LAKE GEORGE NY

LAKE GEORGE NY
Shepard Memorial Park Bandstand
Shepard's Park
Built - 1990








On December 25th of 1635, the famous explorer from Quebec, Samuel de Champlain, decided to expand his country's territories into the New World venturing down the unchartered waters of a large and long lake, named after him - Lake Champlain, and much farther south to a tributary he named Lake George after the then French king. His travels were not without difficulty encountering many Native American Indian tribes along the way who did not particularly welcome this intruder with his small army but yielded to him seeing that he was not interested in staying long.
However, as years past and other venturous individuals decided to settle in the very wondrous area of Lake Champlain and Lake George, battles ensued and as Peter S. Palmer-History of Lake Champlain-1886 wrote: "no part of the United States is more interesting from its historic incidents. Every bay and island of the lake and nearly every foot of its shore has been the scene of some warlike movement - the midnight foray of the predatory savage, the bloody scout of frontier settlers, the rendezvous of armed bands or the conflict of contending armies."
Even with the hostilities that ensued between the settlers and Indians, the lake did finally become inhabited by many white settlers pushing the Native Americans farther out of the area as has been the case in many sections of our country.
Lake George in the summertime offers many activities for fun-loving tourists including: boating, swimming, parasailing, fishing, hiking, golfing and horseback riding to name a few. The area has become a summer vacation haven since the days when the train was the primary mode of transportation to resort areas.
With so many people in the area, the necessity of building a large bandstand in a good-sized open area along the shore and within the Village of Lake George became a necessity, so in 1990 an amphitheatre was built by the citizens of Lake George which would entertain the thousands of vacationers and provide a location for the citizens to hold their own community events. After a number of successful drives to raise the necessary funds to build the amphitheatre, the dedication ceremonies were held on Friday, June 22, 1990.
Shepard's Park was chosen as the location for the Shepard Memorial Park Bandstand and is the 2nd structure the town has had with the first one being dedicated on September 2, 1917 on the same spot in the park being financed by the village forming a corporation with its citizens investing in stock. The park is also a historical area in that French and Indian war battles took place there and in the area from 1755 to 1757 and during construction of the bandstand, some cannon balls, grape shot, arrow heads, etc. were found while excavating for the foundation of the structure.
Needless to say, the concerts and other performances are always a rousing success with such groups as the Glens Falls, NY City Band, Lake George High School Band and other groups performing along with the famous Lake George Jazz Festival in July of each summer. Also many plays and children's events take place on the amphitheatre and thus, all ages are covered.
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY:
Margaret Edwards, Lake George Village Historian



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