this morning. The video above captures the very first boat from Vermont to New York.

On March 31 Lake Champlain Transportation sent out this discouraging message:

We have made a test run at the Charlotte, VT – Essex, NY crossing. The ice is still too thick (10″ – 12″) to run. We will continue to monitor the conditions daily. We will notify you of any new changes through our Email/Text notification system.

Oomph! Bad news. Or April Fools?

We waited. And temperatures dropped. Parts of the Lake which had thawed refroze. More snow fell. And then, Eureka! The following message went out on April 4:

The Charlotte, VT – Essex, NY ferry crossing will OPEN Thursday, April 7th. Departures every hour from VT: 6:00 am – 8:00 pm. Departures every hour from NY: 6:30 am – 8:30 pm

Spring has finally returned to Essex!

I missed an opportunity to bid on another great old photo postcard of Rosslyn’s dockhouse/boathouse in an eBay auction this weekend! The photograph shows the Essex-Charlotte ferry early in the 20th century and beyond the ferry boat the Rosslyn boathouse is distinctly visible and looking very much like it does today.