The lost French village of Hocquart: Vermont’s first European settlement

Hocquart’s French Settlement Burns at Chimney Point

The French built more than just a fort at Chimney Point in 1731. They made a whole new world.

King Louis XV first claimed this Vermont spot as royal land, then gave a huge 115,000-acre grant to Gilles Hocquart in 1743. The settlement grew fast.

By 1754, about 150 people lived in 40 houses on both shores of Lake Champlain. They had it all – a stone windmill, a church, and gardens full of fruit.

But war changed everything. When British troops came in 1759, the French fled north, burning their own homes as they left.

Only stone chimneys stood in the ash, giving Chimney Point its name that still marks this lost French world.

French Forces Built a Wooden Fort to Control Lake Champlain

French soldiers built a wooden fort at Pointe-à-la-Chevelure in 1731. They chose this spot to block British troops from moving up the Champlain Valley toward Canada.

The fort stood at a narrow part of Lake Champlain where all boats had to pass. King Louis XV owned this land at first.

The French military knew whoever held this spot could stop enemies from reaching Montreal and Quebec.

Hocquart Got a Huge Chunk of Vermont as a Gift

King Louis XV gave Gilles Hocquart, the man who ran New France, about 115,000 acres of land in 1743. This land makes up most of today’s Addison County, Vermont.

The property stretched three leagues along Lake Champlain and five leagues inland. The gift included Fort St. Frédéric on the west shore and Chimney Point lands on the east.

The French crown hoped Hocquart would bring in many settlers to strengthen their claim against the British.

The Government Went Looking for Brave Farming Families

New France officials started looking for settlers in fall 1740. They needed people willing to move to this frontier area and start farms.

The government called these permanent settlers “habitants” to tell them apart from traders passing through. They searched for families who knew farming and could handle tough frontier life.

French officials offered good deals on land and tools to make moving there more tempting.

Surveyors Mapped Out Where Everyone Would Live

Sieur Dufresne came to the area in 1740 with his tools.

He measured and marked lots throughout the settlement so each family would know their land boundaries. The lots followed typical French patterns with water access and long strips of farmland.

This careful planning helped stop fights between neighbors and made sure everyone got fair access to good farmland. The survey work created the base for an organized community.

A Working Mill Meant Bread on Every Table

Workers finished a gristmill by 1740, which helped attract farmers to the area.

The mill ground wheat, corn, and other grains into flour, saving settlers many hours of hand-grinding. The French government likely paid for some of the mill construction.

Having a working mill showed this wasn’t just a trading post but a place for permanent farming. Settlers could plant grain crops and easily turn them into flour for bread.

The Community Grew to 150 People Living in 40 Houses

By 1754, about 150 people lived in the settlement.

They stayed in 40 houses spread across both sides of Lake Champlain, with 21 on the Vermont shore and 19 on the New York side.

The community included soldiers’ families, farmers, blacksmiths, carpenters, and other workers. This made it the largest French farming community in what later became Vermont.

People built homes, planted fields, and raised children in this frontier outpost.

The Settlement Boasted Impressive Buildings for Frontier Life

Settlers built a stone windmill that stood as the tallest structure in the community. They also built a church for Sunday Mass and other Catholic services.

The settlement had small cannons and basic walls for protection. Homes used local stone and timber in French colonial styles.

Gardens surrounded many houses, growing vegetables for daily meals. The buildings showed the settlers planned to stay for good.

A Swedish Scientist Wrote About the Flourishing Gardens

Swedish naturalist Pehr Kalm visited in July 1749 and stayed for over two weeks. He took detailed notes about daily life, the houses, and where soldiers lived.

Kalm seemed very impressed by the well-kept gardens growing throughout the community. He wrote about apple and plum trees, currant bushes, and vegetable plots that gave fresh food to the settlers.

His notes give us a rare look at how these French farmers succeeded in just a few years.

British Troops Marched North With an Overwhelming Force

In summer 1759, Major General Jeffery Amherst led 12,000 British soldiers up Lake Champlain.

This huge army first took Fort Carillon (later called Ticonderoga) and then pushed toward Crown Point and Chimney Point. The French soldiers at Fort St.

Frédéric knew they couldn’t stop such a large force.

As British troops got closer, French commanders had to choose: stay and fight a losing battle or retreat north to protect Montreal.

The French Burned Everything Before Running Away

As the British got close, French troops blew up Fort St. Frédéric and burned all the houses on both sides of the lake.

The habitants grabbed what they could carry and ran north to Canada, leaving behind farms they had worked for nearly 20 years. The French military didn’t want the British to use any buildings or find supplies.

The full evacuation ended the French farming experiment in Vermont. Families lost almost everything they had built.

Stone Chimneys Stood Like Ghosts in the Burned Settlement

After the fires died down, only stone chimneys remained standing across the abandoned settlement.

When English settlers came to the area later, they saw these lonely chimneys and started calling the place “Chimney Point.”

Some reports claim Mohawk warriors, who fought alongside the British, burned any structures that survived the French destruction in 1760.

Today, archaeologists still find foundations and artifacts buried in the soil, telling the story of Vermont’s first European farming community.

The stone chimneys became silent monuments to a vanished French colonial world.

Visiting Chimney Point State Historic Site, Vermont

You can visit Chimney Point State Historic Site at 8149 VT Route 17W in Addison to learn about Vermont’s first European farming community.

The site is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm, May 23 through October 12, 2025. Explore the historic 1785 tavern building and walk the Chimney Point History Trail with interpretive signs.

There’s a picnic area by the lake with dock access. Veterans and active military get free admission.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The Vermont book that rivaled Darwin in 1864
• A drunk French general nearly destroyed America’s revolution
• The 1900s Pullman fortune that accidentally launched America’s artisan cheese movement