Champlain Arsenal (Vergennes, Vermont)

Vergennes · Vermont · Civil War

Quick BriefChamplain Arsenal was a 19th-century fortification near Vergennes, Vermont. The Army established this federal arsenal in 1826 or 1828. The Army discontinued Champlain Arsenal in 1855 and it reopened in 1861. The Army left Champlain Arsenal in 1872.

Civil War

History & Significance

Established by the Army between 1826 and 1828, the arsenal contained quarters for officers, barracks, a magazine, ordnance storehouses, and munitions storehouses. Josiah Gorgas briefly served at Champlain Arsenal.

The facility was discontinued in 1855 but reopened in 1861 as the nation approached the Civil War. The arsenal was built in Federal style with stone construction, featuring a hip roof, dimensions of 80 feet by 36 feet with 28-inch thick walls, and originally contained two large open floors and a basement level paved with stone block.

The Army departed in 1872 and the War Department sold the site in 1873. The Vermont Reform School (later the Vermont Industrial School, then the Weeks School) moved to the arsenal site in 1874 and closed in 1979. Two stone buildings constructed in 1825 remain among the oldest surviving structures from the arsenal and have been shuttered since the 1970s.